Lewisham High Street can shut southbound 9pm to 6am on signed nights to May 2027. A205 lights at Sydenham Rise to 6 Nov; no Overground via Brockley 15 Nov.

Lewisham’s traffic runs on four loaded main roads: the A2, A20, A21 and the A205 South Circular. One burst main or one weekend possession reshapes the whole borough’s journeys. This page covers what is disrupting travel right now. Then the evergreen part: who runs which roads, and the live tools that answer “why is Lewisham gridlocked today” faster than anything else.

What is disrupting travel right now (checked 31 October 2026)

Until May 2027: Lewisham High Street shut southbound on signed nights

TfL can now close Lewisham High Street southbound between Molesworth Street and Ladywell Road from 9pm to 6am, for resurfacing. Its order runs from 30 October until 30 May 2027, or until the works finish if sooner, and applies only on nights when signs show it (TfL public notice). While it is in force:

  • no turning into or out of Longbridge Way at the High Street
  • no stopping between Ladywell Road and Whitburn Road
  • all traffic may use the northbound bus lane between Ladywell Road and Whitburn Road
  • the signed diversion runs via Albion Way, Clarendon Rise, Lee High Road, Eltham Road, Sidcup Road, Brownhill Road and Passy Road

Full detail in our report on the closures.

Today and Sunday 1 November: no Overground through Brockley and Forest Hill

This is the big one this weekend, the last of half-term. Work at London Bridge closes most lines, all weekend (National Rail; TfL line status):

  • no Overground between New Cross Gate and Crystal Palace or West Croydon; replacement buses run between New Cross Gate and Crystal Palace, so Brockley, Honor Oak Park, Forest Hill and Sydenham are bus-only
  • no Southern trains between London Bridge and East Croydon or Crystal Palace via New Cross Gate and Sydenham
  • most Thameslink trains are diverted and do not call at London Bridge
  • tickets are accepted on the Jubilee line between London Bridge and Canada Water, on the Overground between Canada Water and New Cross Gate, and on Southeastern trains between Victoria and Penge East or Nunhead
  • local buses listed on the notice: the 171 (New Cross Gate to Brockley), P4 (Brockley to Honor Oak Park), 122 or 450 (Sydenham to Crystal Palace), 176 or 197 (Sydenham to Penge West) and 157 (Crystal Palace to West Croydon, which takes paper rail tickets)

On the same Sunday, 1 November, the DLR does not run between Shadwell and Tower Gateway; the Lewisham branch is not affected (TfL line status).

Tuesday 3 to Friday 6 November, after midnight: buses through Hither Green and Lee

From 00:15 until the end of service, buses replace trains between Lewisham and Gravesend via Sidcup, and trains are diverted via Bexleyheath and Woolwich Arsenal. That is the line through Hither Green, Lee and Grove Park (National Rail).

Friday 6 November, after 23:30: no Overground south of New Cross Gate

One more late-night closure between New Cross Gate and West Croydon or Crystal Palace. A bus leaves London Bridge at 23:58 for Crystal Palace via New Cross Gate, Brockley, Honor Oak Park, Forest Hill and Sydenham, and another at 00:35 for East Croydon by the same stations. One bus leaves Crystal Palace at 23:59 for London Bridge, calling at all stations. The 23:38 Dalston Junction to New Cross Gate does not run (TfL line status).

Sunday 8 November, until about 09:15: buses to Hayes

Lines are closed between Lewisham and Hayes until about 09:15, so Ladywell, Catford Bridge and Lower Sydenham are on accessible replacement buses, which call at all stations. The first Hayes line trains calling everywhere are the 08:51 from Charing Cross, leaving at 08:59, and the 09:41 from Hayes (National Rail).

  • Hayes line: after 23:30, no more trains run from London to Hayes line stations, and the last train from Charing Cross or Cannon Street runs only as far as Lewisham. The 22:51 to 23:21 Charing Cross to Hayes trains are diverted after New Beckenham to Bromley South. Accessible buses run between Bromley South and Hayes from 23:05, the last starting back from Lewisham at 00:31. Trains from Hayes towards London are not affected (National Rail).
  • Bexleyheath line, Wednesday to Friday mornings: from 00:10, buses replace trains between Lewisham and Dartford via Bexleyheath, which takes in Blackheath (same notice).
  • Thameslink via Catford: work between Nunhead and Shortlands diverts the 23:22 Sevenoaks to Blackfriars and the 23:46 Blackfriars to Sevenoaks via Herne Hill, with replacement buses. The buses do not call at Nunhead or Ravensbourne, where paper rail tickets are accepted on London Buses. That leaves Crofton Park, Catford and Bellingham on the bus (National Rail).

