High Wycombe Roadworks: M40 Shut at Handy Cross Friday

The M40 is shut southbound past High Wycombe on Friday night, and again on Monday. National Highways closes the carriageway from junction 4 at Handy Cross to junction 2 at Beaconsfield from 10.15pm on Friday 25 September until 6am. On Monday 28 September the closure is shorter, junction 4 down to junction 3, at the same times. Neither of those nights was in the report this page carried last week.

In the town itself, The Pastures is closed to traffic until Friday 25 September, 8am to 5pm, for resurfacing. It is the only full daytime road closure the council has booked in High Wycombe.

Roadworks change every week. The first part of this page is how to check what is shut today. 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

• The council’s roadworks list is refreshed most weeks and lists the significant council schemes county-wide in plain English. It is the quickest read. The edition live today is still the one dated Friday 18 September, unchanged when this page was rewritten on Wednesday 23 September. It covers council schemes only, so utility works never appear on it. The next edition is due on Friday.
• one.network is the map the 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. Expect it to ask you to create a free account before it shows the full list.
• National Highways’ road closure report covers full closures on the motorways and trunk roads seven days ahead. The edition live today covers Tuesday 22 to Monday 28 September and was last updated at 3.31pm on Tuesday 22 September. It is not a weekly edition: the spreadsheet says National Highways uploads a new list every day, covering that evening and the next six days, so a closure can appear in it with four days’ notice and no announcement. This is the one to check before a night drive on the M40.
• Report a pothole or a street light goes to Buckinghamshire Council. It 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. Only the motorway and the A404(M) belong to National Highways.

What is live now

The council lists these as its own schemes. Utility works are not on that list and only show on the one.network map.

The street lighting programme is the one most people here will actually walk past. The council names High Wycombe, Marlow, Princes Risborough, Hazlemere, Flackwell Heath and Bourne End among the sixteen places where 40 damaged columns are being replaced with energy-efficient LED lanterns by 15 October.

The council has not published a new list since Friday 18 September. The edition on the site on Wednesday 23 September is word for word the one this page was rewritten from four days earlier, so nothing has been added and nothing has been taken away. What has changed is that three of its entries have run their course:

• Partridge Way finished on Monday 21 September.
• Manor Gardens finished on Tuesday 22 September.
• Grafton Street, dated Monday 14 September, and the Cryers Hill Road footway job, which ended on 12 September, are both still printed on the list.

They have been taken out of the table above, because the list does not remove finished work and a reader checking it can easily take an old row for a live one.

The Pastures is the one to plan around if you live there. It is closed until Friday. A resurfacing closure is a genuine closure, not lights: the road is shut to through traffic while the surface is laid and cures, and access arrangements are a matter for the site. It runs Monday to Friday only, so the weekend of 26 and 27 September is clear.

At Little Marlow, Marlow Road is shut overnight on Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 September, 8pm to 6am, while lining is put back after surface dressing. That is tonight and tomorrow night.

At Princes Risborough, Horsenden Lane has the Phoenix Trail right of way shut around the clock until Friday 25 September while a culvert is replaced under it. The road itself stays open. The Phoenix Trail is the old railway path to Thame, so this one is aimed at walkers and cyclists rather than drivers.

Easton Street: the multi-storey is coming down

Demolition of the Easton Street multi-storey car park in High Wycombe began on 7 September. Buckinghamshire Council has appointed Coleman Group, which took over the site on 24 August and started internal strip-out on 1 September.

For anyone on foot, the practical effect is already in place: a section of Birdcage Walk on the northern edge of the site is closed, with a signed alternative route and blue hoarding along the northern boundary. Scaffolding is up on the southern and eastern sides of the structure.

The car park itself has been shut for some time, and it is not reopening: the site is allocated in the draft Local Plan for 160 homes. Full detail is in the multi-storey demolition story.

M40, A404 and M4 overnight closures

National Highways’ seven-day closure report now covers Tuesday 22 to Monday 28 September. The spreadsheet is reissued every day rather than once a week, and the edition uploaded on Tuesday afternoon books two nights on the M40 at this end that were not in the report published five days earlier.

These are full carriageway closures, not slip roads, and each runs from 10.15pm to 6am:

• Wednesday 23 September, northbound, junction 2 at Beaconsfield to junction 3 at Loudwater, with the junction 2 entry slip. Tonight.
• Thursday 24 September, northbound, junction 3 to junction 4 at Handy Cross.
• Friday 25 September, southbound, junction 4 at Handy Cross to junction 2 at Beaconsfield, with the junction 4 and junction 3 entry slips and the junction 2 exit slip. New.
• Monday 28 September, southbound, junction 4 to junction 3, with the junction 4 and junction 3 entry slips. New.

The southbound closure on Wednesday 23 September, junction 4 to junction 3, is listed as ending at midnight rather than 6am, though its junction 4 entry slip stays shut until 6am.

