Before the Christmas season, drivers are advised to anticipate “daily delays” due to the massive road upgrades and more than 21 million planned trips.
Between Monday and Christmas Eve, 21 million leisure trips are anticipated by UK drivers; analysts anticipate significant delays every day.
The beginning of the week will see a gradual increase in traffic, according to RAC data, before a sharp increase to 2.2 million trips on Thursday and 3.2 million on Friday.
An additional 13.5 million leisure trips are scheduled between Friday and Christmas Eve, marking a significant 20% increase from the previous year.
Transport analysis company Inrix has warned that there are likely to be “daily delays of around 40 minutes” between Friday and Christmas Eve on the M25 clockwise west of London.
There are expectations that the worst traffic on the motorway network will be seen on the M25 clockwise between junction 7 (for the M23/Gatwick airport) and junction 16 (for the M40/Birmingham) on Friday.
Drivers are being urged to avoid being on the road between 12pm and 2pm on the weekend before Christmas, as well as a general warning to set out before 11am and after 6pm to avoid congestion.
The warnings have been issued despite National Highways announcing that it would be lifting the majority of roadworks for the festive getaway.
The organisation is removing more than 1,000 miles of roadworks ahead of the planned 21 million leisure trips over the coming week.
More than 98 per cent of motorways and major A-roads will be free of roadworks to ensure drivers have a slightly smoother journey home for the holidays.
The vast majority of roadworks will be removed from 6am on Tuesday, December 19 until 12.01am on Tuesday, January 2.