Motorists face worst bank holiday tailbacks in a DECADE as warm weather, rail delays and late holiday rush set to spark travel chaos
Traffic is expected to be twice as bad this weekend as Brits make a last-minute dash to get away for the long weekend
MOTORISTS hoping to get away for the weekend are facing the worst bank holiday traffic in a DECADE as warm weather, rail delays and a last-minute holiday rush are set to spark travel chaos.
Experts say twice as many vehicles as a normal weekend are set to hit the road between Friday and Monday - prompting possible tailbacks of up to two hours on busy roads.
The southeast is expected to be hit with the warmest weather, as temperatures soar to 29C this week.
It is thought the M25, M27, M5 and M6 will be the busiest motorways - despite highway chiefs preparing to temporarily lift or complete more than 370 miles of roadworks by the end of the week.
These emergency measures are not thought to be enough to prevent gridlock in the busiest areas.
Traffic is also expected to be particularly bad around busy airports, with large numbers of families taking last-minute summer holidays before the kids head back to school next week.
Almost 248,000 people are expected to fly out of Heathrow on Friday - 25 per cent up on the transport hub's daily average.
Manchester is also preparing for the busiest 24 hours of the year, with 103,000 people expected to pass through.
Congestion will not be helped by national rail delays and disruptions across the country.
It comes as Network Rail prepares to shut down large swathes of the rail network as they carry out 940 engineering projects as part of a £30 million upgrade.
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Great Western services around Bristol will be disrupted as the Severn Tunnel launches a six-week shutdown.
The service runs between south Wales and London Paddington.
South West Trains, Greater Anglia, Virgin Trains west coast, London Midland, Southeastern and Great Northern are also expected to be struck by problems.
Inrix, which supplies traffic data, said drivers "could face the worst bank holiday congestion in a decade".
Greg Hallsworth, UK traffic analyst, told : "A perfect storm of conditions will lead to increased traffic as 'carmaggedon' blights the long weekend.
"With some good weather forecast and potential rail disruption, holidaymakers could find roads gridlocked far more than usual.
"We could see delays of more than 120 minutes for some of the worst-affected roads this weekend."
Tailbacks of up to 90 minutes are expected between junctions 9 and 21 of the M25 - causing problems for commuters trying to get to Heathrow, Gatwick and the West country.
Holidaymakers heading to Devon and Cornwall are also expected to be hit with issues on the M5 southbound past Bristol.
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