Drivers on the clockwise M25 faced traffic chaos after a multi-vehicle crash between junction 24 and junction 25 shut one of four lanes and brought part of the motorway to a standstill.
Emergency services rushed to the scene on the stretch between Potters Bar and Waltham Cross, where motorway camera footage showed traffic at a complete standstill. National Highways East said the incident was causing delays of 52 minutes and 8 miles of congestion on the approach.
The M25 is the UK's busiest motorway, and even a single lane closure on its clockwise side can quickly spread disruption across a wide area. In this case, the jam built on the section between junction 24 at Potters Bar and junction 25 at Waltham Cross, with drivers trapped in slow-moving queues before the situation began to ease.
National Highways later said all lanes had reopened, but the road did not clear immediately. It reported residual delays of 30 minutes and 3 miles of congestion on the approach, a reminder that the effects of a crash can linger long after the vehicles are moved and the lane count returns to normal.
That gap between reopening and recovery is what drivers on the M25 know all too well. The motorway may have been back to full capacity, but the tailback was still working its way down, and the rest of the evening commute was left to absorb the knock-on effect.