Two of the rows contradict themselves, which is worth knowing before you plan a diversion around one. The Thursday northbound closure is titled junction 3 to junction 4, but the scheme description attached to it reads “Jct 2 to Jct 3 lane closures for maintenance works”. The Friday southbound closure is titled junction 4 to junction 2, but its scheme description reads “Jct 5 to Jct 2”, which would take it up past Stokenchurch. The report does not resolve either. All are listed for maintenance work, with diversions via the National Highways and local authority networks.

Nothing is booked on the M40 here on Saturday 26 or Sunday 27 September. That is the clear weekend, and it is the answer if you can move a journey.

The A404(M) is clear for the rest of this report. Its junction 9b southbound entry and exit slips closed overnight on Tuesday 22 September, 9pm to 6am, and no further A404(M) closure appears between now and Monday 28 September. There is nothing on the M4 between junctions 8/9 and 10, the stretch Marlow reaches by the A404, after the eastbound junction 8/9 to junction 7 closure that ran on the Tuesday night.

Further out from the town, the northbound junction 6 entry slip at Lewknor closes tonight, Wednesday 23 September, for maintenance.

Key dates to 6 October

Marlow Bridge: back on the list, with an end date

The Grade I listed suspension bridge has been under structural maintenance since 3 November 2025. The work included replacing the twelve bearings that carry the deck and cleaning and repainting the steelwork underneath.

The council’s roadworks list still gives the scheme an end date of Wednesday 30 September 2026. The entry says the bridge has now been lowered onto the newly installed bearings, and describes what is left as structural maintenance and snagging, all of it beneath the deck. Parking bays by Higginson Park and in Pound Lane car park stay suspended until it finishes.

That is a week away, and the council has published nothing since to confirm it. This page will check the list again after 30 September.

That is the first time the council has published a date for the end of this phase since the job was booked to 11 September. It is also the second time the date has moved: it was 14 August before that.

Neither of the council’s two dedicated pages has been touched, rechecked on 23 September. The project page still carries a section headed “current works (summer 2025)” and closures dated to June and July. The Highways Highlight update was posted on 31 December 2025 and its newest progress report still covers March to May 2026. So the roadworks list remains the only place the council says anything current about this bridge, which is why the date on it moves without explanation.

The narrow reading still applies. A date for the structural phase is not a date for the whole programme: the council has said the decorative restoration follows, in 2026 to 2027.

All of the structural work has happened beneath the bridge, so the road has stayed open throughout. The bridge carries a weight restriction, so it has never been a through route for anything larger than a car in any case.

Correction, 19 September 2026: this page said on 16 September that the Marlow Bridge scheme had come off the council’s roadworks list, on the basis of the edition published on 11 September. The edition published on 18 September carries it, with an end date of 30 September 2026. The section above has been rewritten and the earlier reading is withdrawn.

Trains: normal on the Wycombe line, late-night work at Risborough

Rail is usually 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.

The line through High Wycombe is running normally. Chiltern’s calendar of changes lists no engineering closure between Marylebone and Princes Risborough for the rest of September or the first week of October. These are the changes that do touch the area:

• Saturday 26 September: England play Spain at Wembley, kick off 7.45pm. Chiltern runs an enhanced afternoon and evening timetable with extra Wembley Stadium stops. The 17.27 and 18.27 Marylebone to Aylesbury are both cancelled, and from about 8pm buses replace trains between Amersham, Wendover and Aylesbury Vale Parkway.
• Monday 28 and Tuesday 29 September: routine maintenance closes the railway between Aylesbury and Aylesbury Vale Parkway after 10.45pm, with buses between the two.
• Wednesday 30 September and Thursday 1 October: routine maintenance closes the railway between Princes Risborough and Aylesbury after midnight. Replacement buses run between Princes Risborough, Little Kimble and Aylesbury.
• Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 October: maintenance at Oxford shuts the line between Oxford Parkway and Oxford, after 10.55pm on the Saturday and until 8.35am on the Sunday, with buses from Oxford Parkway or Bicester North. Trains on the Wycombe line run as normal as far as Bicester.
• Tuesday 6 October: England play Czechia at Wembley, kick off 7.45pm, and the peak is rewritten around it.

That last one is the one to put in a diary, because it is not an engineering closure and it hits both peaks at Princes Risborough:

• the 07.21 Princes Risborough to Marylebone is cancelled, with the 06.38 from Oxford calling additionally at Princes Risborough and Beaconsfield instead
• the 17.37 Marylebone to Princes Risborough is cancelled
• the 17.45 Marylebone to Oxford does not call at Beaconsfield and calls additionally at High Wycombe
• the 17.33 Marylebone to Birmingham Snow Hill leaves four minutes later, at 17.37
• the 17.15 to Oxford and the 16.45 to Oxford each run a carriage shorter, and the 17.53 Marylebone to West Ruislip is cancelled

For Marlow, the pinch is at the other end, and it is mild. Great Western Railway lists no closure of the Marlow branch itself in the next fortnight. The first one is further out: on Sunday 25 October, replacement road transport runs between Maidenhead and Marlow after 7pm.

