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Drivers urged to avoid major motorway over Easter break as experts reveal three-hour ‘peak congestion’ window to avoid
Saturday and Easter Sunday will be the worst time to travel
DRIVERS have been urged to avoid one major motorway over the Easter break as experts have revealed the three-hour peak congestion window.
Traffic chaos has already hit Britain with travellers warned they could face long delays on their Easter getaways.
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Experts are advising travellers to be weary of traffic during the three hours on Easter Saturday and Sunday between 11am and 2pm.
Traffic is thought that it will be worse on A Roads and motorways around the country.
But, one road is thought to be busier in particular, .
That's the M6 north between Liverpool and the Lake District and the M6 south towards Stoke-on-Trent.
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Drivers should also avoid the M25 between Surrey and the M40 exit, A303 near Stonehenge and M3 north to Basingstoke.
On Monday, the worst traffic will be between 10am and 5pm, while it will be between 9am and 4pm on Good Friday.
The AA revealed more than 18.5million people are thought to be hitting the road over the four-day long Bank Holiday weekend.
But they will be met by huge traffic jams, crippling engineering works on the railways and vast queues at Britain's busiest ferry port.
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Airport check-in desks are also set to be choc-a-bloc this Easter.
Darryl Bowman, from Cuvva, said: "Millions of people are gearing up for road trips and getaways to make the most of the upcoming Easter break.
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“With planned rail engineering works set to cause disruptions, hitting the road seems like the easiest and safest bet, if you want to keep your bank holiday plans on track.
“Departing early in the morning or later in the afternoon can help you dodge peak congestion times on the road.”
RAC Breakdown spokesperson Alice Simpson said: "With Easter falling earlier than usual at the start of the school holidays, it could be 'carmageddon' for holidaymakers across the UK.
"Anyone who can delay leaving on Thursday March 28 until much later in the evening or set off as early as possible on Good Friday is likely to have a better journey than those who travel during the peak periods of the day."
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Transport analysis company Inrix predicted that the worst congestion on Thursday will be between 2pm and 7pm as people on leisure journeys compete for road space with regular commuters.
The busiest route is expected to be the western section of the M25 between the M23 for Gatwick and the M1 for Hertfordshire.
Weather warnings
Heavy rain and strong winds could cause travel chaos and pose a risk to life in the run-up to the Easter weekend, forecasters have said.
The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for rain and strong winds over coming days across parts of Northern Ireland and the south of England.
Forecasters have warned that heavy rain could impact travel and infrastructure in the east of Northern Ireland on Wednesday and Thursday, with up to 15mm-20mm of rainfall in some areas.
A yellow warning for strong winds with gusts of up to 70mph was also in place on Thursday for most of the south coast of England, from East Sussex to Cornwall.
For those travelling over the bank holiday weekend, the RAC have advised drivers to "be on their guard" regarding the changing road conditions.
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RAC Breakdown spokesman Rod Dennis said: "With plenty of classic early spring weather over the Easter bank holiday weekend, drivers getting away will definitely need to be on their guard and ready to cope with rapidly changing road conditions.
"Slowing down in the heaviest of downpours on Good Friday and Easter Saturday is a must as stopping distances will be far greater."
Airport crowds
Two million British travellers are expected to fly away during the Easter weekend.
Three major UK airports – Bristol, Newcastle and Edinburgh – said this will be their busiest Easter ever.
The highest number of departures at London Gatwick are expected to be on Easter Sunday.
April 7 will be the busiest day for Gatwick with Heathrow expecting its biggest crowds of the year so far.
The most popular destinations for the Easter getaway include Barcelona, Malaga and Rome, while Dubai, Orlando and New York top the long-haul charts.
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