Heathrow unveil plans to upgrade UK’s busiest motorway as part of third runway proposal

Heathrow unveil plans to upgrade UK's busiest motorway as part of third runway proposal.Credit: Heathrow Airport

Transcript

00:00The M25 near Heathrow.

00:04It's one of Europe's busiest, most complex stretches of road.

00:08Every day, nearly a quarter of a million journeys converge here.

00:12Long-distance journeys, including freight,

00:16local commuters, and international travellers,

00:20all sharing the same space.

00:24This creates a level of demand that tests the network to its limits every day.

00:28So how do we build a new runway directly over this vital national artery?

00:34We understand people may be concerned this could cause congestion or delays.

00:39Following previous consultation with national highways,

00:42we have developed a smarter solution.

00:45We build the future right next to the present.

00:49The vast majority of construction happens offline.

00:53A new, realigned section of the M25 is built on adjacent land,

00:58while the current motorway operates as normal.

01:01And the tunnels and bridges for a new runway are constructed

01:04whilst minimising impact on the airport or existing motorway.

01:08Then, in a series of carefully planned overnight operations, we make the switch.

01:14Traffic is transferred onto the new alignment with minimal disruption to journeys.

01:20Our approach also ensures that local traffic and access for surrounding communities are kept moving with minimal disruption.

01:31This frees up the old route of the M25, creating a safe, traffic-free zone to build the final parts of the runway.

01:39The result is an upgraded and expanded M25.

01:43Crucially, New Link Road separate M4 traffic movements from the M25 mainline journeys, easing congestion and creating a safer motorway.

01:55We will continue to work closely with national highways to finalise the details of our plans.

02:01We wear the lens of the M25 and all linkage numbers,

02:03But not only the parameters of apaket...

02:05them even of the N

02:13light-off chart bands up of the M25,

02:15As you can see, theadel 720 would keep following the하시는