Counting cones, not sheep: 277,00 motorway night closures since 2020

Data obtained by Parkers from National Highways has shown the shocking scale of motorway night closures afflicting British motorists. From the start of 2020 until the end of 2024, there were 277,653 closures affecting driver's journeys, making them late home and delaying deliveries. To put that number in context, 277,653 is equivalent to 760 years' worth of nights.

Reasons for closures included carriageway repairs, smart motorway installation, survey works, even grass cutting. In some cases, only slip roads were closed, restricting access to the motorway affected. However, in the majority of case a whole carriageway was shut to facilitate the work, sometimes both carriageways.

Analysis of the data showed that the M25 and M1 consistently had the most closure-causing works, but the M1 actually suffered the most nights of closures by a big margin - nearly 45,000 during the time period we looked at. There is some good news, though: the total number of nights during which closures were in place has fallen from 58,000 in 2020 to 49,000 in 2024. And the number of events that cause a night closure to be in place for an entire year has fallen dramatically, from 54 in 2020 to just eight in 2024.

Where did the data come from?

The data seen by Parkers was obtained by Freedom of Information request from National Highways, the agency responsible for operating the UK's road network.

The data provided covered closures on motorways and A-roads between 20:00 and 06:00 in each year from 2020 to 2024. 4

British motorways were closed for a total of over 277,000 nights between 2020 and 2024.

Taking out dual-carriageway A-roads, duplicates and incomplete data reduced the initial 320,000 lines of data to 19,600 closure-causing works. We then analysed that data to find which roads suffered the most closures and the most common causes of them.

To reiterate, the data we have isn't definitive, but it gives a pretty accurate picture of what's going on.

How many motorway night closures were there?

In 2020, there were 3,856 works that necessitated a night closure somewhere on the British motorway network, totalling 57,906 nights - that's 158 years' worth of nights.

2023 marks the low point in our data, with 46,887 nights of closures, but there was an increase of around 400 nights in 2024. Interestingly, though the total number of nights of closures has been trending down, the number of closure-causing works has actually increased by over 600 since 2020, with a particularly big spike up between 2023 and 2024. The data suggests the spike was caused by big increases in barrier repairs and horticultural works.

The table below clearly shows the trends that come out of the data.

Total number of night closures on UK motorways, 2020 to 2024

20202021202220232024Total no. of closures3,8563,8094,0334,4684,667Total nights of closures57,90655,72349,82746,88749,252Av. length of closure15.02 nights14.63 nights12.35 nights10.49 nights10.50 nightsNo. whole-year closures54342286

Which motorways had the most closures?

The M25 comes out on top for having the most works that caused night closures, with 3,810 in place from 2020 to 2024. By contrast the second-placed M1 had 1,788 night closures - less than half as many. The M6, M5 and M40 fill out the rest of the top five.

However, if we look at the total number of nights of closures, the M1 is way in front on 44,619. That's an average of 25 nights per closure-causing works. The M6 comes in second on just under 33,000 nights, while the M25 is way behind in third on 12,000.

Why is the M1 so far ahead? Because it had by far the most closures in place for an entire year, including 11 in 2020 alone. 4

Reasons for motorway night closures include everything from bridge construction to tree planting.

The data also showed a closure on the M1 in Northamptonshire for smart motorway installation was in place for an astonishing 1,717 nights, from October 2018 to August 2023.

Carriageway repairs were the leading cause of closures on the M25, M1 and M6; electrical and drainage works caused most closures on the M5 and M40. The table below shows the data discussed above; the second table gives a year-by-year breakdown of the three most-closed roads.

