No DLR to Bank and no Hayes line trains on 19 and 20 September, then Lewisham station shuts all weekend on 26 and 27 September. What is closed, and what is next.

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 15 September 2026)

New: Rushey Green now has works in both directions

Catford’s main road is restricted both ways for weeks. A northbound lane of the A21 Rushey Green is closed at the Ringstead Road junction for SGN gas works, until 25 October (TfL road disruptions). That sits alongside the existing closure of the southbound bus lane between Davenport Road and Rosenthal Road for junction improvements, until 5 November. TfL rates both minimal, but they run through the centre of Catford, so expect slower runs at busy times, and buses on the 47, 54, 136, 171, 199 and 208 corridors share the general lane southbound until the autumn.

Temporary lights on the South Circular at St Mildreds Road

The A205 St Mildreds Road has two-way temporary lights between Birch Grove and Rayford Avenue for utility works, until Saturday 19 September (TfL road disruptions). This one is inside the borough, on the South Circular’s run between Catford and Lee.

New: temporary signals on Sydenham Road

The A212 Sydenham Road has temporary signals at the Newlands Park junction for SGN gas works, until Friday 18 September (TfL road disruptions). That is the main road through Sydenham town centre, at its western end by Sydenham station.

Eltham Road’s westbound closure runs to 25 September

Eltham Road is closed westbound at the A20 Sidcup Road junction for SGN gas works, until 4pm on 25 September (TfL road disruptions). It was extended from an original 13 September end date. It sits just over the border in Greenwich, but it is the same road Lewisham drivers use to reach the A20 and the Sidcup bypass. TfL reports no delays on the diversion.

Two more items on TfL’s red-route feed today:

  • A21 Molesworth Street: westbound lane restrictions at the Lewisham High Street junction for TfL junction improvement works, until Wednesday 16 September.
  • A205 Academy Road (Greenwich, at Shooters Hill Road): temporary signals for SGN gas works until 25 September. That is the eastern end of the South Circular’s run out of the borough.

Rail: two loaded weekends coming

This weekend, 19 and 20 September, is a double hit (TfL planned track closures, published 14 September 2026; Southeastern engineering map):

  • no DLR between Bank and Lewisham, Tower Gateway and Canning Town, or Canary Wharf and Stratford
  • no Southeastern trains between Lewisham and Hayes, both days
  • on the Sunday, no trains between Cannon Street and Charlton or Lewisham either, and no Windrush trains Sydenham to West Croydon until 08:00

Before that, the Windrush line’s late-evening closures run to Thursday 17 September: no trains New Cross Gate to Crystal Palace and West Croydon after 23:30.

Then Lewisham station closes altogether on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September. Engineering work shuts the station and the Bexleyheath line all weekend, and the knock-on reaches every route through it (National Rail):

  • Blackheath, Kidbrooke, Eltham, Falconwood, Welling, Bexleyheath and Barnehurst stations close too, served only by accessible replacement buses running New Cross to Dartford via Bexleyheath, calling at all stations
  • Victoria to Dartford and Gravesend trains do not run
  • Charing Cross trains on the Sidcup, Hayes and Grove Park lines run but do not stop at Lewisham
  • the DLR between Lewisham and Greenwich, and local buses including the 21, 225 and 273 (Hither Green to Lewisham and New Cross) and P4, 284 and 122 (Lewisham to Ladywell), are accepted at no extra cost
  • the DLR is also off between Tower Gateway and Shadwell on the Sunday

Further out, the follow-up weekend from the summer’s £20 million Charing Cross scheme, Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October, is bigger for Lewisham than first billed. As well as trains not calling at Charing Cross or Waterloo East (Network Rail), Southeastern’s engineering list closes New Cross to Lewisham, Lewisham to Sidcup and Lewisham to Orpington via Grove Park on both days (Southeastern engineering map). The weekend after, 17 and 18 October, the Lewisham to Sidcup and Lewisham to Orpington via Grove Park lines close again. If you paid extra to get around the 22-day summer closure, Southeastern’s refund form stays open until Wednesday 30 September (Southeastern).

What has ended

The Sunday 13 September closure of the lines between Nunhead and New Cross and Charlton and Dartford via Blackheath is done. The A2 Old Kent Road’s southbound lane restrictions at Devonshire Grove ended at midday on 13 September. The A200 Creek Road closure at Norman Road, once logged to run to 30 September, left TfL’s disruption feed on 11 September and has not returned.

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

Timeline of Lewisham travel disruption from 15 September to 11 October 2026: A205 St Mildreds Road temporary lights until 19 September; A212 Sydenham Road temporary signals until 18 September; A20 Eltham Road closure and A205 Academy Road temporary signals until 25 September; Rushey Green northbound lane closed until 25 October and its southbound bus lane until 5 November; Windrush late-evening closures to 17 September; DLR Bank to Lewisham and the Hayes line closed 19 and 20 September; Lewisham station and the Bexleyheath line closed 26 and 27 September; New Cross to Lewisham, Sidcup and Orpington lines closed with Charing Cross 10 and 11 October
The dates worth putting in your diary, from this weekend to the next Charing Cross closure.

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.
  • 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 £24 million makeover finishes soon. The Lewisham Town Centre Improvement Programme covers public realm, the market’s transformation and the library refurbishment. It is on course for completion in autumn 2026, so expect intermittent works around the high street until then (council committee report).

What it means for you

  • This weekend, 19 and 20 September, is the one to plan around: no DLR to Bank, no Hayes line trains via Lewisham either day, and no Cannon Street trains to Charlton or Lewisham on the Sunday.
  • Commute through Lewisham station? It closes to trains altogether on 26 and 27 September, with buses from New Cross towards Dartford. The DLR to Greenwich and several local buses are accepted at no extra cost.
  • Blackheath on 26 and 27 September: closed too, along with the whole Bexleyheath line. The replacement bus from New Cross calls at all stations.
  • South Circular through Lee: temporary lights at St Mildreds Road until Saturday 19 September.
  • Sydenham town centre: temporary signals on Sydenham Road at Newlands Park until Friday 18 September.
  • A20 drivers: Eltham Road’s westbound closure at Sidcup Road runs to 25 September.
  • Catford drivers and bus users: Rushey Green now has a northbound lane closed at Ringstead Road until 25 October, and the southbound bus lane is gone until 5 November. Expect slower runs through the town centre at busy times.
  • Paid extra during the summer Charing Cross closure? The refund form closes on Wednesday 30 September.
  • 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. The dated items above were checked on 15 September 2026 against TfL, Southeastern, Network Rail and National Rail directly, and this page is refreshed as works change; always confirm against the live TfL and National Rail links before you set off.