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Dual A3 tunnel will tackle
Page 12
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chronic Surrey bottleneck
By Christopher Walton ..
BRITAIN'S LONGEST land road tunnel took a step closer to completion last week as tunnel excavations from north and south met underneath the Surrey countryside.
The £371m project, which will divert some four miles of the existing A3 away from the notorious bottleneck in Hindhead, includes two 1.25-mile tunnels for northand south-flowing traffic on dual carriageway underneath the Devil's Punch Bowl.
With the tunnel finally dug, the only major trunk road between London and Portsmouth should be open to traffic in summer 2011.
Currently the A3 runs a singlelane stretch through Hindhead and the Devil's Punch Bowl, which is classified as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) meaning development in the area is regulated by the Country side and Rights of Way Act 2000.
Speaking as the tunnel excavations were completed. DfT minister Paul Clark said: "This is a tremendous milestone in terms of the development of this important road. At best there will be 30,000 cars, lorries and buses travelling through this tunnel every day. It will make for faster and more reliable journeys."
Andrew Bearryman, managing director of Portsmouth-based Freight Transport Limited, tells CM: "All of our drivers are aware of the traffic situation in the area and adjust their start times accordingly. For us it will be a fantastic thing when it is finished; it is going to make their lives much easier.
• To see video footage of the tunnel breakthrough, visit www.roadtransport.com/a3tunnel