Hugh Grant is among dozens of motorists stuck in heavy traffic on the A3 motorway in west London for up to five hours.
While the M25 suffered from typical bank holiday weekend congestion, the A3 was particularly problematic all Friday afternoon; The British actor took to Twitter to implore TfL to bring some clarity to the chaos.
National Highways has warned of delays of up to 120 minutes on the A3 northern boundary between the A244 junction at Esher and the A309 junction at Chessington.
For safety reasons we have had to close two lanes of the A3 to the Tolworth underpass for urgent repairs. Unfortunately, serious delays still exist. We monitor the situation and see that traffic is flowing, albeit slowly. We apologize for the delay.
— TfL (@TfL) May 24, 2024
One angry driver sarcastically tweeted: “Thank you for ruining Friday for thousands of people today. We were stuck in traffic on the A3 for over 4 hours but couldn’t find any workers! Unbelievable.”
Previously, an accident involving a car and a motorcycle on the M25 motorway closed two lanes of the motorway, causing drivers to be delayed for a long time.
Just after 4pm Transport for London reported ‘serious delays’ on the Elizabeth line. Technicians are currently fixing the signal fault in Ilford.
Follow the latest updates below…
Overhanging tree branch causes rail chaos between London St Pancras and Luton
18:34 , Anthony France
Trains between London St Pancras International and Luton may be canceled or delayed.
A tree branch caught on overhead power lines in St Albans means some lines are blocked.
The outage is expected to last until 20:00 in the evening.
A Network Rail team is making plans to remove the branch in the area.
Angry driver on A3 locked in London for ‘more than five hours’
18:20 , Anthony France
A motorist said he had been stranded on London’s A3 motorway for five hours.
Musawir Idrees posted an emoji showing his anger on his old Twitter account, X: “I’ve been stuck in #A3 traffic for the last 5 hours. Roadworks.”
Furious actor Hugh Grant was trapped in the A3 with his children for three hours
17:10 , Anthony France
Notting Hill and Love Actually star Hugh Grant complained about being trapped in a car on the A3 with his children for several hours.
The 63-year-old actor posted to Transport for London on his old Twitter account, X: “Any chance of an update on the situation on the A3 near Tolworth?
“We are now entering our third hour of near-static traffic congestion. And the long red line is still ahead. And there is no way out. The kids are in the car.”
TfL responded: “For safety purposes we have had to close two lanes of the A3 to the Tolworth underpass for urgent repairs.
“Unfortunately, there are still serious delays. We are monitoring the situation and see that traffic is moving, albeit slowly. We apologize for the delay.”
Hello @TfL Any chance of an update on the situation on the A3 near Tolworth? We are now entering our third hour of near-static traffic congestion. And the long red line is still ahead. And there is no way out. The kids are in the car.
— Hugh Grant (@HackedOffHugh) May 24, 2024
Transport for London reports ‘serious delays’ on Elizabeth line
16:25 , Will Mata
Transport for London reported ‘serious delays’ on the Elizabeth line.
Technicians are currently fixing the signal fault in Ilford.
Traffic into Essex with M25 lane closure
16:12 , Will Mata
There are currently delays on the M25 clockwise from J27 M11 to J28 A12 (Brentwood / Brook Street Roundabout).
Lanes are closed due to construction area.
Traffic increases as the public holiday weekend approaches
16:09 , Will Mata
There is an increasing amount of traffic on the M25 as motorists look for a getaway before the long weekend.
Much of the M25 is now clogged with long queues, particularly seen at Surrey and Potters pubs.
Lan closures are clockwise from J21A A405 North Orbital Road (St Albans) to J23 A1(M) J1 (Mimms South). There are also long queues around the Dartford Pass heading towards Essex and Kent.
Delays continue on main roads
15:23 , Will Mata
There are anti-clockwise delays on the M25 from J8 A217 Brighton Road (Reigate) to J6 A22 (Godstone). Travel time is 20 minutes and lanes will be closed after J6.
There are also still significant delays on the London-bound A3 line from the A243 Hook Road (Hook Junction) to Tolworth Roundabout. While the highways teams were completing the work, the intensity at the Esher Exit was experienced again.
Lanes now open on the M25 near Leatherhead
14:36 , Will Mata
The clockwise collision on the M25 between junctions 9 and 10 has now been cleared and all lanes are open.
But delays of up to 45 minutes remain, resulting in traffic congestion for about five miles.
‘Busiest day for airports since 2009’
14:32 , Will Mata
Aviation analytics company Cirium said Friday was the busiest day of the year for UK airports since October 2019, with more than 3,150 departures.
