Angry drivers hit out at M25 closure after oil spill

The clockwise carriageway was shut between Hertfordshire and Enfield after a lorry crashed and spilled vegetable oil over the road on Tuesday morning (April 19).

Some drivers took to social media yesterday to complain about being trapped within the closure for "seven hours" while others hit out at National Highways after more chaotic scenes this morning.

The carriageway eventually reopened at around midday today but two lanes remain closed at the scene of the spillage between junctions 24 and 25.

The scene of the oil spillage on Tuesday. Credit: National Highways

National Highways east of England twitter feed has received a barrage of comments and complaints over the last 24 hours.

Some accused traffic officers of "incompetence" for keeping the M25 shut while another said it had been an "absolute nightmare".

At least two people claimed seeing no one working at the scene at around 6am. A tweet said: "Why is no one there working to get this cleared up and reopened? Absolute chaos."

Other complaints included a lack of warning on motorway gantry signs about the traffic problems on the M25 and the time it took for trapped traffic to be freed.

One person wrote just after 4pm: "Why are you saying 60 min delay. I’ve been sat here since 11.30am and still no movement forward or back - surely you can open 1/2 lanes for an hour or so to let stuck traffic through slowly and then get on with clearing up!!!"

Another tweeted: "Hours and hours stuck. Hungry child in the car and my husband has missed his flight", while a third said: "We’re finally home after 7 hours of sitting in standstill traffic."

A lorry was given permission by traffic officers to turn around. Credit: National Highways

National Highways says the operation to clear up the oil spillage is "complex" and said that specialist contractors have had to be called in to use products such as heavy-duty degreaser.

Duncan Smith, National Highways executive director of operations, said: "Vegetable oil is a very difficult substance to remove from the road surface. Anyone who has spilled it onto work surfaces or clothing at home will know just how problematic it can be so clearing gallons of the substance from one of the busiest roads in the country is no easy task.

"We have had specialist teams working on the M25 overnight and they are continuing the clean-up operation to try and get the road fully open as soon as possible."

Scene on Tuesday of the spillage on the M25. Credit: National Highways

Mr Smith added: "I would like to apologise to anyone who has been delayed in the congestion caused by the spillage, and thank drivers for bearing with us while we finish the clean-up and make sure the road is safe to drive on."

Delays were not just isolated to the M25 with the A1, A406, and roads in and around St Albans, Potters Bar, and Waltham Cross affected by the closure.

With two lanes still closed at the scene of the spillage, traffic remains extremely slow on the M25 clockwise between junctions 23 and 25.

Screenshot of how heavy traffic is on the M25 between junctions 23 and 25 at 4pm on April 20 as two lanes remain close at scene of oil spillage. Credit: Google Maps