Roads: London Road, Lordship Lane and Stratheden Road

All from TfL’s road disruption feed, checked 31 October:

  • A205 London Road: temporary traffic signals in both directions at the Sydenham Rise junction in Forest Hill, for emergency Thames Water works, listed until 6 November. This is the fourth end date TfL has given it: 14 October, then 23 October, then 1 November. TfL’s latest update says delays are possible.
  • A205 Lordship Lane: the northbound bus lane is closed at the Sydenham Hill junction, on the Southwark border, for repairs to a burst water main, listed until 2 November.
  • B212 Stratheden Road, Blackheath (the Greenwich side of the heath): closed both ways between Langton Way and Prince of Wales Road for Thames Water works. It was due to reopen at 5pm on 30 October; TfL now lists it until 2 November and advises an alternative route.
  • A21 Lewisham High Street: southbound lane restrictions between Ladywell Road and Longbridge Way for TfL’s junction improvements, listed until 5 November and marked “no impact”. Allow for workers on the road.

TfL lists nothing on the A20 (Loampit Vale, Lee High Road, Eltham Road) or the A2 in the borough today.

Further ahead: three November closures

  • Sunday 15 November: no Overground between New Cross Gate and Crystal Palace or West Croydon all day, so Brockley, Honor Oak Park, Forest Hill and Sydenham are bus-only again. Southern tickets are accepted between Crystal Palace and East Croydon (TfL line status).
  • 14 and 15 November: no trains to or from Charing Cross, Waterloo East or Cannon Street, for work between those stations and New Cross. Most services divert to Victoria or Blackfriars, and replacement buses run between Lewisham and Greenwich (National Rail).
  • 21 and 22 November: Lewisham station is closed all weekend, along with Blackheath and the rest of the Bexleyheath line. Hayes, Sidcup and Grove Park line trains run through without stopping at Lewisham, and buses run between New Cross and Dartford via Bexleyheath. The DLR between Lewisham and Greenwich is the alternative (National Rail).

What has ended

The half-term late-night closures are over: from 26 to 29 October there was no Overground south of New Cross Gate after 23:30, and Southern’s late London Bridge trains via Sydenham were bus-replaced. On the roads, the A2 Old Kent Road lane restrictions at Devonshire Grove were due to end on 30 October and have gone from TfL’s feed, as have the A2216 Dartmouth Road lights at Bird In Hand Passage. The A21 Molesworth Street westbound lane restrictions at the Lewisham High Street junction, listed yesterday until 6 November, no longer appear in TfL’s feed either; TfL has not said whether the work is finished, so allow for it if you see cones. TfL still carries a burst-main closure of Baring Road southbound at Chinbrook Road, Grove Park, but it was dated for 26 October only and reports no delays on the diversion.

Normal journey times and fares for the rail routes above are in our Lewisham trains and DLR guide.

Timeline of Lewisham travel disruption from 30 October to 15 November 2026. Roads: A205 London Road temporary lights at Sydenham Rise until 6 November; A205 Lordship Lane northbound bus lane closed at Sydenham Hill until 2 November; A21 Lewisham High Street southbound lane restrictions until 5 November; B212 Stratheden Road closed in Blackheath until 2 November. Rail: Overground shut through Brockley on 31 October and 1 November; late buses via Hither Green and Lee from 3 to 6 November; no Overground after 23:30 on Friday 6 November; buses to Hayes until 09:15 on Sunday 8 November; no late trains to the Hayes line and late Thameslink via Catford replaced by buses from 9 to 12 November; Overground shut through Brockley on Sunday 15 November
The dates worth putting in your diary, to 15 November. Graphic by Lewisham News.
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Who actually runs Lewisham’s roads

Knowing who owns a road tells you who to check, and who to blame.

