M25 Road Widening Finished

18 June 2012, 15:14

After three years of work two road widening schemes on Britain's busiest motorway were completed today.

An extra, fourth lane has been added to the section of the M25 from junction 16 near Uxbridge in west London to junction 23 at South Mimms in Hertfordshire.

And the section between junction 27 at Epping in Essex and junction 30 at Thurrock in Essex also now has four lanes.

The widening projects have seen more than 11 million hours worked and the installation of 125 gantries.

Roads Minister Mike Penning said: 'The delivery of these major improvement schemes is part of the Government's £3 billion investment in the strategic road network. 

'Significantly, these improvements have been completed ahead of the London 2012 Games.

'Our motorways are the backbone of Britain, getting people to and from work, powering the economy and keeping families connected.

'Increasing capacity on the M25 will tackle congestion, help keep traffic moving and improve journey time reliability.'

Highways Agency Chief Executive Graham Dalton said: 'Congestion on our major roads is frustrating for road users, bad for the economy and damaging to the environment and that is why we are doing everything we can to tackle it.

'Overall these schemes will reduce congestion, improving the reliability of journey times and safety for road users.'

It is part of a £6.2 billion contract to build and operate schemes on the M25 and cost just £1 billion pounds for this part of the project.