High Wycombe roadworks: Chapel Lane shut until 28 Aug

Chapel Lane in High Wycombe is closed 24 hours a day from 10 to 28 August while drainage is installed, with crews on site 7am to 7pm. It is the longest of the works in this patch, and it is the one to plan around.

Everything else is smaller. National Highways lists no planned closures on the M40 or the A404 in the week to 13 August, and the long-running job on Marlow Bridge is scheduled to end on 14 August. Roadworks change every week, so the first part of this page is how to check what is shut today, and the rest is the part that does not change: the roads that carry this area, what parking costs, and the ways around the towns that do not involve a car.

How to check what is shut today

• one.network is the map Buckinghamshire Council itself points residents to. It runs on Department for Transport permit data, so it shows every permitted set of works, who is doing it, the dates and the traffic management. Creating a free account lets you set email alerts for your own commute.
• The council’s weekly roadworks update is published every Friday and lists the significant works county-wide in plain English. It is the quickest read of the two.
• National Highways’ road closure report covers full closures on the motorways and trunk roads seven days ahead. This is the one to check before a night drive on the M40.
• Report a pothole or a street light goes to Buckinghamshire Council, which is the highway authority for every road here except the M40 and the A404(M).

One authority runs almost all of it. Since 2020 Buckinghamshire Council has been responsible for the roads, the car parks, the street lights and the gritting across High Wycombe, Marlow, Princes Risborough and the villages, with only the motorway and the A404(M) belonging to National Highways.

What is live now

The two that will actually cost you time are Chapel Lane, because it is shut round the clock for nineteen days, and Penn Road, because the B474 is the main route from Hazlemere down into the town and a full closure there pushes traffic onto Amersham Hill and Hughenden Road.

Marlow Bridge deserves its own note. The Grade I listed suspension bridge has been under structural maintenance since 3 November 2025, work that has included replacing the twelve bearings carrying the deck and cleaning and repainting the steelwork underneath. The current programme is scheduled to finish on 14 August 2026, though the council has said decorative restoration is likely to follow in 2026 to 2027. The bridge carries a weight restriction, so it has never been a through route for anything larger than a car in any case.

The roads that carry this area

Four routes do most of the work, and knowing which one is affected tells you whether a closure matters.

• The M40 runs along the southern edge of High Wycombe. Junction 4 at Handy Cross is the town’s main connection; junction 3 serves Loudwater and the eastern side. Almost every long journey from here starts by getting onto it.
• The A404 links the M40 at Handy Cross south to Marlow, Bisham and the M4 at Maidenhead. It is dual carriageway for most of that run and it is the road Marlow depends on.
• The A40 London Road is the old road east through Loudwater and Wooburn, and the A40 West Wycombe Road is the same road heading west. When the M40 is blocked, this is where the traffic goes.
• The A4010 runs north from the town through Bradenham and Saunderton to Princes Risborough and on to Aylesbury. The draft Local Plan safeguards a Princes Risborough Relief Road as a complete alternative to it, to be built alongside the 2,895-home extension there. Details are in High Wycombe planning news.

What parking costs

Charges apply Monday to Saturday, 7am to 7pm, at the council’s car parks, and parking outside those hours is free at most of them. Blue Badge holders park free.

The Easton Street multi-storey car park is now permanently closed. The council directs drivers to Wycombe Swan and Railway Place instead. The site is allocated in the draft Local Plan for 160 homes, so it is not coming back.

Watch the six-hour cliff at Marlow Central and Horns Lane. Both are capped at a six-hour maximum stay, and the six-hour tariff is £10.30 against £2.80 or £1.80 for the shorter stays. It is a deterrent rather than a price, aimed at stopping commuters filling a shoppers’ car park, and it catches people out.

Park and ride at Handy Cross

Handy Cross, on Marlow Hill at HP11 1UP beside M40 junction 4, is the one car park here designed for leaving a car all day. It has 383 spaces, 12 accessible bays, six electric vehicle charging points and a 2.06 metre height restriction, and it is open 24 hours with a 96-hour maximum stay.

From there, Carousel Buses run to Wycombe Hospital and Lane End, and the Oxford Bus Company runs coaches to Oxford, Heathrow and Gatwick. For anyone flying, four days at Handy Cross costs £16.30 against airport parking at many times that.

Getting to London without driving

Rail is the sensible answer from all three towns. High Wycombe is 27 minutes from Marylebone on the fastest Chiltern service, Princes Risborough is direct on the same line, and Marlow runs to Paddington with a change at Maidenhead. Season ticket prices, journey times and station parking charges are all set out on High Wycombe train times to London.

Frequently asked questions

What roads are closed in High Wycombe right now?

Chapel Lane is closed 24 hours a day from 10 to 28 August for drainage work, and the B474 Penn Road at Hazlemere is closed 7am to 7pm from 3 to 17 August for resurfacing. Check one.network for anything more recent.

Is Marlow Bridge closed?

The structural maintenance programme that began in November 2025 is scheduled to finish on 14 August 2026, with parking suspensions near Higginson Park in the meantime. Decorative restoration is expected to follow in 2026 to 2027.

Are there any M40 closures this week?

No. National Highways’ closure report for the week to 13 August 2026 lists no planned closures on the M40 between junctions 2 and 6 or on the A404 and A404(M).

Where is the cheapest all-day parking in High Wycombe?

Handy Cross park and ride at £4.30 for 24 hours, less than half the £10.80 charged at the station car park. Council car parks in the town are also free before 7am and after 7pm and cost £1.30 all day on Sundays.

What happened to the Easton Street car park?

It is permanently closed. The council points drivers to Wycombe Swan and Railway Place, and the site is allocated in the draft Local Plan for 160 homes.

Who do I report a pothole to?

Buckinghamshire Council, which is the highway authority for every road here apart from the M40 and the A404(M). Those belong to National Highways.

Sources

• Buckinghamshire Council weekly roadworks update, 7 August 2026 for every live scheme and its dates.
• Major maintenance works: Marlow Bridge, Buckinghamshire Council for the bridge programme and what it involves.
• National Highways road closure report for motorway and trunk road closures, checked for the week of 7 to 13 August 2026.
• Buckinghamshire Council car park pages for Railway Place, Desborough Street, Easton Street, Handy Cross, Marlow Central and Horns Lane for tariffs, spaces and opening hours.
• one.network for the live permit map.

Roadworks were checked on 10 August 2026 against the council’s update of 7 August. Dates slip. Check the live map before you set off.