Several major motorways are going to be closed this weekend – including the M25 and Dartford Crossing.
More than 70 sections of various roads will be shut on Saturday and Sunday, according to National Highways.
Some closures – such as on the M25-clockwise – will actually kick in tonight as engineers carry out maintenance. Several junctions on the A12, which cuts through east London down to Suffolk, and the West tunnel on the Northbound way of the Dartford Crossing will also be closed.
For commuters hoping for an easy ride on a Friday, meanwhile, we have some bad news. TfL says parts of the District and Overground lines are suspended this morning.
The western side of the District line has been hit by severe delays too. This is because of a points failure at South Acton and Turnham Green, with railway services also not running until 7.15pm, according to National Rail.
A cheaper – but slower – alternative to HS2 revealed
High Speed 2, a train line that promised to connect London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds at speeds of up to 225 miles an hour, was cancelled by then PM Rishi Sunak last year.
The high-speed rail project, often just called HS2, terminates in Birmingham. It would have cut journeys between the capital and Manchester by half. Now getting to the other destinations involves slower, typically more congested lines.
But the mayors of Greater Manchester and the West Midlands say a new route between Staffordshire and Cheshire could be a solution.
The 50-mile route, which would connect with the east-west Northern Powerhouse Rail, would only take 15 minutes longer than HS2 would have.
It would the report says, come ‘with almost all of the benefits of HS2 delivered quickly and, crucially, at a significantly lower cost’.
‘Grim’ and ‘dreadful’ airport rated worst in the UK
As much as airports are the first step in a holiday, they’re not necessarily places you want to be stuck in.
Thousands of passengers were asked by Which?, the consumer watchdog, to rate their favourite aviation hub.
Bottom of the list was Manchester Airport, with Which? rather bluntly saying: ‘Avoid if you can.’.
‘Grim security queues, inadequate seating, ‘surly staff’ and overpriced shops and restaurants’ were among the reasons why.
With 5,000 surveyed between April 2023 and April 2024, the airport’s Terminal 3 took the bottom spot with a customer score of only 37%. Even the airport’s newly refurbished Terminal 2 was low down.
‘The only good news is that the dreadful Terminal 1 is scheduled to close next year. It gets one or two stars for everything except toilets. Terminal 2 is better but still only gets two stars for seating and staff,’ Which? said.
The airport told the watchdog that its own passenger surveys suggest people are more positive about using it. It’s ‘proud to give people in all parts of the North easy and affordable access to nearly 200 different destinations across the world’.
Only a 35-minute drive away was the best-rated hub, Liverpool John Lennon, which received an 81% customer satisfaction score.
‘If you have a choice, fly from Liverpool instead of Manchester,’ Which? said.
M25, A12 and Dartford Crossing closures
Motorway closures? At this time of year? At this time of day? In this part of the country? Localized entirely within the A12, Dartford Crossing and M25?
Pretty much. There are dozens more, of course, but here are some of the major closures hitting Londoners:
A12
- A12 southbound Junction 26 to Junction 25 carriageway closure – 8pm to 6am
- A12 southbound Junction 27 entry slip road closure – 8pm to 6am
- A12 southbound Junction 17 exit slip road closure – 9pm to 5am
- A12 northbound Junction 17 entry slip road closure – 9pm to 5am
- Meanwhile, on the A12 Northbound way, there will be a 24-hour slip road closure at Junction 19 for New Beaulieu Station construction.
Dartford Crossing
- The West tunnel on the Northbound way of the Dartford Crossing will be closed from 11pm to 5.30am for maintenance works.
M25
- Clockwise way, there will be an exit slip road closure at Junction 28 between 11pm and 5am.
