Highways Agency - Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers

Making journeys safer and more reliable on the M25

Helping people make their journeys on the M25 safely and reliably is something we're committed to at the Highways Agency.

We know how important the M25 is to the economy of our country. It's the hub of our motorway network and with people using it to make one million journeys every day; it's one of the very busiest motorways in Europe. More than 200,000 vehicles per day use the busiest sections of the M25 around Heathrow.

That means we have to do all we can to give you a more reliable journey on the M25, improve safety and give you the information you need to help you plan your journey.

Making your journey safer

Safety is our top priority on the M25. So we spend £95 million a year to maintain the road in a safe and serviceable condition.

We have a number of initiatives to make the M25 safer. These include:

• Engineering - for example, using new technology to warn you about queues ahead. This will help to reduce the number of rear-end shunts.
• Education - for example, our campaign to discourage children from throwing stones off bridges.
• Enforcement - working with partners like the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) to stop accidents before they happen.

Making your journey more reliable

Keeping traffic moving means:

• Managing unplanned incidents like road accidents better and clearing them up quickly and safely
• Planning better so we limit any delays when we carry out roadworks and improvements and working with local partners to manage traffic around major events in the area
• Planning for the future

1. Managing unplanned incidents better

We want to reduce the number of incidents and delays caused to drivers if they do happen.

We do this in two ways:

• We stop them happening in the first place.
  For example, we're working closely with VOSA. We're supporting their plans to remove potentially unsafe vehicles from the motorway whose drivers are breaking the law. In turn that means less accidents and less disruption to traffic if they break down.

• When one does happen we will clear up incidents safely and quickly.
  Our Traffic Officers now patrol the whole of the M25, clearing debris after accidents, managing incidents and helping drivers in difficulty. As well as our traffic officers, we're managing traffic through two high-tech regional control centres in the area, allowing us to monitor road conditions all day, every day, so we can get you moving as quickly as possible. 

2. Planning better to reduce your delay

We want to limit any delays when we're carrying out roadworks and improvements. To do that, we are planning our roadworks better to keep as many lanes open as possible and carrying out work at night whenever we can. New technology can help here too, like our quick moveable barrier machine which allows us to keep more lanes open at busy times during roadworks.

And we're giving you better information about your journey. We also liaise with venues, such as Brands Hatch, so we can plan our roadworks to avoid their events wherever possible.

3. Delivering improvements and planning for the future

How technology can help

We are using innovative techniques such as variable compulsory speed limits to help you by reducing frustrating stop-start traffic. Since we introduced this system around Heathrow, there's also been a significant drop in accidents and lower emission levels.

We're also testing a new traffic layout between the M25 and M3, where the two motorways merge. This reflects the fact that more vehicles join the M3 coastbound from the M25 than pass through the junction on the M3 out of London. Throughout the new layout, there is a 50mph speed limit, with safety cameras provided by the Surrey Safety Camera Partnership. This is the first time cameras have been used in Surrey to keep traffic moving rather than solely to improve safety. If drivers stick to the lower speeds it will improve the merging between motorways and that will mean safer and quicker journeys for everyone.

Widening and the future

Although there's much we are doing to help make journeys on the M25 more reliable, some parts of the motorway are very busy even outside peak times. So we have a long-term plan to increase capacity along almost all of the current three-lane sections to four lanes in each direction over the next ten years, as well as investing in other major improvements to help you with your journey.

But in doing this, we'll also play our part in protecting the environment and work closely with local communities.

We're aiming to carry out most of this work within the boundaries of the existing motorway, which means we can complete the work more quickly.

Find out more about our M25 widening projects:

• M25 Jct 5 to 7 Widening
• M25 Jct 16 to 23 Widening
• M25 Jct 23 to 27 Widening
• M25 Jct 27 to 30 Widening

And we'll provide you with useful real-time information about traffic conditions while we're working, to help you plan your journeys.

Here's what we have done so far

We have already widened the section around Heathrow. Earlier this summer, we finished work to improve the road through Holmesdale Tunnel near Enfield, three months early. We completed work to widen the links with the A2 immediately south of the Dartford Crossing before Christmas. Nearby we're also widening the M25 between junctions 1b-3, which we aim to finish this summer (2008). We have also completed improvement work at Junction 28, the junction with the A12 near Brentwood.

Planning for the future

We are working with local councils to retain the benefits we will achieve from widening the motorway, while still managing the traffic using the motorway and surrounding roads as efficiently as possible.

We're also working with local employers to promote the use of travel plans at major developments near the motorway network. Travel plans can include car sharing schemes and other initiatives to reduce the need for travel.

Around the M25, these include the Crossways Business Park at Dartford and Brooklands Business Park in Weybridge. We are also working closely with the promoters of new developments at Howbury Park in Dartford, Radlett, St Albans and the new Thames Gateway port at Shellhaven in Thurrock. All of these have introduced travel plans to help minimise the number of car journeys they generate.

In summary

• More than 1 million people use the M25 everyday. The Highways Agency is committed to ensuring safe and reliable journeys for drivers. 
• Our Traffic Officers provide a 24/7 service on the M25 and when something goes wrong they clear it up as quickly as possible so you can continue with your journey.
• We invest over £100 million pounds annually to keep the M25 in a good state of repair. Virtually all this work is done at night to minimise delays.
• To improve your journey we have a major investment program planned. This is valued at over three billion pounds.

Now it's your turn

You can make the M25 safer by:

• Adhering to the speed limit, particularly at roadworks and incidents
• Not stopping on the hard shoulder unless in an emergency
• Ensuring you check your fuel level before setting off 

You can help us keep the M25 moving by planning your journey. The Highways Agency has some advice on how to do this:

• Listen to travel news broadcasts or tune in to Traffic Radio - available 24/7 via DAB digital radio or online at http://www.trafficradio.org.uk/.
• For real-time traffic information, the Highways Agency 24-hour voice activated telephone service is on 08700 660 115.
• Call the Highways Agency Information Line on 08457 50 40 30.
• Road users can find out details of all planned roadworks or events that could impact on their journeys by visiting www.highways.gov.uk/trafficinfo.