UK motorways with the most night closures, 2020 to 2024

RoadClosure eventsTotal nights of closuresAv. length of closureLongest closureMost common causeM253,81012,033380Carriageway reconstruction or repairM11,78844,619251,717Carriageway reconstruction or repairM61,59632,738211,226Carriageway reconstruction or repairM51,4469,62671,048Electrical worksM401,3163,3853321Drainage works

UK motorways with the most night closures by year, 2020 to 2024

20202021202220232024M25816 closures2,684 nightsM25625 closures2,121 nightsM25776 closures2,322 nightsM25875 closures2,663 nightsM25790 closures2,556 nightsM1333 closures7,047 nightsM1358 closures7,742 nightsM1389 closures7,339 nightsM1412 closures7,627 nightsM1405 closures7,545 nightsM5329 closures2,245 nightsM6334 closures4,649 closuresM6348 closures4,587 nightsM40349 closures843 nightsM6375 closures4,416 nights

Where are the closures happening?

National Highways' South East region had the most night closures in each of the five years from 2020 to 2024, often by a big margin, hovering around the 1,000-1,300 mark. That's unsurprising as the area includes the M25 and M4, both of which are among the most frequently closed motorways.

The North West was second across the five years - the region's main motorway, the M6, was consistently the third most frequently closed. The Midlands, North East, South West and London regions feature in the remainder of the top five throughout the 2020 to 2024 period. They incorporate most of the UK's major motorways including stretches of the M1, M5, M6, M40 and M42.

Smart motorway and other infrastructure works were in place on all those roads during the period of our data.

What's causing the closures?

What National Highways categorises as carriageway reconstruction/repair was the leading cause of night closures on British motorways every year from 2020 to 2024. That's includes work such as pothole repairs, resurfacing and some aspects of Smart motorway installation. Barrier and fence repairs ranked second in each year, except 2023 when electrical works exceeded it.

Barrier works include making repairs after a crash and installing new barriers. Electrical works often relate to Smart motorways and changing bulbs in street lighting. Inspections and surveying, grass and hedge cutting, installing and cleaning drainage and updating communications systems were among other leading causes of closures.

4

Ensuring the safety of workers is the primary reason for motorway night closures.

What does National Highways say about the situation?

In a statement given to Parkers, National Highways said: 'With more than 4 million journeys taking place daily, we are responsible for maintaining over 4,500 miles of motorways and major A-roads. We have a robust programme of improvements which will provide long-term benefits for motorists. 'We plan our roadworks extremely carefully to minimise disruption, which is why work is often carried out at night when traffic flows are at their lowest.

We also share real time data with journey planning providers so drivers can check before they travel and prepare for any signed diversions.' Information about planned road closures is available on the National Highways website[1].

Expert's view: There are simply too many night closures

In 2025, I had to divert around four carriageway closures on a journey up the A1 from Peterborough to Wetherby. In 2024, I encountered three closures while heading up north from Dover.

In 2022, I was forced off the M1 in twice within 15 miles. In all these cases, there was no clear diversion route around the closure, and I ended up going miles out of my way as Google Maps flailed about trying to find a way back on track. This happened late at night when I was very tired and desperate to get home to my bed.

In the trip from Dover, the disruption added about two hours to my journey. My experience is hardly unique. While motorways are much quieter at night, circa 50,000 closures will affect tens of millions of journeys every year.

I think that's far too many. It costs time and money, people take longer to get to their beds, goods take longer to be delivered. The lack of clear diversions suitable for all traffic is a particular problem.

I found myself on unfamiliar roads - narrow country lanes in some cases - which were much more difficult to drive on. In one case, I found myself behind an artic lorry on a single-track road. There are perfectly good reasons behind most night closures on motorways, but the sheer volume of them does call into question whether they're all completely necessary.

Surely there must be a better way of managing traffic around works - restricted lanes, reduced speed limits? And if not, properly planned, clearly signposted diversion routes suitable for all traffic must be implemented. Better communication about upcoming closures is vital, too, even if it's just more signage at the roadside.

Graham King - Senior Staff Writer

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References

1. ^ the National Highways website (nationalhighways.co.uk)
2. ^ read why you should trust us (www.parkers.co.uk)