M25 chaos: 'Multi-vehicle collision' forces lane closures and lengthy delays near Heathrow Airport
Traffic conditions are not expected to return to normal until around 10.45am
NATIONAL HIGHWAYS
Drivers looking to go on holiday today could be hit with lengthy delays when heading to the airport following a serious accident on the M25.
National Highways: South-East has issued an urgent warning for motorists, with delays of more than an hour currently expected.
Posting on social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, the organisation said there had been a multi-vehicle collision, forcing two lanes of the M25 anticlockwise at J13 Hythe Head (A30) to close.
It confirmed that emergency services are on the scene and recovery vehicles are on their way to the incident.
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Recovery vehicles can be seen transporting the impacted cars and vans away
NATIONAL HIGHWAYS
The road traffic collision is still active, with National Highways estimating that there are currently delays of 50 minutes against expected traffic.
Estimates state that the event is expected to clear between 10.30am and 10.45am and normal traffic conditions will not return until around 10.45.
Maps of the area show that traffic is not moving on the A30 near London Heathrow Airport, with slow-moving traffic on adjoining roads.
A handful of other incidents are present along the M25, including a broken down vehicle causing delays of 50 minutes between J16 and J15 anticlockwise.
National Highways estimates that normal traffic conditions should return between 9.30am and 9.45am as drivers face delays when heading to work this morning.
There is also congestion between J16 and J13 with one lane closed following the vehicle breakdown with stretches of the A4007 seeing traffic halted.
While drivers in the surrounding areas will be stuck on the M25 with closed lanes and slow-moving traffic, the approach to Heathrow Airport along the A312 has normal levels of traffic.
The National Highways traffic map shows vehicles are moving freely as thousands look to jet off for their holidays.
This comes after the "weekend of woe", where the RAC estimated that there would be four million getaways planned between Friday, July 26, and Sunday, July 28.
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Emergency services attended the scene following the incident
NATIONAL HIGHWAYS
The motoring organisation warned that the 2024 getaway for families following schools breaking up for the summer holidays was the busiest weekend since 2022, with 13.9 million trips being taken.
Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at INRIX, said: “Drivers should expect long queues on major roads when heading to and from their destinations during this summer getaway."