Map shows where stretch of M25 will be closed later this month

Drivers are in for ‘misery’ next weekend as a chunk of the M25 is set to close both ways.

National Highways has urged motorists to ‘travel only if necessary’ when the agency shuts the motorway between junctions 10 (A3 Wisley) and 11 (A320 Chertsey Interchange) and 11 in Surrey.

The five-mile stretch of carriageway will be closed from 9pm on Friday to 6am next Monday (March 18).

Some 200,000 vehicles are set to be affected, including concertgoers, sports fans and holidaymakers travelling in and out of London.

The M25 is always a go-to route to travel to and from Heathrow and Gatwick Airports as well as the Channel Ports.

From 10am until 9pm between junctions 9 and 11, the M25 carries between 4,000 and 6,000 vehicles in each direction every hour.

Engineers are set to demolish the Clearmount Bridleway bridge and install a large gantry.

The weekend works are part of a £317,000,000 project to ‘reduce congestion, improve safety and create more reliable journeys’ by restoring heathland and upgrading the junction with the A3 Winsley Interchange, highway officials say.

For those with places to be this weekend, however, National Highways says local diversion routes will be in place.

For junctions 10 and 11: ‘Northbound A3 to Painshill Junction, A245 towards Woking, and then A320 to M25 Junction 11.’

While another alternative route for between junctions 11 and 10: ‘A320 south towards Woking, A245 towards Byfleet and Painshill junction, Southbound A3 to Junction 10.

‘Taking the M25 in the other direction to avoid our closure is also an option.

‘Either way, if you do travel, please leave a lot of extra time for your journey.’

Four more closures will take place up to September when the works are set to be completed.

Highway officials have not revealed when these will happen though the next is expected to be April.

Project lead Jonathan Wade said: ‘Drivers should only use the M25 if their journey is absolutely necessary.

‘This is the first of five full closures of one of the busiest junctions on our road network.

‘We have spent months planning for these closures and making sure there are diversion routes in place, but there will still be heavy congestion and delays.

‘These improvements will bring long-term benefits to drivers who pass through this stretch of the M25, not to mention pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders who will also see positive changes in the area.’

Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, added: ‘For drivers who’ve already had their patience tried by the queues at the junction 10 works, the phrase ‘you ain’t seen nothing yet’ springs to mind.

‘National Highways’ plea for people to avoid driving in the area applies not just to trips on the M25 but also to those on surrounding local roads onto which the M25 traffic will be diverted.

‘The hope must be that drivers take great care, however frustrating the delays and disruption might be.

‘The last thing we need is shunts or crashes, however minor, because the slightest mishap will compound the misery.’

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