Diagram of who manages Lewisham's roads: TfL red routes A2 New Cross Road and Lewisham Way, A20 Loampit Vale and Lee High Road, A21 Molesworth Street, Rushey Green and Bromley Road, A205 South Circular; Lewisham Council runs all other local streets; National Highways runs the M25 beyond the boundary
The four red routes carry the borough's through traffic; everything else is the council's.
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  • TfL runs the red routes, and in Lewisham that is all four main corridors: the A2 (New Cross Road and Lewisham Way), the A20 (Loampit Vale and Lee High Road), the A21 (Molesworth Street, Rushey Green and Bromley Road) and the A205 South Circular (Catford Road, Brownhill Road, St Mildreds Road and neighbours). All four are designated GLA roads in the GLA Roads Designation Order 2000. TfL notes its red routes are only 5% of London’s roads but carry up to 30% of the traffic (TfL red routes).
  • Lewisham Council runs everything else: the residential streets, and road markings on all streets except red routes. Its road maintenance contractor is F M Conway (01732 600 700) and its street lighting contractor is Milestone Infrastructure (0800 028 5986). Utility works by Thames Water, gas and power companies are, in the council’s words, “not fully under our control” (Lewisham Council roadworks).
  • National Highways runs the motorways beyond the boundary, including the M25 (TfL, roads responsibilities).

How to check what is closed today

Lewisham’s own website keeps no live works list. It points residents at TfL’s tools, and they are the right ones:

  1. TfL traffic status, the fastest answer for the red routes, updated through the day.
  2. London’s register of roadworks, the borough-level register Lewisham’s roadworks page links to, covering council and utility works. It is a map that loads in your browser rather than a page we can read and summarise here, so residential-street and utility works are the ones we could not check for you. Search it yourself for anything off the four main roads.
  3. one.network, a searchable map of planned and live works nationwide.
  4. For trains, the Southeastern journey planner and the TfL planned closures calendar for the DLR and Overground.

Two big schemes to watch

Catford’s A205 realignment is dead; a smaller package replaces it. The long-planned scheme to move the South Circular away from Catford’s town centre lost its central government funding, and the council’s new Catford Town Centre Business Plan, approved by Mayor and Cabinet on 9 September 2026, says the proposal “can no longer be pursued”. In its place comes a targeted package within the existing road layout: a new crossing by the Catford Bridge Tavern, better crossings on Brownhill Road, public realm around the Broadway Theatre, an improved left turn at Canadian Avenue and a cycle parking hub, with phased delivery from 2027 to 2029 (committee report; printed decisions). The Catford gyratory itself stays as it is. Full detail in our Catford regeneration report.

Lewisham town centre’s makeover now runs into 2027. The Lewisham Town Centre Improvement Programme covers public realm, the market’s transformation and the library refurbishment. A report to Mayor and Cabinet on 7 October puts the market canopy’s completion at March 2027 and the library’s reopening at autumn 2027, with the budget up to £30.5 million, so expect works around the market until then (council report; our report).

What it means for you

  • Brockley, Honor Oak Park, Forest Hill and Sydenham: no Overground at all today and tomorrow, 31 October and 1 November, none after 23:30 on Friday 6 November, and none on Sunday 15 November. Use the replacement buses, or the Jubilee line to Canada Water and the Overground from there on the closed weekend.
  • Blackheath drivers: Stratheden Road is closed between Langton Way and Prince of Wales Road until 2 November.
  • Forest Hill drivers: temporary lights on London Road at Sydenham Rise until 6 November, and the Lordship Lane bus lane is shut northbound at Sydenham Hill until 2 November.
  • Lewisham town centre drivers: the High Street can close southbound from 9pm to 6am between Molesworth Street and Ladywell Road on signed nights until May 2027. By day, TfL’s record for lane restrictions on Lewisham High Street southbound runs to 5 November.
  • Hither Green, Lee and Grove Park, after midnight from 3 to 6 November: buses replace trains towards Sidcup.
  • Ladywell, Catford Bridge and Lower Sydenham: buses until about 09:15 on Sunday 8 November, and no late trains from London after 23:30 from 9 to 12 November.
  • For anything on a residential street, it is a council or utility job: the register of roadworks will name the works promoter.

Sources

Closures change at short notice. Every dated item above was checked against TfL and National Rail directly on 31 October 2026, and this page is refreshed as works change; always confirm against the live TfL and National Rail links before you set off.