A total of 8,486 flights, equivalent to more than 1.5 million seats, are planned to operate between Saturday and Monday.
The most popular international destinations for UK departures are Dublin, Amsterdam, Palma, Alicante and Malaga.
More than 20 million car trips will be made this weekend
14:29 , Will Mata
Motoring services company RAC has predicted that more than 20 million leisure trips will be made by car from Friday to bank holiday Monday.
The worst day to travel is likely to be Friday, as the start of the long weekend coincides with the start of the half-term break for many schools.
Transport analytics company Inrix warned that clockwise journeys on the M25 between Junction 7 for the M23 and Junction 21 for the M1 were expected to be delayed by more than 90 minutes on Friday afternoon.
Two lanes closed on the M25 near Leatherhead
14:25 , Will Mata
Two of the four lanes are closed to a broken-down car clockwise on the M25 between J9 (Leatherhead) and J10 (M3).
There is healing on the way.
There are delays of up to 45 minutes and approximately five miles of traffic jams on approach.
2 of 4 lanes are closed #M25 clockwise J9 (#leatherhead) and J10 (#M3) due to a broken down car.
Rescue on the road.
Delays on approach up to 45 minutes, approx. 5 kilometers of traffic jam. pic.twitter.com/q9DLXiT1zN
— National Highways: Southeast (@HighwaysSEAST) May 24, 2024
Overground now provides a good service
14:22 , Will Mata
London Overground was partially suspended on Friday but is now operating a good service.
Transport for London said there were serious delays between Surrey Quays and Clapham Junction. But these are now clear.
‘There may be more traffic on the M20 this weekend’
13:43 , Will Mata
National Highways has warned motorists to allow more time if they travel to Kent this weekend.
The agency said there could be more traffic on the M20 if reverse flow existed.
“Please allow extra time for your journey,” the tweet added.
One lane is closed on the M25 near Staines
13:17 , Will Mata
One lane of the M25 motorway was closed counterclockwise due to a lorry having its tyre changed.
The motorway will be affected immediately following J11 (A320 St Peters Way (Chertsey)).
There is congestion at J13 Staines behind the M3. In the first lane (of four lanes).
Disruption expected between Surrey Quays and Clapham Junction until 2pm
12:55 , Sami Quadri
A breakdown on a train on Clapham High Street means all lines are disrupted.
As a result, trains running between Surrey Quays and Clapham Junction may be canceled or revised.
The outage is expected to continue until 14:00.
Serious delays at London Overground
12:16 , Sami Quadri
There are serious delays on the London Overground between Surrey Quays and Clapham Junction due to a faulty train that occurred earlier on Clapham High Street. All other routes have good service.
Vehicle crashing into bridge in Waterloo caused delays
11:25 , Will Mata
Trains were delayed entering and exiting London Waterloo after a vehicle crashed into the bridge.
The outage is expected to last until 14:00.
All lines are open.
“Train services to and from this station may be cancelled, postponed or revised,” National Rail said.
Affected routes include London Waterloo and Windsor & Eton Riverside/Shepperton/Chessington South/Hampton Court/Alton/Guildford/Weybridge/Dorking/Reading/Basingstoke/Salisbury/Haslemere/Portsmouth & Southsea/Portsmouth Port/Weymouth/Exeter St Davids and also London Waterloo circular services.
All lanes are now open on the Epping section of the M25
10:20 , Will Mata
All lanes are now open on the section of the M25 that was partially closed following the collision.
Two lanes were closed between J27 (M11/Epping) and J26 (Waltham Abbey) following a counterclockwise collision between a car and a motorbike.
Delays of less than 10 minutes continue.
Aboveground part suspended
10:11 , Will Mata
Transport for London said the Overground was partially suspended on Friday.
As of 10.10am, there is no service between Surrey Quays and Clapham Junction and a broken train is being repaired at Clapham High Street.
A good service is available on all other London Overground routes.
Collision causes delays on M25
10:07 , Will Mata
An accident involving a car and a motorcycle on the M25 motorway closed two lanes of the motorway, causing long delays for motorists.
Queues are forming along the anti-clockwise section from junction 27 for the M11 and from junction 26 to Epping for Waltham Priory.
Two hour delay on A3
09:58 , Will Mata
National Highways has warned motorists of two-hour delays on the A3.
There is traffic congestion for around three miles as highways crews respond to ongoing TfL works in west London.
The agency tweeted that delays were being felt between the A244 junction at Esher and the A309 junction at Chessington.