Map below shows section of M25 motorway that is closed until Monday morning.

National Highways said anyone ignoring diversion signs in an attempt to find shorter alternative routes will be liable for the £12.50 daily Ulez fee if their vehicle does not meet minimum emissions standards.

Full report:

National Highways has issued a fresh plea for drivers on the M25 motorway to use an official diversion route to avoid maintenance work between Junctions 9 and 10.

“#M25 #Surrey remains closed in both directions between J9 #Leatherhead & J10 #Wisley for planned works until 05:30 - 13/05, work is progressing well,” it said in a post on X.

“Please follow the official diversion routes to manage traffic flow effectively.”

An increasing number of drivers are “ignoring” an official diversion route around the M25 motorway closure, highways bosses have said.

London’s orbital motorway, one of the busiest in the country, is closed this weekend between Junctions 9 and 10 for maintenance work.

National Highways say they are making "good progress" to install a new gantry and a new gyratory bridge on the motorway.

“Coming off at junction 9 means non-freight drivers will end up travelling behind or alongside HGVs which is something we are actively trying to avoid and is likely to have a negative impact on travel times, congestion and the communities they pass through,” Simon Elliott, National Highways senior project manager, said as he urged motorists to use the official diversion route.

Drone footage has captured the sheer scale of this weekend’s M25 closure as new bridge beams are installed.

The motorway – which is Britain’s busiest – will be closed in both directions between junctions 9 and 10 in Surrey from 9pm on Friday (10 May) until 6am on Monday (13 May) while concrete beams for a new bridge are installed.

Diversion routes will take cars on a 19-mile journey on A roads, crossing from Surrey into London’s Ulez area, though National Highways has assured drivers “no enforcement action will be taken”.

National Highways said anyone ignoring diversion signs in an attempt to find shorter alternative routes will be liable for the £12.50 daily Ulez fee if their vehicle does not meet minimum emissions standards.

Full report:

National Highways says it is necessary for “the installation of a bridge and gantry” as part of a £317 million project to improve junction 10 – which handles 300,000 motorists per day.

“Our improvements will reduce congestion, create a smoother flow of traffic and provide safer journeys for thousands every day,” National Highways says.

The organisation is promising:

• A larger roundabout with extra lanes to increase capacity.
• Free flow left turns at all four corners of the junction.
• New and safer routes for cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders.
• Improvements to the local environment and wildlife.

The 19-mile diversion route saw an “unusually low volume of traffic”, with residents and local businesses reporting quiet roads and reduced footfall in their towns and villages.

Councillor Rod Ashford from the Reigate and Banstead Borough Council told the PA news agency that, at around 5pm, traffic around junction 8, where the diversion route starts, was “free-flowing with an unusually low volume of traffic”.

He added: “Given the A217 would be a route to divert M25 traffic to Epsom and around (to the) M25 junction 9, traffic in my area is quiet.”

Meanwhile, in Epsom, a town on the diversion route, workers at Blacks Burgers told the PA news agency there had been a “downturn in business and walk-in trade” compared to last weekend and corresponding with the road closure, whilst the area in general seemed quieter.

National Highways previously urged drivers to only travel the route if necessary, to avoid the closure and to complete their journeys in other ways if possible.

The M25 closure is the second of five planned weekend closures which come as part of a £317 million project to improve junction 10.