30 Facts About M25 motorway

1.

The 117-mile M25 motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest.

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2.

The Dartford Crossing completes the orbital route but is not classed as M25 motorway; it is classed as a trunk road and designated as the A282.

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3.

In some cases, including notable legal contexts such as the Communications Act 2003, the M25 motorway is used as a de facto alternative boundary for Greater London.

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4.

The M25 was one of the first motorway projects to consider environmental concerns and almost 40 public inquiries took place.

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5.

Since opening, the M25 motorway has been progressively widened, particularly near Heathrow Airport.

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6.

Primary destinations signed ahead on the M25 motorway include the Dartford Crossing, Sevenoaks, Gatwick Airport, Heathrow Airport, Watford, Stansted Airport and Brentwood.

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7.

The road is not under M25 motorway regulations so that other traffic can cross the Thames east of the Woolwich Ferry; the only crossing further to the east is a passenger ferry between Gravesend, Kent, and Tilbury, Essex.

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8.

At Junction 5, the clockwise carriageway of the M25 motorway is routed off the main north–south dual carriageway onto the main east–west dual carriageway with the main north–south carriageway becoming the A21.

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9.

From here to Junction 8, the M25 motorway follows the edge of the North Downs close to several historic buildings such as Chevening, Titsey Place, Hever Castle and Chartwell.

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10.

The interchange with the M23 M25 motorway near Reigate is a four-level stack; one of only a few examples in Britain.

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11.

The northern section of the M25 motorway passes close to All Saints Pastoral Centre near London Colney, Waltham Abbey and Copped Hall.

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12.

The north-eastern section of the motorway passes close to North Ockendon, the only settlement of Greater London situated outside the M25.

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13.

Those on the M25 motorway are Clacket Lane between Junctions 5 and 6 and Cobham between Junctions 9 and 10 .

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14.

When completed, the M25 motorway only had street lighting for 65 miles of its 117-mile length.

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15.

The M25 motorway has a number of pollution control valves along its length, which can shut off drainage in the event of a chemical or fuel spill.

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16.

The northern sections of the M25 motorway follow a similar route to the Outer London Defence Ring, a concentric series of anti-tank defences and pillboxes designed to slow down a potential German invasion of the capital during World War II.

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17.

None of the M25 motorway was prevented from being built by objections at the public inquiries.

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18.

In 1975, following extensive opposition to some parts of Ringway 3 through Middlesex and South London, the transport minister John Gilbert announced that the north section of Ringway 3 already planned would be combined with the southern section of Ringway 4, forming a single orbital motorway to be known as the M25, and the M16 designation was dropped.

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19.

The route under the Chalfont Viaduct meant the M25 motorway was restricted to a width of three lanes in each direction.

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20.

The plans to expand junction 10, where the M25 motorway meets the A3, have resulted in concerns about the amount of woodland that would be required.

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21.

Traffic on the M25 motorway is monitored by Connect Plus Services on behalf of National Highways.

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22.

M25 motorway operates a series of transportable CCTV cameras that can be easily moved into congestion hotspots, allowing operators to have a clear view of the motorway and so assess what might be done to tackle particular areas of congestion.

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23.

Since 1995, sections of the M25 motorway have been equipped with variable speed limits, which slow traffic in the event of congestion or an obstruction, and help manage the traffic flow.

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24.

The M25 motorway Three, including Raphael Rowe, were tried and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1990.

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25.

M25 motorway was convicted in 2000 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

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26.

M25 motorway has had problems with animals and birds on the carriageway.

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27.

In 2021, several sections of the M25 motorway were disrupted after the home energy and insulation campaign group Insulate Britain blocked junctions including Nos.

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28.

M25 motorway plays a role in the comedy-fantasy novel Good Omens, as "evidence for the hidden hand of Satan in the affairs of Man".

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29.

M25 enjoyed a more positive reputation among ravers in the late 1980s, when this new orbital motorway became a popular route to the parties that took place around the outskirts of London.

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30.

M25 motorway has been criticised for having too many junctions; 14 of them serve only local roads.

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