How Busy Is M4 Junction 10 to 11?
The M4 between Junction 10 at Winnersh and Junction 11 at Reading runs past the south of Reading. It is closed all weekend from Friday 18 to Monday 21 September 2026 while overhead power lines are replaced.
In the Department for Transport’s 2025 traffic counts it carried 121,922 vehicles a day, making it the eighth busiest of the 47 stretches between numbered junctions on the M4 that we could compare. This stretch has 3 count points; the figures here are from the busiest one.
Live traffic speed flow: M4 Junctions 8/9 to 12
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NOTE: The speed flow, overhead sign messages or other information shown on our live traffic speed flow map is updated every few minutes. We cross check the data and aim to provide warnings if there could be a delay or an inaccurate speed reading. There can be occasions, beyond our control, and despite our best efforts where the speed flow could be inaccurate. We cannot therefore guarantee the speed you can expect on any stretch of the motorway is always accurately shown. However we hope you will find our live traffic speed flow map a useful tool in trying to plan your journey. Safe driving.
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Latest M4 traffic news
Live traffic news at M4 Junctions 10 and 11
This is the news for Junctions 10 and 11 only, not the whole M4. For the rest of the motorway see all the latest M4 traffic news, the overhead signs and the speed limits in force now.
Updated 02:57 (2:57am) Sun 1 Nov 2026
For everything currently reported on the M4, see our latest M4 traffic news, M4 roadworks and M4 accidents.
What we know right now
The M4 is closed in both directions between Junction 10 and Junction 11. That is confirmed by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, who are carrying out the work, and by the signs on the road.
National Highways’ own data feed currently lists only the eastbound closure between Junction 11 and Junction 10. We publish their records exactly as they issue them, and we say so when they do not yet tell the whole story. You can see what the gantries are showing on our M4 overhead signs page.
Closed all weekend: Friday 18 to Monday 21 September 2026
The M4 is closed in both directions between Junction 10 (Winnersh) and Junction 11 (Reading) from 9pm on Friday 18 September until 6am on Monday 21 September 2026, a closure of about 57 hours. Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks are replacing a tower and the high-voltage wires that cross the motorway here, after the overhead electricity network was badly damaged earlier this year. You can read SSEN’s own announcement about the M4 closure (it opens in a new tab).
Drivers are being diverted via the A329(M) and the B3270. Just nine days earlier, a serious collision closed the next stretch east, M4 Junction 8/9 to 10, for most of a day. Both closures are recorded on our exceptional events on the M4 page.
How do I get around the M4 closure between Junction 10 and Junction 11?
The signed diversion is via the A329(M) and the B3270. That is the official route agreed for the closure, and it is the one the diversion signs on the road will send you along.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks say the signed diversion is advisory only, and that drivers with local knowledge are likely to take their own routes instead. That means roads across the whole area south and east of Reading will be busier than usual, not just the signed route. Allow extra time whichever way you go, and follow your sat nav or the signs on the day rather than a route planned in advance — conditions this weekend will change hour by hour.
Three things add to the traffic. Reading’s home fixture against Notts County kicks off at 3pm on Saturday at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, which sits beside Junction 11. The University of Reading’s term begins, with students and parents arriving across both days. And the Newbury Show is on further west.
Being diverted off the M4 at Junction 10 or Junction 11?
If you are being diverted off the M4 this weekend, the closure runs from 9pm on Friday 18 September until 6am on Monday 21 September 2026 — about 57 hours. It is a planned closure so that Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks can replace a tower and the high-voltage wires that cross the motorway between the two junctions. There is no through route on the M4 between Junction 10 and Junction 11 for the whole of that period, in either direction.
If your journey can avoid this stretch of the M4 altogether — by joining or leaving further along the motorway — that will usually beat queueing for the diversion.
Where can I get fuel near M4 Junction 10 and Junction 11?
There is a filling station about 500 metres from Junction 11, and it sits close to the diversion route, so it is an easy stop if you are being sent off the motorway anyway. If you are heading for the M4 at Junction 10 or Junction 11 and you are low, it is worth filling up before you join the queues rather than after.
Find cheap fuel near Junction 11
Diversions burn fuel. Our sister site UK Pump Prices shows what fuel actually costs at the forecourts around you — and works out whether driving a bit further to a cheaper one is worth it.
- Tap Use my location, or type a postcode or town
- Say how much fuel you are buying, and your car’s mpg
- Choose your fuel — unleaded, diesel, super or E5
It then tells you how much further the same money takes you. On a recent Reading search, £80 went about 25 miles further at the cheaper forecourt, after allowing for the drive there and back.
Find pump prices near me → opens in a new tab
Prices are as reported to the Government’s Fuel Finder scheme and may have changed. UK Pump Prices is part of the UK Traffic News network.
Traffic on M4 Junction 10 to 11
121,922 vehicles a day works out at an average of about 5,080 an hour, or roughly 85 a minute, around the clock. That average takes in quiet nights as well as busy rush hours, so at peak times the flow is much heavier.
Split by direction, that count point measured 59,708 vehicles a day eastbound and 62,214 westbound.
Cars and taxis make up about 77% of the traffic. Vans account for around 16%, about 18,957 a day, and lorries for 8,549 a day, 7.0% of everything on the road.
The junctions at each end
Junction 10 (A329(M)) serves Wokingham, Bracknell and east Reading. Junction 11 (A33) serves central Reading and Basingstoke. Every junction on the motorway, with the service areas in between, is on our map of the M4 junctions, and the places to stop are listed on M4 services.
How it compares with the rest of the M4
The busiest stretches of the M4 are almost all at the London end, between Hayes and Slough, where airport, London and M25 traffic meet. The table shows the ten busiest.
| Rank | M4 stretch | Vehicles per day | Lorries |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | J4 to J4b | 156,491 | 6,249 |
| 2 | J4b to J5 | 140,828 | 8,712 |
| 3 | J5 to J6 | 138,753 | 8,436 |
| 4 | J3 to J4 | 136,321 | 5,243 |
| 5 | J19 to J20 | 128,594 | 11,167 |
| 6 | J6 to J7 | 127,570 | 7,577 |
| 7 | J7 to J8/9 | 126,197 | 7,861 |
| 8 | J10 to J11 | 121,922 | 8,549 |
| 9 | J28 to J29 | 121,902 | 9,572 |
| 10 | J25 to J25a | 117,507 | 9,599 |
Traffic figures are annual average daily flows, both directions together, from the Department for Transport road traffic statistics for 2025. On the M4 many stretches are split into more than one count point; where a stretch has more than one, the busiest measured point is shown. The ranking covers 47 stretches between numbered junctions; slip roads, spurs and the complex junctions 41 to 43 are left out. Hourly and per-minute figures are simple averages across the whole day and night. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.