M25: Major motorway reopens 8 hours ahead of schedule following historic closure

National Highways has reopened the M25 eight hours ahead of schedule. The M25 between junctions 10 and 11, which was closed at 9pm on Friday and was scheduled to be closed until 6am on Monday, was reopened to traffic at 10pm last night (Sunday).   The Clearmount bridleway bridge has been demolished and a large gantry installed. Among those impacted by the weekend works were delayed Portsmouth Football Club fans, travelling to watch the team play against Peterborough United at the Weston Homes Stadium.

A statement from National Highways: South-East said: "The weekend closure of the #M25 J10 - J11 is now open in both directions, 8 hours ahead of schedule. The closure was to demolish a bridge and install a huge gantry. We’d like to say a massive ‘thank you’ to everyone for your patience and following our travel advice."

National Highways Project Lead Jonathan Wade said: 

“We are delighted that we have been able to complete the work early and reopen the M25 ahead of schedule. Drivers have taken on board our advice, which reduced traffic levels by over 50 per cent and meant the length of time added to journeys was around 30 minutes. 

“Thank you to everyone for their cooperation that has made carrying out work on this major project to make journeys safer and reduce pollution much easier. We are extremely grateful to our delivery partners, Surrey County Council, the emergency services, and everyone else who has supported us this weekend.” 

This was the first of five closures and the date of the next one will be announced very soon to give people as much notice as possible.