M25 at 40: Keeping UK's busiest motorway moving

Sometimes referred to as "The Road to Hell" or "Europe's largest car park", the M25 remains an essential part of Britain's transport network.

Since it officially opened on 29 October 1986, many workers over the years have contributed to the establishment and maintenance of the UK's busiest motorway.

Chris Nutton, traffic officer for National Highways, said: "We have days when it runs very smoothly and we have days when all hell can break loose."

His colleague Esther Martin added that aside from dealing with daily incidents like vehicle breakdowns, they have encountered some unexpected ones like bolting horses.

Nutton recalled a driver discarding a lit cigarette from a car window and unwittingly setting ablaze the lorry load of hay bales behind them.

He added there were instances of drivers falling asleep while stuck in traffic jams and an extraordinary array of items strewn across the tarmac.

"During the festive period we have previously come across presents that have fallen out of car roof boxes and spread across the carriageway," Martin added.

"Sometimes we have been able to reunite them with owners, but sometimes they've ended up under lorry wheels."

Martin said on other occasions, items including wheelbarrows, bicycles, canoes and even a longbow were found.

Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher cut the ribbon to mark the completion of the M25 on 29 October 1986, hailing it as a "magnificent achievement".

The 117-mile motorway, which runs through Kent, Surrey, Greater London, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex, quickly attracted huge numbers of motorists.

This has led to chronic congestion despite decades of efforts to keep traffic moving, including widening lanes, upgrading junctions and introducing "smart motorways".

Retired civil engineer Tony Ferris was one of the original team helping to create the M25.

He said he was proud of what they had achieved.

"It was a momentous piece of work over many years. I started working on it in 1980."

When asked if he believed the motorway deserved the criticism it sometimes received, he replied "I don't think so".

"When it runs smoothly and nicely it's great. It's almost a victim of its own success - everybody wants to use it," he said.

Since 2009, a consortium called Connect Plus has been managing the M25 after winning a 30-year £6.2bn contract.

Simon Wilkinson, commercial manager, said: "It's understandable it gets a bad rap sometimes.

"However it is because so many people want to use the M25 and we'd miss if it wasn't there."

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