30 Years Of The M25

[237SJ]

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/britains-most-hated-motorway-the-m25-turns-30-years-old-a3381706.html It`s a pain but what would we have done without it?

[Old_Geezer]

Those who don't like it probably have no experience of the queues on the A roads before it was built.

That said it is a trap run with cameras all over the place and a game of "let's reduce the limit we are applying for no particular reason", and lanes that become run offs for the next junction if you don't pay particular attention.

[ummmm]

I've never driven on it.

[Prudie]

I've driven on it quite a lot over the years, only the south section from M3 round to Dartford crossing and have only had really bad hold-ups about three times. I think it's over maligned.

[naomi24]

//It`s a pain but what would we have done without it? //

Created gridlock on other roads. I've driven on the M25 countless times, mostly without a problem.

[mikey4444]

I don't hate it at all !

I can remember those occasions, in the 1970's, when we had to make a trek all the way to Gatwick every winter, to go skiing. Without the M25, that journey from South Wales would take hours and involve numerous roundabouts !

When it is flowing,, its wonderful, just like any other Motorway, but it isn't alone in being busy and jammed. In South Wales yesterday, there was a 12 mile jam, caused by an accident, and that happens every few days.

[mushroom25]

//we had to make a trek all the way to Gatwick every winter, to go skiing //

you didn't "have" to do anything of the sort, with a perfectly good regional airport just the other side of the severn bridge. rather, you (like many others) preferred to save a few bob on a flight from a major centre, but conveniently ignoring the cost of the lengthy journey......

[Prudie]

I'm fairly sure all those regional airports weren't open in the 70s mushroom. When I lived in Kent and came home to Dorset in the 70s none of the M25 was open. It took flaming ages to get across south London to the M3. I recall I followed signs to Heathrow to get there (coming out near Kingston) and signs to Gatwick (coming out near Redhill) to get back. It was at least an hour and a half through the suburbs.

[Baldric]

//Without the M25, that journey from South Wales would take hours and involve numerous roundabouts ! //

I think you've said you're near/in Swansea so the journey to Gatwick would be 200+ miles, only 25-30 of them being M25, unless you went the long way around, sure you're not thinking of the M4?

[mushroom25]

//I'm fairly sure all those regional airports weren't open in the 70s mushroom//

Bristol airport was opened in the 1950s and by the end of the 1970s was home to more than 15 charter airlines.

[mikey4444]

Mush....100% wrong !

In the early 60's, 70's and early 80's, there were no flights to the skiing airports, like Munich, Geneva, Milan, etc, etc. All the ski holiday companies used DanAir, or its equvalents and if you wanted to travel to Europe in the winter months, you had no choice but to use Gatwick. Cardiff and Bristol were small, regional airports back then, and only really came into their own in the summer months.

That situation persisted for years, for winter sun destinations as well. Its only comparatively lately, that Bristol and Cardiff have been offering a full winter service.

I know this because I made that journey every winter for over 20 years. If you wanted to go by public transport,, it was even worse, as you had no choice but to use the train, get to Gatwick late in the evening, and sleep in the airport, ready for your early morning flight to the snow the next morning, another thing I did more times than I care to remember.

I used to take small parties of lads, mostly the Scouts, and keeping them occupied through the long journey and sometimes night was a pain in the A*** !

[TWR]

The M25 was outdated the day they opened it. with 9 other Motorways linked to it without A Roads.

[Baldric]

Fair enough!

[rockyracoon]

I live on top of the M25, so, I use it quite a lot, usually without incident. However, I do drive over one of the bridges every morning and have noticed that since the introduction of hard shoulderless 'smart' motorways, the traffic comes to a standstill during rush hour much more often, it seems to happen about 3-4 times a week. I'm glad I don't have to drive on it at that particular time.

[PankySmooch]

I drive over it most days on the A10 and there always seem to be accidents on that stretch between Jnc 24 & 26

[TWR]

Motorway accident are caused, there is nothing wrong with them, it's the driver
that needs educating.

[twix123]

Having just driven over one of the approach roads to the Dartford Tunnel, today is a comparatively quiet day, with only about a one mile queue of traffic.

I'm glad that I no longer have my 3 day a week return commute from junction 1b to junction 25 or 26; since the authorities did away with the toll booths the crossing using the bridge is easier, but going north through the tunnels has become a nightmare, with any incident, or closure of the bridge through high winds, causing complete gridlock around Dartford and the surrounding area. Getting a new crossing east of Gravesend is a necessity, connecting the M2 from Dover directly into the main motorway network and relieving the pressure on the A2/M25/Dartford Crossing pinch points. It can be quite frightening when you see some of the continental juggernauts trying to use country lanes and residential roads in order to reach the tunnel whenever there are problems with the crossing!