Watford Roadworks This Week: Clarendon Road and M1 J5-J1

Clarendon Road, the office street between the town centre and Watford Junction, has been shut since Friday 23 October, and there is still no reopening date. Intalink, the county’s bus information service, lists it in its service updates as “currently closed, awaiting reopening date”. Twenty routes, including the 20, 142, 258, 321, 322, 352, 635 and W1 to W4, do not serve any stop on Clarendon Road; use Beechen Grove or Watford Junction instead. Intalink gives no reason, and we could not find a Hertfordshire County Council or Watford Borough Council notice or statement explaining the closure.

The M1 southbound closes from junction 5 to junction 1 on the nights of Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 November, 22:00 to 05:30. National Highways’ seven-day closure report also shuts the junction 5 entry slip and the London Gateway services entry slip, for routine maintenance. The detail is under Motorways.

The A412 Denham Way, the M25 junction 17 roundabout and Long Lane at Maple Cross and Heronsgate are under a closure order from Friday 6 November, for works scheduled to take three days. Hertfordshire County Council’s 30 October notice says the order has been made. The detail is under What is shut now.

Station Road by Watford Junction is proposed to lose its eastbound carriageway from Monday 9 November, for nine days of water connection works. The published alternative route uses Clarendon Road, which is the road Intalink still lists as closed. The order is not yet confirmed as made; the detail is under Proposed.

Updated 5 November: Clarendon Road and the bus closures rechecked on Intalink; Hertfordshire’s Watford Observer notices of 23 and 30 October read, which confirm Woodmere Avenue, Hunton Bridge and the Maple Cross closures as made; ended closures removed; motorway table replaced from National Highways’ report for 4 to 10 November, which no longer lists the M25 junction 22 to 21a closure we carried for 5 November. London Northwestern Railway’s page refused our request again.

Updated 31 October: Woodmere Avenue confirmed by Intalink; ended closures removed; motorway table replaced from National Highways’ report for 30 October to 5 November.

What is shut now

From Intalink’s service updates, read on 5 November:

• Clarendon Road, Watford: closed since 23 October, “awaiting reopening date”. All bus stops on Clarendon Road are missed; the nearest are Beechen Grove and Watford Junction
• Garston Lane, Watford: closed 9.30am to 4pm, ending on Thursday 5 November. The county’s 23 October notice says the order for about 957 metres of The Gossamers and Garston Lane in Meriden has been made
• Battlers Green Drive, Radlett: closed 7.30am to 5pm, ending on Thursday 5 November
• Shire Lane, Chorleywood: still closed and “awaiting reopening date”, as it has been since 19 May. The R2 misses Lower Road Library to Heronsgate Road

Street orders the council says it has made, from its 30 October notice. Each takes effect only on the days and times signed at the road, and the notice prints no hours:

• A412 Denham Way, Maple Cross, about 864 metres from the M25 junction 17 roundabout to the A412 Uxbridge Road roundabout, the junction 17 roundabout itself, and Long Lane, Heronsgate, about 1,341 metres to Stag Lane, from 6 November for works scheduled to take three days. For Denham Way the alternative is the M25, the M40, the A40 Oxford Road and the A412, or Long Lane, Stag Lane, Berry Lane, Dog Kennel Lane, the A404 and the A412. Queries go to the county on 0300 123 4047
• Fay Green, Abbots Langley, about 27 metres, from 2 November for utility works scheduled to take 19 days
• Bottom Lane, Sarratt, about 1,697 metres except for access, from 2 November for five days
• Solesbridge Lane, Chorleywood, about 240 metres, from 5 November for two days

The A41 Hempstead Road at Hunton Bridge order was also made, from 2 November for three days of works on a new Lidl entrance. Those three days have passed, Intalink does not list it, and nobody has published whether the work finished. Queries go to TBF Traffic on 01449 490865.

