WIREDGOV

Breakthrough for UK's longest land road tunnel

HIGHWAYS AGENCY News Release (HA11-09) issued by COI News Distribution Service. 26 February 2009

Construction of the UK's longest road tunnel under land, near Hindhead in Surrey, is a step closer to completion today after the tunnel excavations from the north and south met deep under the Surrey Hills.

The breakthrough to link the two tunnels is a major milestone for the £371 million project and was witnessed by Transport Minister Paul Clark. When complete, the A3 road tunnel will reduce traffic at a notorious bottleneck and restore peace and tranquillity in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Approximately 30,000 vehicles a day will be taken away from the Surrey Hills - instead travelling deep beneath this protected landscape. The innovative and popular scheme will also take traffic away from Hindhead village - and complete the A3 dual carriageway link between Portsmouth and London.

Paul Clark said:

"Today's breakthrough is a major step forward for this important Highways Agency scheme. It will bring faster and safer journeys on the only trunk road between Portsmouth and London - as well as freeing the centre of Hindhead from the daily gridlock that blights the area.

"This will deliver real benefits to local people, whether they are drivers, horse riders, cyclists or pedestrians, whilst creating a better habitat for local wildlife and preserving the beauty of the landscape."

Once the tunnel is open, it will enable the Highways Agency to remove all traces of the existing road from the Devil's Punch Bowl, which is part of the. Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

By removing traffic and the associated noise and harmful emissions, the scheme will create a better habitat for local wildlife, benefiting rare and protected species such as the nightjar and the woodlark; with special care taken to protect other rare species during the work.

It will also improve the amenities available to local communities - with several underpasses being created to allow horse riders, cyclists and pedestrians to cross the A3 in safety. A 9km cycle route will also be created.

The next step for the scheme is complete the tunnel and approach roads. The scheme is due to open to traffic in Summer 2011.

Ends

Notes to Editors

1. The Highways Agency is an executive agency of the Department for Transport. We manage, maintain and improve England's motorways and major A roads on behalf of the Secretary of State.

2. Work started on this £371m project on 8 January 2007 and it is due to open to traffic in Summer 2011.

3. The A3 around Hindhead is in an environmentally sensitive area. It lies within the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the present A3 runs through the Devil's Punch Bowl Site of Special Scientific Interest, which is also part of an international Special Protection Area designated under the EU Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.

4. The scheme will divert a length of 6.7km (some 4 miles) of the existing A3 Portsmouth Road on to a new alignment, with a 1.8km section (about 1.25 miles) that passes under the Devil's Punch Bowl, placed in a twin bored tunnel, associated side roads and private means of access alterations, and the detrunking of a superseded section of the existing A3.

Real -time traffic information for England's motorways and major A roads is now available:

* From our new Traffic Radio service, available on DAB digital radio and the internet at http://www.trafficradio.org.uk To tune into the DAB service, simply press the "scan" button on your radio. The radio will tune into all available channels and you can select the new service by scrolling through the channels until you reach "Traffic Radio".

* On the internet at http://www.highways.gov.uk/trafficinfo

* By phone from the Highways Agency 24-hour voice activated phone service on 08700 660 115. (Calls from BT landlines to 0870 numbers will cost no more than 8p per minute; mobile calls usually cost more).

Before using a mobile, find a safe place to park. Never stop on the hard shoulder of a motorway except in an emergency. Make sure it's safe and legal before you call.

For more general information about the Highways Agency and its work, visit the Highways Agency website http://www.highways.gov.uk, or telephone the Highways Agency Information Line on 08457 50 40 30 at any time. (Calls to 0845 numbers cost no more than 3p/min from BT residential landlines. Call charges from other landlines and mobile network may vary)

Issued by the Highways Agency South East Press Office.

For further information please contact Roger Jones on 01306 87 8348 or James Wright on 07813 778 689 or email james.wright / roger.jones@highways.gsi.gov.uk