On Sunday 27 September, the change is on the line you join at Maidenhead. Most local stopping services between Paddington, Reading and Didcot Parkway run only between Reading and Didcot Parkway, Oxford trains do not call at Slough, and Maidenhead instead gets calls from longer distance Swindon trains. The 06.38 Paddington to Reading starts from Maidenhead, the 06.20 from Reading terminates at Maidenhead, and replacement buses run between Maidenhead and Slough. GWR’s advice is to check the journey planner rather than the printed timetable, and on that Sunday it is worth doing.

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, and it is the obvious alternative on the nights the motorway is shut between junctions here.
• 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. 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 three-hour 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. 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.

Frequently asked questions

Is the M40 closed at High Wycombe this week?

Yes, on four of the next six nights. National Highways’ report for 22 to 28 September closes the northbound junction 2 to junction 3 section overnight on Wednesday 23 September, the northbound junction 3 to junction 4 section on Thursday 24 September, the southbound carriageway from junction 4 at Handy Cross to junction 2 at Beaconsfield on Friday 25 September, and the southbound junction 4 to junction 3 section on Monday 28 September. All start at 10.15pm and end at 6am. Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September are clear.

Is the A404 closed near Marlow this week?

No. The southbound junction 9b entry and exit slips closed overnight on Tuesday 22 September, 9pm to 6am, and the report for 22 to 28 September has nothing further on the A404(M) or on the M4 between junctions 8/9 and 10. The report is reissued daily, so check it again before a late journey to Maidenhead or Reading.

What roads are closed in High Wycombe right now?

The Pastures is closed for resurfacing until Friday 25 September, 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. A section of Birdcage Walk is closed for the Easton Street demolition. At Little Marlow, Marlow Road is shut 8pm to 6am on 23 and 24 September for lining. The Partridge Way and Manor Gardens ironworks both finished this week. Check one.network for utility works and for anything booked since the council’s list of 18 September.

Are there trains from High Wycombe this weekend?

Yes. The line through High Wycombe is running normally and Chiltern has no engineering closure booked on it. On Saturday 26 September an England match at Wembley means an enhanced afternoon and evening timetable, two cancelled Marylebone to Aylesbury trains at 17.27 and 18.27, and buses instead of trains from Amersham northwards after about 8pm. The Marlow branch is unaffected.

Is Marlow Bridge still closed for works?

The road has never been closed to traffic for this phase. The council’s roadworks list, still the edition of 18 September when this page was checked on 23 September, runs the structural maintenance and snagging to Wednesday 30 September 2026, with parking bays by Higginson Park and in Pound Lane car park suspended until then. That is a date for this phase only. The council’s project page has not been updated to confirm it, and decorative works are due to follow in 2026 to 2027.

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 closed permanently and it is now being demolished. Buckinghamshire Council appointed Coleman Group, which took the site over on 24 August and began mechanical demolition on 7 September. A section of Birdcage Walk is closed while the work goes on. The council points drivers to Wycombe Swan and Railway Place instead, 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 roadworks list, last updated Friday 18 September 2026, rechecked on 23 September and unchanged, for every council scheme, its restriction and its dates: The Pastures resurfacing closure, the Marlow Road lining closure at Little Marlow, the Horsenden Lane culvert closure, the Hazlemere crossing refresh, the countywide lining and street lighting programmes, the finished Partridge Way and Manor Gardens ironworks, and the Marlow Bridge end date of 30 September 2026.
• Marlow Bridge maintenance works, Buckinghamshire Council and the Highways Highlight progress update for what the programme involves, what follows it, and the parking bay suspensions. Both were rechecked on 23 September 2026 and neither has been updated.
• Easton Street multi-storey car park latest update, Buckinghamshire Council, 4 September 2026 for the demolition contractor, the start dates and the Birdcage Walk closure.
• National Highways road closure report, the seven-day spreadsheet covering 22 to 28 September 2026 and last updated at 15.31 on 22 September, for the M40, A404(M) and M4 closures, their times and their scheme descriptions, and for its own statement that a new list is uploaded each day covering that evening and the next six days.
• Chiltern Railways changes to train times, and its pages for Saturday 26 September, Monday 28 September, Tuesday 29 September, Wednesday 30 September, Thursday 1 October, Saturday 3 October, Sunday 4 October and Tuesday 6 October, all read on 23 September 2026.
• Great Western Railway planned engineering work, read on 23 September 2026, for the Sunday 27 September changes between Paddington, Maidenhead and Reading and for the replacement road transport between Maidenhead and Marlow after 7pm on Sunday 25 October, the first work listed on the branch itself.
• Buckinghamshire Council car park pages for Railway Place, Desborough Street, Handy Cross, Marlow Central and Horns Lane for tariffs, spaces and opening hours, all rechecked on 19 August 2026.

Roadworks were rechecked on 23 September 2026 against the council’s list of 18 September, which had not been reissued, and against National Highways’ report for 22 to 28 September, which had. Chiltern and Great Western were rechecked the same day. Dates slip, and the National Highways list changes daily. Check the live map before you set off.