More than 1,000 miles of UK roadworks will be removed to avoid Christmas travel chaos

More than 1,000 miles of roadworks are to be removed across the UK in a bid to avoid travel chaos this Christmas.

With the festive season practically here, and nearly 40% of drivers said to be planning long journeys across the country to spend time with their loved ones this Christmas, National Highways has announced that it’ll be removing more than 1,100 miles of roadworks.

The roadworks are being removed from motorways and major A-roads nationwide in a bid to help minimise disruption during peak travel times.

This means that, from 6am on Friday 20 December up until 12.01am on Thursday 2 January, more than 95% of roadworks will be lifted to help make sure major routes across the UK are clear for motorists during the busy festive period.

Some of the significant routes set to benefit from roadworks being lifted or completed for the festive period include more than 100 miles of roadworks on the M25 London orbital, 59 miles of roadworks on the A14 between Thrapston in Northamptonshire to Felixstowe in Suffolk, and more than 33 miles of roadworks across the A47 from Peterborough to Lowestoft.

A grand total of 11 miles of roadworks are to be removed in the North West, which is… useful.

Friday 20 December is expected to be the busiest day on the roads over the festive period, according to National Highways.

It’s estimated that 7.2 million people are planning journeys of more than two hours on this day.

Because of this, drivers are being encouraged to plan ahead for their journeys and prepare for all weather eventualities too by packing a winter travel kit that includes de-icer, an ice scraper, warm clothing, boots, food, water, a torch, and a snow shovel.

“With more people expected to travel during the festive period and recent storms causing widespread disruption, it’s crucial for drivers to plan ahead and exercise extra caution on the roads,” commented Andrew Butterfield, who is the Customer Service Director of National Highways.

Read more:

• More than 100 new ‘ultra’ speed cameras have been installed across Greater Manchester
• The Mancunian Way speed limit could be permanently dropped from 50mph to 30mph
• Manchester Airport trains cancelled more than any other UK airport during Christmas season

To help make journeys smoother, we’re removing roadworks on 95% of the roads we manage.”

Featured Image – National Highways (via Facebook)