M5 Closed at Gloucester Both Ways, 16 to 19 October

The M5 will close in both directions for a weekend in October, and every vehicle on it will be sent through Gloucester instead.

National Highways is shutting the motorway between Junctions 11 and 12, including Junction 11a, from 11pm on Friday 16 October until 6am on Monday 19 October. The closed stretch is at Gloucester, north of Junction 13, which is the junction Stroud district uses. Junction 13 itself stays open.

The reason is two footbridges. Uphill Court and Grove Court footbridges cross the M5 between the two junctions. National Highways says their condition has deteriorated and they need to come down before they become a hazard to the motorway below. Both were closed to the public in March 2026.

There are two closures, and the first starts five days earlier:

• the M5 northbound exit slip road at Junction 11a, closed around the clock from 8pm on Sunday 11 October for about two weeks. National Highways says the space is needed to store the demolition machinery, and tells drivers to exit at Junction 11 instead
• the M5 in both directions between Junctions 11 and 12, including Junction 11a, from 11pm on Friday 16 October to 6am on Monday 19 October

The diversion runs through the middle of Gloucester

National Highways’ published diversion map for the weekend sends traffic off the motorway at Junction 12 and up the A38 through Gloucester, then onto the A417 and the A40 east to rejoin at Junction 11. The same route serves both directions.

That is an ordinary A road through a city, taking a weekend of motorway traffic. National Highways says as much itself:

We expect the local diversion route to be busy. Only travel if necessary, and try a different time if you can.

It asks drivers to follow the signs rather than a sat nav, and adds a specific suggestion: anyone travelling between the Midlands and South Wales that weekend should consider the M50 instead.

The order allows four more weekends that have not been announced

The closure needs a legal order, and that order was published on the Public Notice Portal on 17 September. It is worth reading, because it is wider than the announcement.

The order authorises weekend closures of the M5 between Junctions 11 and 12, 9pm Friday to 6am Monday, for works “expected to take place on or after 4 October 2026 and be completed by 9 November 2026”. It comes into force on 2 October and can remain in force for up to eighteen months.

Five weekends fall inside that period:

• 9 to 12 October
• 16 to 19 October
• 23 to 26 October
• 30 October to 2 November
• 6 to 9 November

National Highways has named one of them. It has not said whether it needs any of the other four, and nothing in the order obliges it to use them. Anyone planning a journey north on the M5 in late October or early November should check before setting off rather than assume the motorway is clear.

The order also permits more than the two closures announced. It allows closure of the entry and exit slip roads at Junction 11a, at Gloucester Services in both directions, and of the southbound entry and northbound exit at Junction 11 and the northbound entry and southbound exit at Junction 12. It imposes a mandatory 50mph limit during the closures: northbound from 200 metres south of Standish Lane overbridge, and southbound from 1,000 metres north of Old Gloucester Road overbridge.

There is one small gap between the two documents. The order permits a closure to begin at 9pm on a Friday. The weekend National Highways has published begins at 11pm. So the operator has two hours in hand that it has chosen not to use on that occasion.

Three other things on the same stretch

National Highways lists three sets of works alongside the demolition, all of which affect drivers from this district:

• the A40 at Over Bridge, near Gloucester, is down to one lane in each direction with a 30mph limit, and National Highways says it is seeing some delays. Over Bridge sits on part of the weekend diversion route
• the A417 between Gloucester and Cirencester has continuing works and may close overnight at weekends. That is the road Stroud drivers use for Cirencester and Oxford, and its new permanent layout only opened on 18 September
• at the Almondsbury Interchange, where the M4 meets the M5, the link from the M4 westbound to the M5 northbound is closed, with traffic sent round via the M5 southbound to Junction 16

What it means for you

• Driving north on the M5 that weekend. From Junction 13 you can get as far as Junction 12 and no further. Leave there and follow the signed diversion through Gloucester, or travel at a different time.
• Driving south towards Stroud from Cheltenham or the Midlands. You cannot pass Junction 11. The same diversion applies in reverse.
• Heading for South Wales or the Midlands. National Highways suggests the M50 rather than the diversion.
• Using Junction 11a for the A417 to Cirencester. The northbound exit slip road there is shut around the clock from 8pm on Sunday 11 October for about two weeks, not just at the weekend. Exit at Junction 11 instead.
• Stopping at Gloucester Services. The order allows its slip roads to be closed in both directions during the weekend closures.
• Travelling later in October or in early November. Four more weekends are legally available to National Highways and none has been announced. Check before you go.
• Going by train instead. There is no planned engineering work on the line through Stroud that weekend. See Stroud trains to London.

Every dated closure in the district, including the A419 resurfacing, Cowcombe Hill and the A417, is on our Stroud roadworks and travel page.

Frequently asked questions

Is the M5 closed at Gloucester in October 2026?

Yes. National Highways is closing the M5 in both directions between Junctions 11 and 12, including Junction 11a, from 11pm on Friday 16 October until 6am on Monday 19 October 2026, to demolish the Uphill Court and Grove Court footbridges.

What is the diversion for the M5 Junction 11 to 12 closure?

National Highways’ published diversion leaves the motorway at Junction 12, follows the A38 north through Gloucester, then the A417 and the A40 east to rejoin the M5 at Junction 11. The same route serves both directions. National Highways asks drivers to follow the signs rather than a sat nav, and suggests the M50 for journeys between the Midlands and South Wales that weekend.

Is Junction 13 for Stroud affected?

No. The closure runs between Junctions 11 and 12, north of Junction 13. Junction 13, which serves Stroud and Stonehouse, stays open, although northbound traffic from it cannot pass Junction 12 during the closure.

Will the M5 close on other weekends?

It might. The legal order published on 17 September 2026 permits weekend closures between Junctions 11 and 12 from 9pm Friday to 6am Monday for works expected between 4 October and 9 November. Five weekends fall in that period and National Highways has announced only one, on 16 to 19 October. Check before you travel on the others.

Why is Junction 11a closed for two weeks?

The northbound exit slip road at Junction 11a is closed around the clock from 8pm on Sunday 11 October for about two weeks, because National Highways is using the space to store the machinery needed for the demolition. Drivers are told to exit at Junction 11 instead.

Sources

• M5 Grove Court and Uphill Court footbridge replacement, National Highways, scheme update published 3 September 2026 and checked 20 September, for the closure dates and times, the reason for the demolition, the travel advice and the works at Over Bridge, on the A417 and at Almondsbury.
• National Highways weekend closure diversion route map, reference CRE26 0287, for the A38, A417 and A40 diversion through Gloucester.
• The M5 Motorway (Junction 11 to 12) (Temporary Restriction and Prohibition of Traffic) Order 2026, published on the Public Notice Portal on 17 September 2026, for the works period of 4 October to 9 November, the 9pm Friday to 6am Monday closure powers, the slip roads covered, the mandatory 50mph limits and the eighteen month maximum duration.
• Planned engineering, Great Western Railway, checked 20 September 2026, for the absence of engineering work on the line through Stroud on the weekend of 16 to 19 October.