The A411 Elstree Road and Watford Road at Elstree, about 899 metres, was under an order from 7 September for 131 days of utility works. We could not re-read that notice today and Intalink does not list it, so treat it as unconfirmed.

Remembrance Sunday, 8 November: the main ceremony is at 3pm at the Peace Memorial outside the Town Hall, with the parade mustering on the Parade at 2.30pm. The council’s article mentions no road closures, and we found no traffic order for it.

The A4008 Stephenson Way

The council’s 2 October notice said it had made an order closing Stephenson Way from 6 October, for works scheduled to take 10 days, over the whole 2,430 metres from the A41 and M1 junction 5 roundabout to the A411 Waterfields Way roundabout. Neither Intalink nor any later county notice lists it as closed now, but the council has published no reopening confirmation either. Queries go to Hertfordshire County Council on 0300 123 4047.

Proposed for the next fortnight

These are intended orders, not yet confirmed as made, so their dates can still move. They come from Hertfordshire’s 23 October and 30 October Watford Observer notices, the latest we could read, plus the two Radlett notices linked below.

• Station Road, Watford, the eastbound carriageway for about 106 metres from the A412 St Albans Road to Bridle Path, plus about 78 metres of the bus lane on the north side, from 9 November for water connection works scheduled to take nine days. The alternative route is the A412 St Albans Road, St Johns Road, Clarendon Road and Station Road. Clarendon Road is still listed as closed, and the notice does not address that. Queries go to Chevron Traffic Management on 0330 0537 225.
• High Elms Lane, Abbots Langley, about 1,257 metres from the A405 to Chequers Lane, and Valley Rise, Watford, its whole length, from 9 November for one day.
• Springwell Avenue, Mill End, about 317 metres except for access, from 9 November for two days. Loudwater Lane is also proposed for two days from 9 November.
• Hornhill Road and Chalfont Road/Gorelands Lane, Maple Cross, and Nightingale Road, Rickmansworth, from 9 November for five days.
• California Lane, Bushey Heath, about 68 metres except for access, from 9 November for one day of tree cutting.
• Footpaths at Stud Green, Watford, from 9 November for six days.
• Dawes Lane, Sarratt, about 140 metres except for access, from 10 November for one day.
• Home Farm Road, Rickmansworth, about 218 metres with no alternative route, from 16 November for five days of electrical connection works.
• Loom Lane and Aldenham Avenue, Radlett, from 12 November for one day (22 October notice), and The Drive, Radlett, about 186 metres except for access, from 16 November for five days (29 October notice).

One more is booked on Intalink, not a proposal: Tibbs Hill Road, Abbots Langley, closed 9.30am to 3.30pm on Tuesday 10 November. The 20 and 329 miss the stops around The Compasses; the nearest are listed on Intalink.

No waiting at any time is proposed on parts of Lytham Avenue, South Oxhey, for road safety, in the county’s 16 October notice. Objections are due by 6 November 2026.

Motorways: what is shut overnight

National Highways re-uploads its seven-day closure report on working days, and it adds and drops nights between editions. The copy we read, last updated at 15:30 on 4 November, covers Wednesday 4 to Tuesday 10 November. Nothing is listed on the A41 or the A405.

The M1 southbound closure at Watford’s junction has still not been booked

A statutory notice, reference NH/SE/2026/M1/72, was advertised in the Watford Observer on 11 September. It authorises overnight closure of the M1 southbound between junction 6a and junction 5 at Berrygrove, plus every slip road on that length, between 21:00 and 06:00. It was expected to start on 26 September and last about two weeks.

It is still not in the closure report. Nothing is booked M1 southbound between junctions 6a and 5 on any night up to Tuesday 10 November; the closure on 9 and 10 November is the next length south, from junction 5 to junction 1. A notice sets the outer limit of what may be closed; it does not commit the agency to a date. If it does run, the published diversion sends M1 traffic anticlockwise round the M25 to junction 20, then east along the A41 past Watford to junction 5. National Highways gives 0300 123 5000 for enquiries.

