Motorists have been plagued by travel chaos on the M25 after a lorry blaze shut the motorway and severe traffic delays at Dartford.
Thousands of drivers have been caught in travel chaos today after delays along the M25 in Essex and Surrey.
The M25 remains closed clockwise between junctions J5 and J6 for the recovery of a Tesco lorry after it exploded into a fire ball last night. It is set to remain closed throughout the day and diversions have been put in place.
Elsewhere, drivers at Dartford Crossing face long delays after heavy congestion as part of the tunnel is closed for emergency repairs. Traffic appears stationary between Dartford and J5 on the M25.
Storm Ashley caused travel mayhem yesterday, with flights cancelled and delayed at Dublin, Belfast and Glasgow Airports due to heavy wind.
Delays on Southern trains after signalling fault
Train passengers were warned of delays and cancellations on Southern services between London Bridge, West Croydon and London Victoria after an earlier signalling fault.
While all lines have now reopened, it might take a while for services to recover. National Rail said the disruption is expected to last until 1pm.
Network Rail engineers have repaired the issue first spotted between West Norwood and Streatham Hill.
How is traffic coping at Dartford Crossing?
If you are driving through through Dartford Crossing this afternoon, prepare for delays.
Traffic appears to be chock-a-block on approach to Dartford anticlockwise on the M25 and A2.
Congestion near the crossing has been building for hours, made worse by the M25 closure in Surrey after the Tesco lorry fire.
Frustrated motorists took to social media to vent and warn others to avoid the area after delays./
One wrote on X: ‘If you’re in Kent I’d advise staying where you are. 3 hours out of Chatham and I haven’t reached the Dartford Crossing yet. It’s becoming fairly normal.’
It comes after the Dartford Tunnel remains closed northbound after a maintenance vehicle broke down following overnight roadworks. The tunnel can reopen once the emergency resurfacing works have been completed.
Elsewhere, the M26 is closed westbound between J2A and M25/A21 to assist with the lorry fire.
The moment Tesco lorry explodes in flames on the M25
Part of the M25 remains closed clockwise in Surrey 12 hours after a Tesco lorry bursts into flames.
Recovery is ongoing to remove the wreckage between J5 Sevenoaks and J6 Godstone.
Life at Britain’s ‘most dangerous junction’
One junction has been labelled UK’s ‘most dangerous’ after 13 crashes in less than two months.
M40 delayed due to collision
The M40 is also closed today after a road-traffic collision on the Southbound route to Wendlebury.
Heavy delays have been in place for the past hour, although normal traffic is gradually starting to resume.
Dartford Tunnel closed ‘all day’
The Dartford East tunnel on the A282 Northbound is shut ‘all day’ after a maintenence machine broke down inside the tunnel.
A National Highways spokesperson said: ‘The incident is causing severe delays on all approaches. Contractors are en-route to start the resurfacing works and will be completed as soon as possible.’
The diversion route is to follow the M25 clockwise, but this has also been impacted by last night’s lorry crash which has caused severe delays
M25 closed until midday
A number of diversions are in place across the M25 as emergency services continue to deal with the wreckage from this morning.
The motorway is expected to remainclosed until at least midday.
National Highways has said a separate incident closing the east tunnel at Dartford means the M26 diversion route is ‘severely congested’.
M25 remains closed after lorry crash
The M25 remains affected in both directions between J5 near Sevenoaks and J6 near Godstone, after a lorry caught fire yesterday evening, police have confirmed.
The anti-clockwise carriageway has re-opened, but lane 3 and 4 (of 4) remain closed within J6.
The clockwise carriageway remains closed, and is likely to until at least midday today (21 Oct), as specialist recovery is required and the road may need to be resurfaced.
Police have advised motorists to continue avoiding the area and to seek alternative routes.
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