Two years of ‘routine gridlock’ for Heathrow

London’s Heathrow airport is facing “routine gridlock” because of major road works planned for the M25, according to the AA. The Highways Agency has announced that it is to build another lane in each direction of the M25 between junctions 12 and 15 – the seven-mile stretch around the airport. Work on the stretch of road, which carries around 200,000 vehicles a day, will start on January 5 and is expected to last around two years. According to the Daily Telegraph, the Highways Agency is predicting delays, and is telling drivers to “be patient and considerate to others” during the time the work is being carried out. The AA, however, was more severe in its predictions: “Drivers will have to endure two years of even worse delays on what is already the most congested length of motorway in the country, if not Europe. There will be regular tailbacks on the M3 and M4, and there will be routine gridlock around Heathrow.”