M25 roadworks - get a grip

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I'm sorry but anyone who lives or works outside of the "golden sphere" that is the M25 has had to deal with road/motorway closures and sudden changes in route/planning for decades.

Why do we have to be subjected to this as "national news"?

FFS they close motorways every weekend in North West, Yorkshire, Midlands, Wales, Scotland and elsewhere on a regular basis.

Very aware, I have put up with the entitlement for long enough.

"Put up with?" What "entitlement?"
You sound rather over-invested in this.

This thread is making me think of Victoria Wood's snobby newsreader...

And for those of our viewers in the north.....we're very sorry😁

And it's reopened again, eight hours ahead of schedule. Impressive.

We should celebrate these sorts of infrastructure achievements, but knowing the Brits we'll just find something else to whinge about.

the engineers and workers deserve a medal for keeping things running 🥇

Credit to them for finishing on time, but they knocked down an old bridge, this isn't Isambard Kingdom Brunel building the whole GWR.

@daisychain01

Infrastructural achievements? 

Which ones? Costing 317 million (100, then 250, now 317, and rising) . This is the new millennium dome, hs2 fiasco.

They said it was to create a new walkway. "Restoring heathland". For horse riders. How many of those do you think there are per week there? Riding around on horseback Cecil near wisely gardens, old chap. Fuck off.

I read all their plans. I think it will make minimal difference. What about bad drivers who cause accidents, leave it till the last minute to cut across to leave at the junction? It will include 'more signage'. Great. I'll sure that'll solve it. NOT.

I bet it will make minimal difference. I use this junction, never had a problem before. It worked fine. Till now, sitting in 1 hour of roadworks. Let's see what it's like when it's done.

Plus have you read all the reasons that people think it's really being done? It's stated as being controversial. I bet the effects will be minimal.

We use this part of the M25 regularly, there have been delays at this point for months if not longer, DH (civil engineer) says they probably thought it would take a day so they allowed two days. Now they've finished slightly ahead of the extra time allowed we're supposed to congratulate them?!

Just wait to see what happens if they allow the extra runway at Heathrow, they'll have to completely re-route the M25 around it and re-do all the junctions. This will take several years, can you imagine how chaotic it will be? Apparently the M3 around Heathrow is the busiest motorway in Europe.

M3 or M4?

M4 is closer to Heathrow.

Oh my goodness the negative ninnies are out this morning!

Yes, they will have allowed extra time, but they didn't need it. No, not every single time I used the junction prior to the works did I get stuck in tailbacks, but it happened frequently. Will the new design cure everything... probably not but it was a compromise vs. Spending more money or cutting down more trees.

How about 'Hooray - something which was no longer fit for purpose and WAS dangerous is being addressed, and it seems to be going to plan and it seems to be going well'.

Why do people have to be so bloody negative. I hope you all have shitty miserable Mondays which meet your damp expectations. Good day to you.

There is no decent business case for an extra runway, and it would be an awful decision for London due to the pollution and noise. Most travel is leisure not business, and flight volumehas not met predictions. If Heathrow want to fly to more places then they need to stop having the same flights at the same time each day travelling half empty, and schedule more effectively for demand. Capacity in Manchester should be used more for leisure travel instead of people travelling to London to fly.

Absolute agree, especially as I live in west London

The third runway at Heathrow is not going to happen for a long long time, if ever.

Anyhow for info the last plan I saw doing the rounds was to slightly lower a small section of the M25 to allow part of the new runway and some taxiways to go over the top (as already happens at some airports), rather than completely reroute the M25 around the airport and/or indulge in a major rebuild of the existing junctions.

@Oblomov24 agree with you this work is completely unnecessary. Only thing it does is show how much money is spent in the south of England instead of levelling up which is another empty promise (well other than small amounts to Tory constituencies in the north).

Third runway at Heathrow also should never happen, the existing airport cannot be properly run as it is. Borders agency cannot plan staffing even though holidays in summer are no new thing, and advertise for staff in north London, over an hour away.

Local news though, not national news?

It's how people get round much of the south east, especially if they're travelling from the west country. For example if they're coming from elsewhere to get to the channel ports or an airport. The alternative routes are slow and go through inadequate roads, often in built up areas.

Of course, brain not in gear, sorry!

No worries. M3 is a route down south so wondered if Portsmouth/ Southampton made it busier because of freight/mod traffic.
M20 off M25 serves Dover for freight, that gets a bit slow when the lorries stack.

YANBU - it’s rubbish non news except for traffic reports IMO however…

yesterday the BBC reported another piece of national news. A crisp packet has been discovered that is from the 1990s, after almost 20 years it has been unearthed almost completely intact.

it must be a slow news week!

the M25 is a circle, just go the other way round, you can navigate the whole circuit in 3 hours. I live next to the Dartford Crossing, if they close the bridge and run all traffic through the tunnels it grid locks what seems like all of Essex and Kent for hours. This happens MANY times a year because of high winds with no notice or reports on the TV and we manage.

Yes I noticed that, great joined up thinking, as ever

I work on this scheme and that work could not be completed over a night closure.

@Stolengoat I don't think this scheme should be happening regardless. In any case, a closure starting evening on Saturday is very different from evening on a Friday.