Weekend closures on A3 as Devil’s Punchbowl

[NWVT]

just had this through guys.



Preliminary work to return peace and tranquillity to the Devil’s Punchbowl near Hindhead in Surrey will start this weekend.





This will involve weekend closures of the A3 in the area, and diversions which will be clearly signed.

As work to build the new Hindhead bypass - which includes the UK’s longest under land road tunnel - continues nearby, engineers are already looking ahead to what will happen with the old road after it is closed.

As well as eliminating a notorious traffic bottleneck, the £371m A3 Hindhead project will transform the Devil’s Punchbowl, part of the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a Site of Special Scientific interest, by returning the old road to nature, with the tunnel instead carrying traffic underground.

The preliminary work will involve removing some trees and scrub alongside the existing A3, which have been allowed to grow along the road verges over the last 50 years, reducing the area of heathland for which the area is renowned.

Clearing the trees now will enable earthworks and restoration work to go ahead to return the old A3 to nature as soon as the new road opens to traffic next year. The trees are being felled now, outside of the nesting season, to avoid disturbing wild nesting birds and other protected species.

The work will be carried out under two weekend closures of the A3 in both directions between the Devil’s Punchbowl Café near Hindhead, and the Milford Junction. The first weekend will be from Friday 01 to Monday 04 October, and the following weekend, Friday 08 – Monday 11 October. On each weekend the road will close at 10pm on Friday night and reopen at 5am on Monday morning. Access to local properties will be maintained throughout.

All through traffic will be directed to use the A31 and the A325 between Guildford and Longmoor, and local access will be maintained using the A31 and the A287. The diversions will be clearly signed and have been agreed in advance with local highways authorities and the emergency services.

Highways Agency project manager Paul Arnold said:

“As with all parts of the Hindhead scheme, this tree felling is being carried out to the highest environmental standards, and it is important that the work is understood in the context of the enormous environmental benefits that the project will deliver.

“We have planned this work carefully to limit delays, and by carrying it out over the weekend we hope to limit overall disruption to road users and local people alike.

“The diversions are fairly lengthy however, and we would advise road users to plan their journeys and allow extra time to reach their destinations if they are affected by the diversions.”

[.Mark]

NWVT said:

As well as eliminating moving a notorious traffic bottleneck further up the A3 to Compton and through in to Guildford, the £371m A3 Hindhead project will transform the Devil’s Punchbowl, part of the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a Site of Special Scientific interest, by returning the old road to nature, with the tunnel instead carrying traffic underground.

EFA


Typical they choose this weekend when we have family coming down.

[Stefan SRT8]

I'll be glad when that tunnel is open!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmWL6wkRiGs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=157JFHm6ph4



Stef

[ilovevolvo]

Stefan SRT8 said:

I'll be glad when that tunnel is open!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmWL6wkRiGs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=157JFHm6ph4



Stef

Me too

[normalbloke]

There is sooooo going to have to be a huge first tunnel run!

Are we taking bets on whether it will have SPECS on it or has that already been discussed?

[Stefan SRT8]

It's bloody bound too with a naff speed limit through it too!

Stef

[normalbloke]

In that case I'll take the Mog

[Stefan SRT8]

normalbloke said:

In that case I'll take the Mog

I'll bet your Jeep would sound pretty cool through there, that's a V8 isn't it?

Stef

[Dogwatch]

Tunnel isn't scheduled to open for another year yet!


Once open I hope they aren't planning to repeat the regular overnight closures 'for maintenance' inflicted on intending users of the tunnel on the A27 Brighton bypass.

[normalbloke]

Stefan SRT8 said:

normalbloke said:

In that case I'll take the Mog

I'll bet your Jeep would sound pretty cool through there, that's a V8 isn't it?

Stef

Yep, the Jeep is a V8.It is a fully built AMC 360 running injection and a nice pipe. Sounds just like a yank V8 should do. The Honda at 9k rpm sounds OK too!

[haggy]

Bit off topic. but is it you normalbloke i often see down by the white swan burger van when i drive past?

[normalbloke]

haggy said:

Bit off topic. but is it you normalbloke i often see down by the white swan burger van when i drive past?

Guilty,on a Sunday usually, unless we elect to go to Portsdown.