Overnight on Saturday 24 February a large piece of equipment will be taken from the Port of Tilbury in Essex to Millbrook power station in Bedfordshire. This is an essential piece of equipment for the power station which, when completed, will operate as a ‘peaking plant’ and only generate electricity at times when the country’s need is greatest.
The load will leave Tilbury Docks on the A1089, taking the A13 until it meets the M25; from there it will continue on the M25 to J21 / J6A of the M1; it will then head north on the M1, leaving the motorway at J13. It will then take the A421, turning onto local roads before arriving into the Millbrook Power site.
We’re writing to you because the Abnormal Indivisible Load (AIL) will be passing through your area. Planning has been underway for a long time, as the essential load weighs over 350 tonnes and is over 50m long. It will be safely escorted by police on its 79-mile journey and will likely cause a temporary hold to traffic along various points of its journey.
The convoy is expected to leave the Port of Tilbury at 17:45 on Saturday and follow an approximately 12-hour route, to arrive at Millbrook at around 06:15 on the morning of Sunday 25 February. Specifically, due to the complexity of transporting such a load, there will be likely disruptions.
We have worked extensively with local police forces and the relevant highways authorities and agencies. The areas most affected by the AIL’s journey are:
- The section of the M25 between Junction 21a and Junction 19 will be closed in both directions between 22:00 and 06:00. A diversion will be in place.
- The exit slips from the M1 onto the M25 at Junction 6a will be closed in both directions between 22:00 and 06:00. A diversion will be in place.
- The entry slip from the A12 onto the M25 anti-clockwise at Junction 28 will be closed between 20:00 and 05:00.
- There will be a temporary holding delay of around 30 minutes at the Gallows Corner roundabout on the A12, and this is likely to be around 22:00.
The movement of this load is the first of three overnight movements, with the next two currently scheduled for the 9 and 23 March, these loads will take approximately 16-hours arriving at the site around 09:15.
Please note that future dates and timings are currently provisional and may change depending on variable factors such as weather conditions.