M25 disgrace

[Tallerandtall]

I live near the a3 m25 junc.
no one knows why they are changing the junction versus mending potholes
now it's shutting this week and four more weekends to come this year.

they don't give dates far in advance so you can plan ( this date was announced about 20th of Feb and April date not set yet).

no doubt this is to allow flex to keep costs down but those costs are just being spread around the local and it's effectively two weeks this year ruined as the roads busy at normal will grid lock.

it's just another example of this bankrupt useless Brexit bunch of stupid racist fools in this goverment

it beggars belief

So basically your issue is you wanted to use it at that time?

Its roadworks. They happen. They're essential. Some people get inconvenienced. As with every road repair, or rail engineering works, or if they had to repair a runway.

I live in the area too and it's going to be an absolute sh*t show. It's not just another motorway closing - it's 6000 cars an hour being put on to residential roads that are mostly narrow and full of potholes.

I have a non refundable booking for the weekend. There is no option to get there by train. It was booked before the, rather short, notice for the closure was given. I have things booked for April too so the planned closure for "another weekend in April" is not helpful at all.

Yes, a lot of people in London don't need cars. They have a fantastic bus, rail and underground instead. This is outside London though and the bus and train services here are not at all comparable.

I, like most locals, didn't agree that this work was needed, am devastated about the loss of literally thousands of trees including some within RHS Wisley and am totally fed up with the huge amount of disruption being caused.

Is this not standard for big road works?
We had no access onto a duel carriage way for 9 months, followed by frequent overnight closures. The diversion? Get on the road on the other direction, drive 5 miles, loop the loop at the Junction, and drive back where you came from.
It was a ball ache. I use that Junction 4-8 times a day - and half those journals were affected as I could get home ok, just not out.
But roads need upgrading and fixing. And the people doing the work need to be able to do so safely. By doing the work at weekends they are minimizing the impact on most people.

Also in the broader area and we’ve decided not to go anywhere this weekend as a result of this closure.
Whole area has been a complete shitshow of roadworks since we moved here. Think 40 minutes to do two miles on roads that resemble the surface of the moon. And to those who think “the public transport is excellent in London”, this isn’t London and the public transport is dreadful.
It is necessary work but I fully understand OPs frustration.

I use the M25 regularly and completely understand that it’s a nightmare if you live near that junction, but it’s something that just has to happen.

This was pretty easy to find online:
‘This junction also has a poor safety record that needs to be addressed. Highways England accident data shows M25 junction 10 was found to have the highest number of casualties at any junction on the Strategic Road Network, and more than double the average number of casualties at M25 junctions.’

Given that, it would be more of a disgrace if they didn’t do anything to that junction.

Every part the country just has to go through this kind of nightmare in turn - bridges have to be repaired, junctions improved. I currently turn out of my road into roadworks because of essential works - for the next two months! But hey ho….

Or do we want a large infrastructure disaster like the bridge collapse in Italy a few years back?

Heathrow has good rail connections and dozens of hotels, so there are ways around it.

I frequently go to LHR for business flights. Early Mondays are fine, no different. On the way back in the evening I just go M3 and then cut across. It’s a pain but not that bad. The closures are well advertised weeks in advance.

Yes, that exit is hairy isn’t it - enjoy the gardens, stow away your purchases from the giftshop but don’t buy tickets for the flower show until you’ve actually made it home!

@Lindy2

you said it right and as for all the idiots who are saying this is normal for roads works this has never happened before in all the years the m25 has been open so it’s amazing people are so stupid to say that.

@coureur

they are not we advertised.
local old people don’t know

and even the date for April isn’t set yet!!

so please get real.

the m3 ones have been shared months in advance.

@AnonyLonnymouse

the south bound m25 and m3 is much much much worse

I wish they hadn't made it coincide with VolksWorld at Sandown, which gridlocks the area every year without these roadworks ...

@SpringOfContentment

not normal atall for m25 as it’s never happened before since it opened

they should shut the whole thing and do works everywhere at the same time

how does everyone feel about that.?

they could clear up all the crap and if all shut it won’t jam up one area with through traffic

the m25 will be on single lane roads covered with pot holes so the preparation has been shambolic

like all government departments under this morally bankrupt government

Don't bother coming at the OP with your "facts", she doesn't want stupid racist Brexit facts!!

I mean Brexit is not great but I'm not sure we can blame it for the need to reconfigure a motorway junction that's been unfit for purpose for at least 20 years. I agree it's a pain, our local motorway has weekend closures for weeks at the moment as someone failed to work out that creating a live line from the hard shoulder would result in lorry strikes on a pedestrian bridge, so that bridge has had to be taken down and rebuilt but, annoying as it is, there's not really a way to avoid the work.

The unreliability of Southern and South Western rail services as an alternative does not help the situation. Engineering works with replacement bus services at weekends and strikes. This weekend M25 closure has been advertised locally for over a month, but the diversions are ridiculous. Even when open that section is often slow.

It's been widely advertised in local newspapers, on local radio, on BBC South East Today so even those who don't use the internet have no excuse. If people don't know, then its because they choose not to keep abreast of local news and that's on them.

Thanks for posting this, I'm flying from Gatwick on Sunday and had no idea.

@coureur

sometimes carers don’t have the time to do that. But perhaps you know best. Not.

@Marmalade71

the Brexit ref is I it that this government was full of ex UKip Brexit people who messed it up.
the country is worse of from it (not covid) meaning budgets are tight meaning this is being done on the cheap and the local councils can’t afford to mend potholes meaning this M25 shut down is a joke.

@LIZS

the date was set 20th Feb.
so nearly a month.

so when and how far in advance do you buy tickets plans thing like flights?
now ask if that is enough time.?

nope and the fact that aprils is not set yet is a disgrace

and then three more this year which is two weeks of this in total.

I live about 20 miles from the closure and we've had road signs for weeks notifying us about it.
It's in the local papers - both printed and online.
We've even been notified about it at work.
Other than personally telling you I'm not sure how much more they could do to get the message across.

I don't disagree, but marginally better than two weeks' notice of train strikes or "emergency" engineering work. We have to cross fingers every time we book ahead. Incredibly frustrating. Is Wisley opening this weekend as they closed on the previous occasion.

The M25 / A3 intersection clearly needed improving, and as at the last count it was costing £124m it’s clearly not being done on the cheap. The motorway network is managed by Highways England, not the local councils, so even if it wasn’t done there’d be no more money for the potholes caused by the suburban SUVs of Surrey.

It is not possible to carry out demolition work while the road is open, or in the 6 hours an overnight closure allows. So I am not sure what the OP suggests.

The OPs post smacks more of NIMBY than improving strategic transport links and safety…. And the tenuous link to UKIP and BREXIT is laughable. Sure, BREXIT was ridiculous, but to link it to the M25/A3 closure (one of four planned this year) is laughable, and underlines the narrow minded NIMBYness that’s too prevalent nowadays IMO!

The funding for the motorway junction is from Highways England and potholes Surrey County Council Highways, so no room to flex.

Thanks for posting, I’m out of the country but flying back at the weekend, so it was helpful.