Drivers are facing delays in the heart of London this morning after a crash involving a lorry shut one lane of Victoria Street, sending queues of traffic spilling back through surrounding streets.
The collision happened on the one-way section of the A302 Victoria Street at the junction with the A3214 Buckingham Palace Road, a major crossroads a short distance from Victoria Station.
One of the road’s two lanes is blocked at the scene. Traffic is queueing on the approach, and congestion is reported to be stretching back as far as Victoria Station, with motorists warned to expect disruption while the obstruction is cleared.
The first details emerged just after 11.15am on Monday. Motoring organisation the AA reported that a lane was blocked following a crash involving a lorry, with queues building in the area.
Where the crash happened
Victoria Street is one of the main routes through Westminster, running east from Victoria Station towards the Houses of Parliament. The affected stretch lies where it meets Buckingham Palace Road, a junction heavily used by buses, black cabs and delivery vehicles serving the station and the surrounding streets.
With lane one of two closed, the road’s capacity is sharply reduced. Queues are forming on the approaches to the junction, and the knock-on effect is being felt on nearby streets around Victoria.
The closure is causing particular problems because the affected section of Victoria Street is one-way, leaving drivers with limited room to manoeuvre past the scene.
Bus passengers should also brace for disruption, with services running along Victoria Street likely to be caught in the queues.
What we know so far
- A crash involving a lorry has blocked lane one of two on the one-way section of the A302 Victoria Street
- The closure is at the junction with the A3214 Buckingham Palace Road, close to Victoria Station
- Traffic is queueing on the approach, with congestion stretching back towards the station
- The incident was first reported just after 11.15am on Monday, October 5
- Drivers are advised to allow extra time or find another route
A busy corner of Westminster
The junction sits in the City of Westminster, one of the busiest parts of the capital’s road network. Victoria Street links the major transport hub at Victoria with Whitehall and Parliament, and is lined with offices, shops and hotels that generate heavy traffic throughout the day.
Buckingham Palace Road runs south from the station towards Pimlico, carrying traffic to and from the railway terminus. Together the two roads make the crossroads a natural bottleneck whenever anything goes wrong.
Advice for drivers
Motorists heading through central London are advised to avoid the area if they can and to check traffic conditions before setting off. Delays are expected to continue until the lorry has been recovered and the lane reopened.
Anyone collecting or dropping off at Victoria Station should factor in the congestion reaching back towards the station, while rail passengers may wish to check their journeys in case the road delays affect connecting buses and taxis.
The capital’s road network is already under strain. London bus speeds have fallen to their lowest level since 2013-14 as passenger journeys decline, while major engineering schemes continue to disrupt drivers elsewhere — including the £67.4 million improvement works at Gallows Corner.
What happens next
The lane is expected to remain closed until the lorry can be moved and any debris cleared from the carriageway. Once the road is fully reopened, residual delays are likely while the built-up queues clear.
Live updates
This is a developing story and details are still emerging. Follow our live blog below for the latest updates as the situation develops.
