Anyone planning to drive to London in the next week from the north would be best advised to look at routes including the M40 and A1 and expect significant delays.
Following Friday’s fire under a bridge near junction 2 of the M1, the motorway has remained closed southbound and has very restricted access northbound with lots of delays expected. Initial expectations that the affected bridge would be fixed by the weekend were today amended after extensive damage to the reinforced concrete was discovered.
The M1 is currently shut from J4 to J1 southbound and has 2 lanes open northbound, with the only possibility for southbound traffic being a contraflow using the northbound carriageway, although a decision on this hasn’t yet been taken.
Current estimates for reopening the southbound are anything from the end of this week, even into the following week right between the two sets of bank holidays. Train services around the site of the fire are no longer affected.
Video Updates: The BBC has a video of the state of the underside of the affected M1 bridge which to the untrained eye at least looks pretty serious with the concrete having been completely removed in places.
A video of the original fire from the air can be seen on the BBC M1 closure web page.
More London and M1 Links:
Traffic England web site – South East England
Things to see and do all over Britain
UK hotels
Self-catering in Britain
East Coast Railways