Trains from Watford

On the Lioness line, TfL’s status feed lists:

• Thursday 5 November: the 23:45 from Euston to Watford Junction terminates at Willesden Junction
• Friday 6 November: the 05:29 from Watford Junction to Euston starts from Willesden Junction at 06:04 instead
• Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November: a reduced service, with some Watford Junction trains terminating at Kilburn High Road
• Friday 20 November: the 23:15 from Euston to Watford Junction terminates at Willesden Junction
• Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November: no Lioness trains between Euston and Watford Junction, with replacement buses 718 and 720. The Bakerloo line is also shut between Queens Park and Harrow & Wealdstone that weekend. TfL says London Northwestern Railway trains continue to serve Euston, Harrow & Wealdstone, Bushey and Watford Junction

Sunday 22 November, early morning: National Rail says buses replace London Northwestern Railway trains before 07:45 between Euston and Milton Keynes Central or Northampton. The notice does not name Watford Junction, so check before an early start.

We could not confirm Abbey line works. London Northwestern Railway’s planned works page refused our request on 5 November, and National Rail’s engineering works list, read the same day, had no notice naming the Watford Junction to St Albans Abbey line. Check National Rail before you travel.

The Oxhey Grange footbridge is gone. Network Rail lifted the deteriorated footbridge out over the weekend of 20 September. Its statement of 21 September says it will “continue to engage with local stakeholders as plans for a future replacement crossing are developed”. We have not seen a replacement date. The bridge linked Oxhey Grange with The Pathway and Anthony Close.

What parking costs

Watford Borough Council runs the town centre car parks. The tariffs below come from the council’s own car park directory records, read again on 5 November 2026 and unchanged since August.

Permit parking is proposed for Balmoral Road, and the consultation has closed. Watford Borough Council published a notice of proposal on 18 September to bring Balmoral Road, between St Albans Road and Bradshaw Road, into the Callowland zone NA permit parking area. On the south side, next to numbers 2 to 46, parking would become permit holders only from 8am to 10am and 5pm to 10pm, Monday to Saturday. Properties at 1 to 48 Balmoral Road that meet the criteria would be able to buy permits, and the notice prints the prices: £36 for a first resident’s permit, £76 for a second (£36 for a motorcycle), 30p an hour or £2 a day for a visitor permit, and £10 a week for a virtual one. Objections closed at 23:59 on 9 October.

A separate proposal would ban waiting at any time on parts of Richfield Road in Bushey. Hertfordshire County Council’s consultation, reference H00426, closed on the same date.

No stopping at any time on parts of the A41 and A405 is also proposed. Hertfordshire County Council published a county-wide clearway proposal on 30 September. Its schedule includes parts of the A41 at Watford and Bushey and the A405 at Watford and Garston. The plans are at hertfordshire.gov.uk/trafficorders under reference J00226. The objection period has closed, and the council has not yet published a decision.

You can pay with more than one app. Watford Borough Council joined the National Parking Platform on 7 September, and its own listing there names six approved apps for the borough: APCOA Parking, AppyParking, Caura, JustPark, RingGo and PayByPhone. The council’s individual car park pages still show RingGo alone, so check the platform’s own Watford listing if you want to use a different one. We have the full list and what changed.

The old £3.30 evening flat rate has gone. The council’s live car park pages show no flat rate after 5pm at the Town Hall, just the normal scale, and Town Hall bands 10p higher than The Avenue’s. If you used to leave the car in town for the evening for £3.30, budget £6.70 instead. Motorcycles park free at both with a displayed ticket. Both take cash and card as well as the apps, and the RingGo location codes are 5312788 for The Avenue and 5312789 for the Town Hall.

At the station, the Watford Junction car park is run by Saba for London Northwestern Railway: £11.50 for a weekday entry before 10am, £8.50 after that and at weekends and on bank holidays, £15.50 for a weekend ticket from Friday 10am to Monday 4am, £38.80 a week, £143 a month or £1,290 a year. Drop-off is free for 20 minutes. Full detail is on Watford trains to London.

