The second weekend closure of the M25 will take place between 10 and 13 May, National Highways has confirmed, with a seven-mile stretch of the road between junctions 9 and 10 in Surrey due to be shut.
In March a five-mile stretch of the motorway between junctions 10 and 11 was closed for a three-day period, the longest planned closure on the road since it was opened in 1986.
On Monday, National Highways released details of the latest closure, which will begin at 9pm on 10 May, with the road set to reopen at 6am on 13 May. The body has told drivers to expect delays, saying that the diversion routes for getting around the closures would be longer than they were in March.
It will be the second of five weekend closures planned for the M25 as part of the £317m upgrade of the motorway that encircles Greater London. The remaining three closures are due to take place throughout the rest of 2024 but National Highways has yet to give dates as to when.
The work will involve the installation of concrete beams for a new bridge, as well as new gantries.
Jonathan Wade, the senior project manager at National Highways, said the next shutdown would be “far from a repeat of the previous closure” as the diversion routes were “longer and will be different for over-height vehicles and all other traffic”.
He said: “Drivers listened to our advice last time, which reduced motorway traffic levels by over two-thirds and meant delays were limited. Our advice again is please only travel if absolutely necessary and make sure you give yourself extra time if you do choose to use the M25.”
The body has called on drivers to avoid the affected section of the motorway, pointing out that there will a 19-mile diversion route in place during the closure. There will be four diversionary routes in total, including clockwise and anticlockwise to and from Gatwick towards Heathrow for most traffic and over-height vehicles.
The March works, which were completed ahead of schedule, resulted in two-mile tailbacks on some stretches of road leading up to the junctions. Between 4,000 and 6,000 vehicles normally use the M25 between junctions 9 and 11 per hour in each direction between 10am and 9pm on a weekend.