Roadworks lifted ahead of Easter to help journey times

National Highways is lifting thousands of miles of roadworks for the Easter bank holiday weekend in an attempt to ease congestion on the country’s roads.

It comes after the RAC warned fleets and their drivers to expect delays of more than an hour around London and routes to and from the West Country over the Easter weekend.  

Analysis by the RAC and traffic analytics specialists Inrix suggests that this year’s Easter bank holiday weekend could be the busiest since 2022 – the first full getaway after Covid lockdowns – with more than 19 million leisure journeys planned.

The Department for Transport (DfT) says that National Highways will lift 1,127 miles of roadworks over the bank holiday.

As a result, it estimates that around 97.5% of major roads across England will be completely free from roadworks.

Andrew Butterfield, National Highways director of operational services, said: “We expect the roads to be busy with people looking to make the most of a long Easter weekend. That’s why we are making journeys easier by removing a huge number of roadworks.”

Significant routes to benefit from roadworks being lifted or completed in time for the Easter getaway, include more than 130 miles of roadworks on the M25, 100-plus miles on the M1, between London and Chesterfield, and around 70 miles on the A27, between Polegate, East Sussex and Havant, Hampshire.

Roadworks will also be lifted on a nine-mile stretch on the A34, between Oxford and Winchester, almost 50 miles on the M27, between Southampton and Portsmouth, and more than 45 miles on the M4, between Hayes and Hungerford

Further roadworks being lifted will include 44 miles on the M2, between Rochester and Faversham, 37 miles on the A303 near Andover, and 31 miles on the A47, between Great Yarmouth and Peterborough (see list of other roadworks being lifted below).

Research from Inrix suggests traffic will be equally severe on Thursday (April 18), Good Friday (April 19) and Saturday (April 20), with drivers planning around 2.7m trips every day during that period. 

The number of trips planned drops slightly on Easter Sunday to 2.5m, before increasing again to a further 2.7m on bank holiday Monday as millions of people return home – ahead of most school terms beginning the next day. 

A further 6.2m journeys are anticipated at some point over the Easter bank holiday weekend, but drivers planning these trips are still unsure exactly when they will travel.

Inrix expects Thursday to be the worst day for traffic when jams are likely to increase by nearly a third (30%) more than usual. 

On this day, it is predicting delays of more than an hour on the 35-mile clockwise stretch of the M25 between J7 for Gatwick Airport and J16 for the M40 to the West Midlands, around 11.45am. 

The M6 north of Chester and M25 clockwise towards Godstone in Surrey could also see long delays in the evening.

Meanwhile, on Good Friday, the lengthiest hold-ups are expected between 11am to 1pm, meaning drivers are advised to start their trips as early as possible in the morning or delay them until later in the afternoon. 

Two popular routes to the West Country – the A303 westbound to Stonehenge and the M5 southbound between J15 at the RAC tower north of Bristol and J23 for Bridgwater – could be affected by some of the longest jams, with journey times extending to 43 minutes and one hour 20 minutes respectively – more than half as long as usual. 

For those returning from the West Country on Easter Monday (April 21), delays of nearly an hour (58 minutes) are expected around 2:30pm on the M5 northbound between J25 for Taunton and J16 at the RAC tower. 

Elsewhere, the M25 anticlockwise between J4 from Bromley and the Dartford Crossing will be hit with queues at lunchtime, with journeys taking over half an hour longer than normal. 

RAC breakdown spokesperson Alice Simpson said: “With a ‘hat-trick of hold-ups’ expected on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the lifting of roadworks should help ease journeys to popular destinations like the West Country, the south coast and East Anglia.”

Further roadworks to be lifted

o    M6 J35 (near Carnforth) 0.8 miles
o    A63 North Cave to Western Interchange (near Hull) 15 miles 
o    M1 J25 (near Nottingham) 5 miles
o    M1 J24a to J23 (near Loughborough) 5 miles
o    M1 J20 to J21 (near Leicester) 5 miles 
o    M1 J18 (near Rugby) 2 miles
o    M1 J16 to J19 (near Rugby) 5 miles
o    A42 M42 J11 to M1 to J23a (near Loughborough) 5 miles 
o    A38 to Ripley (near Derby) 5 miles 
o    A38 Pinxton (near Mansfield) 5 miles 
o    A38 Markeaton to Hartsay (near Derby) 5 miles 
o    A52 Priory to Dunkirk (near Nottingham) 5 miles 
o    A5 Watford (near Rugby) 0.25 miles 
o    A46 Swinderby (near Newark) 5 miles 
o    A1 Wothorpe to Stretton (near Stamford) 5miles 
o    A1 Stretton to Easton (near Stamford) 5 miles 
o    A1 Stamford to Harlaxton (near Grantham) 5 miles 
o    A1 Little Ponton to Foston (near Grantham) 5 miles 
o    A1 Apleyhead to Newark 5 miles 
o    M40/A43 J10 (near Ardley) 5 miles 
o    A43 Towcester to Brackley (near Northampton) 5 miles 
o    A43 Brackley to Towcester (near Northampton) 5 miles 
o    A47 from Peterborough to King's Lynn 2 miles 
o    A47 from Acle to Great Yarmouth 7 miles
o    A421 Marston Moretaine (near Bedford) 0.5 miles 
o    A11 from A134 to London Road Roundabout (near Thetford) 1 mile 
o    A11 from Six Mile Bottom to Stumps Cross (near Cambridge) 0.5 miles 
o    A14 Jct 32 (near Cambridge) 0.5 miles
o    A14 Jct 31 to Jct 36 (near Cambridge) 3 miles
o    A120 from Braintree to Marks Tey (near Colchester) 8 miles 
o    A120 from Braintree to Stansted 0.5 miles 
o    A30 Daisymount to Turks Head (near Honiton) 6.2 miles
o    A38 Saltash Tunnel 2.5 miles