M25 closed J17–J16 anticlockwise (obstruction)

Road closure on the M25 anticlockwise at J17–J16 on Wednesday 23 September 2026, from 05:18. Cleared at 18:58 after 13 h 41 min. Timeline of reports from the motorway signs, TomTom and National Highways.

Status

Cleared 18:58 on 23 Sept 2026, after 13 h 41 min

Location

M25 anticlockwise · J17–J16

Reported as

Obstruction or hazard

Lanes

Road closed

At its worst

Stationary traffic · delay ~27 min

Sources

Motorway signs ×4 · TomTom ×14 · National Highways

Timeline

1. Wed 05:18 Motorway signs: “VEHICLE FIRE SLOW DOWN”
2. Wed 06:00 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~5 min
3. Wed 06:18 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~5 min
4. Wed 06:24 Motorway signs no longer show “VEHICLE FIRE SLOW DOWN”
5. Wed 06:30 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
6. Wed 06:37 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~12 min
7. Wed 06:54 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~4 min
8. Wed 06:58 TomTom: delay now ~23 min (was ~12)
9. Wed 07:11 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
10. Wed 07:19 Motorway signs: “VEHICLE FIRE SLOW DOWN”
11. Wed 07:26 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~25 min
12. Wed 07:26 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~11 min
13. Wed 07:35 TomTom: obstruction or hazard, “Closed, Vehicle fire”, road closed
14. Wed 07:35 TomTom: obstruction or hazard, “Vehicle fire”
15. Wed 07:35 TomTom: obstruction or hazard, “Vehicle fire”
16. Wed 07:39 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
17. Wed 07:40 Motorway signs: “VEHICLE FIRE SLOW DOWN”
18. Wed 07:47 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~1 min
19. Wed 07:50 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~1 min
20. Wed 07:51 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~1 min
21. Wed 07:56 Motorway signs: “VEHICLE FIRE SLOW DOWN”
22. Wed 08:01 TomTom: obstruction or hazard, “Slow traffic, Vehicle fire”, delay ~1 min
23. Wed 08:07 TomTom: “Stationary traffic”
24. Wed 08:21 TomTom no longer reports it
25. Wed 08:24 Motorway signs no longer show “VEHICLE FIRE SLOW DOWN”
26. Wed 08:24 TomTom no longer reports it
27. Wed 08:24 All clear: no source reports it any more
28. Wed 08:35 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
29. Wed 08:52 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
30. Wed 08:54 Motorway signs no longer show “VEHICLE FIRE SLOW DOWN”
31. Wed 09:16 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
32. Wed 09:30 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
33. Wed 10:12 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
34. Wed 10:26 TomTom no longer reports it
35. Wed 10:26 All clear: no source reports it any more
36. Wed 16:14 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~18 min
37. Wed 16:26 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~20 min (reported again)
38. Wed 16:29 TomTom: delay now ~14 min (was ~20)
39. Wed 16:40 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
40. Wed 16:43 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
41. Wed 17:07 National Highways: 1 of 5 lanes closed
42. Wed 17:11 TomTom: delay now ~27 min (was ~20)
43. Wed 17:39 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~4 min (reported again)
44. Wed 17:39 TomTom: delay now ~24 min (was ~18), “Stationary traffic”
45. Wed 17:49 TomTom: delay now ~9 min (was ~4)
46. Wed 18:02 National Highways: lane closure lifted
47. Wed 18:58 TomTom no longer reports it
48. Wed 18:58 All clear: no source reports it any more

Source reports

• Overhead signs read “VEHICLE FIRE SLOW DOWN” (2 signs; furthest along: M25 anti-clockwise between J17 and J16).
• Slow traffic
• Closed, Vehicle fire
• Vehicle fire
• Stationary traffic
• Overhead signs read “VEHICLE FIRE SLOW DOWN” (1 sign; furthest along: M25 clockwise between J14 and J15).
• Overhead signs read “VEHICLE FIRE SLOW DOWN” (2 signs; furthest along: M25 anti-clockwise between J16 and J15).
• Overhead signs read “VEHICLE FIRE SLOW DOWN” (1 sign; furthest along: M25 anti-clockwise between J16 and J15).
• Slow traffic, Vehicle fire
• Queuing traffic
• M25 anti-clockwise between J17 and J16

Other recent incidents on the M25

• M25 crash J10–J9 anticlockwise02:51 · cleared after 33 min
• M25 crash J27–J28 clockwise02:13 · cleared after 1 h 29 min
• M25 crash J15 anticlockwise00:20 · cleared after 25 min
• M25 crash J11–J10 anticlockwiseyesterday 22:19 · cleared after 52 min
• M25 reported crash J11 anticlockwiseyesterday 21:53 · cleared after 49 min
• M25 crash J16–J17 clockwiseyesterday 14:21 · cleared after 5 h 2 min
• M25 reported crash J11–J12 clockwiseyesterday 13:24 · cleared after 1 h 8 min
• M25 crash J27–J28 clockwiseyesterday 12:31 · cleared after 37 min
• M25 crash J13–J12 anticlockwiseyesterday 06:52 · cleared after 2 h 55 min
• M25 stopped traffic J30yesterday 06:49 · cleared after 2 h 8 min

Live traffic and past incidents at M25 J17 and M25 J16.

The sources don't report causes or injuries, so neither does this page. Times are UK time. For alerts, follow @motorways.me on Bluesky.