M25 closure map and diversion route with five-mile stretch shut in traffic mayhem

Major disruption is to hit the M25 this weekend with a five-mile stretch shut in an unprecedented closure.

The huge stretch of the motorway between junctions 10 and 11 was closed in both directions at 9pm on Friday. It will remain shut off until 6am on Monday while a bridge is demolished and a new gantry installed.

However, it is feared that there will be hundreds of drivers stuck in gridlocked traffic over the weekend. It is the first planned daytime closure of the motorway since it opened in 1986. An 11.5-mile diversion route has been created to direct motorway traffic along A roads.

National Highways said modelling carried out while it was developing its plans for this weekend indicated vehicles would face delays of up to five hours without mitigation measures, such as urging drivers to stay away. The Government-owned company believes its awareness campaign will help reduce traffic levels by approximately 50%, meaning the length of time added to journeys will be limited to around an hour.

But motoring experts are warning that official estimates of congestion levels may be "optimistic" while local councillors in areas where motorway traffic will be diverted are anticipating "gridlock".

Daryl Jordan, of Woking Borough Council, told the Press Association news agency that the Byfleet Road, which is close to junction 10, was already "chock-a-block" on Friday afternoon. He said residents will be "affected massively".

"It is pulling people apart," the councillor told the Press Association.

"I mean, you know, when you work full-time and then you're going to get home tonight from work thinking 'I must fill the fridge up' and you can't even get into your own village."

"It's going to be a nightmare. Just going down the road to