There is no park and ride serving Watford. The nearest thing to one is parking at an outer Metropolitan line station and taking the Tube in, or using the station car park itself.

The four ways in and out

The A41 is the spine, running past the town as North Western Avenue, Colne Way and Otterspool Way. It carries traffic north west to M25 junction 20, the Kings Langley interchange, and it meets the Watford ring road twice. Junction 19, the one signed for Watford, is on the same road.

The A4008, Stephenson Way, is the link most people actually use for the motorway. It leaves the A412 at a roundabout and heads east to join the A41 and M1 junction 5 at Berrygrove. It was under an order from 6 October for works scheduled to take 10 days; no current source lists it as closed.

The A412 runs south west through Croxley Green towards Rickmansworth and on to Uxbridge, and north east through the town as St Albans Road. It is the road most likely to be congested at school run times.

The A411 is the ring road, a clockwise one-way system around the town centre that works like a large external roundabout, with the access points to the car parks and the shopping streets hanging off it. Beyond the town it carries on east through Bushey Arches and Bushey Heath to Elstree and Barnet. That eastern length, through Chalk Hill and Bushey, was the signed diversion while Stephenson Way was shut in October.

M1 junctions 6 to 8 are in the closure report again for one night

The junction 6a to junction 8 works were a £4 million resurfacing job in both directions, planned from 20 July to October 2026 on a stretch National Highways says carries 125,000 drivers a day. The scheme page carries no update after 10 September, no completion statement and no November dates. The closure report now books the M1 northbound between junctions 6 and 8 for the night of Tuesday 10 November, described as reconstruction and renewal works on the M1 and A414. National Highways does not say whether that is the same job.

Getting around without the car

Beryl bikes are the visible part. June 2026 was a record month with 14,218 journeys, up 56% on the 9,112 recorded in June 2025 after 120 extra e-bikes were added. Since the scheme started in March 2020 it has carried 690,481 journeys by 47,005 different users, covering 1,826,654 kilometres. The scheme now reaches into Croxley Green as well.

Watford Car Club has 200 members since launching in March 2024, with 1,318 journeys and 66,124 miles driven.

The Green Loop is a 6.5-mile walking and cycling circuit around the town centre, linking Watford Junction, Cassiobury Park, the River Colne, Whippendell Wood and the Grand Union Canal, using National Cycle Route 6 and the Ebury Way. Route maps and a GPS file are on the council’s Green Loop page. Hertfordshire County Council’s consultation on widening the Green Loop path along Lower High Street closed on 29 September, and we have what was proposed.

The long-term question is the Watford to Croxley Link. When the Metropolitan line extension was cancelled, the disused railway alignment between Croxley and Watford was protected rather than sold. Hertfordshire County Council has had Atkins running a study into what could use it. Nothing is committed and no date has been published.

How to check what is shut today

• The Public Notice Portal carries the statutory temporary traffic orders published in the Watford Observer. Search a current Watford postcode. This is where the street closures in the table above come from, and it is the only public source that gives the exact extents, the diversion routes and the contractor’s phone number.
• National Highways’ road closure report covers full closures on the motorways and trunk roads, seven days ahead. It is rewritten during the week, so a copy three days old can already be wrong.
• one.network for Hertfordshire is the map Hertfordshire County Council links from its own roadworks page. It runs on Department for Transport Street Manager permit data, so it shows every permitted set of works. It needs to be loaded in a browser, and it cannot be read by a script, so the street-level permit data is not reflected in the table above.
• Report a pothole or street light goes to Hertfordshire County Council.

That last point catches people out. Hertfordshire County Council runs the roads, Watford Borough Council runs the car parks, and National Highways runs the M1 and M25. Three organisations, and the one with “Watford” in its name is responsible for the least of it.