M25 section in Surrey collapses following roadworks - 14 November 2014

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

M25 section in Surrey collapses following roadworks

Three lanes of the M25 have been closed after a section collapsed and left a large pothole, following roadworks.

Surrey Police said many vehicles had been left with damaged tyres after the road surface near Leatherhead fell in during heavy rain at about 05:30 GMT.

Highways workers cleared concrete debris from the anti-clockwise carriageway near junction nine.

Tailbacks of up to 16 miles have been reported with disruption expected through this evening's rush hour.

The Highways Agency said repairs could take until 22:00. Delays are currently about 60 minutes with queues back to junction 11 at Chertsey.

A Highways Agency spokesman said: "Concrete repairs being carried out overnight failed to set. Maintenance crews had been working overnight to replace three sections of concrete road surface between junctions nine and 10. One of these concrete sections disintegrated and another section was showing signs of distress. We have people on the site repairing these sections and we will reopen the closed lanes as soon as it is safe to do so."

Surrey Police said delays were expected to last for many hours. Among the thousands caught up in travel chaos are those heading to Gatwick. The West Sussex airport is urging travellers to allow extra time for their journeys.

National Express tweeted: "All services between Heathrow & Gatwick Airports suspended until further notice. We are moving customers via London to Gatwick & Brighton." The company has posted details of services that have been cancelled because of the M25 disruption on its website.


Part of the carriageway collapsed after overnight roadworks had been carried out

One resident who lives beside the M25 said her family heard "very large, odd thuds, a bit like thunder at about 05:30. At one point our house was shaking and a piece of plaster fell out of the ceiling," she said. "I don't know whether the thuds were the lorries hitting the hole or the road collapsing. It doesn't look enormous, but it is causing chaos."

A caller to BBC Surrey said she joined the M25 at Weybridge at 07:30 and by 10:45 had got as far as Cobham services. "We're going nowhere fast," she said. "Nobody is giving any information about what is going on, which is no help."

Alex Goodwill tweeted: "Punctures galore thanks to pothole on M25 at Leatherhead".

AA president Edmund King said: "The M25 really is the road to hell today. There must be a thorough investigation into this incident. It is disappointing that not only did the road fail, but it placed many drivers in danger and also reportedly damaged a number of vehicles. If this happened on the railways, passengers could claim compensation. As it has happened on the roads, drivers just have to put up with it."


The Highways Agency said maintenance work was carried out in the area overnight

_{(My highlighting. CfN.)}

[ChrisB]

And how would one prove that one was caught up (and for how long) in order to claim? It'll never happen like it does on the railways.

[paul7575]

Isn't a road 'pothole' a specific (and gradual) failure mechanism involving freezing water below the surface of asphalt?

Failure of newly poured concrete is almost certainly a major error by someone, but it isn't a pothole by any stretch of the imagination. Of course the entire national media have repeatedly reported it as such, probably copying some initial source...

Paul

[stuving]

Was it big enough to be a sinkhole? Probably not deep enough.

When I heard the first reports, which just said it collapsed after heavy rain, I did think the M25 had come over a bit dawlish. Later I realised it was imitating the railways, but rather in the sense of high-profile collateral damage due to overnight engineering works.

[Chris from Nailsea]

When I heard the first reports, which just said it collapsed after heavy rain, I did think the M25 had come over a bit dawlish..

Actually, stuving, that's exactly why I posted this topic - as an interesting comparison with all the kerfuffle over Dawlish. 

[John R]

And how would one prove that one was caught up (and for how long) in order to claim? It'll never happen like it does on the railways.

You could almost certainly claim on travel insurance (at least mine covers that type of delay).  It should be a no brainer to evidence the scale and extent of the delays.

[ChrisB]

A lot of drivers, knowing that compensation would be available, would go & join the queues just to get the money!

[TonyK]

Blimey, I left Gatwick at 10.00am yesterday and knew nothing of this. Having time, and Mrs FT,N! on my side, I elected for the pretty route home, but for which...