Britain’s Highways Agency has recommended changes in the length and alignment of the proposed 1.7km long Hindhead road tunnel to mitigate impact on the Devil’s Punch Bowl – a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Hampshire’s chalk downland (T&TI, December 2001, p9).
In a written statement, the Highways Agency said “The environment would be better protected by moving the alignment of the tunnel under Hindhead Common, as part of a new dual carriageway to relieve congestion on the A3 at Hindhead.”
The changes follow consultations and discussions with local people and organisations and include moving the road alignment northward to higher ground, and lengthening the tunnel by 150m.
Tenders have been invited for the design and construction of the scheme, to be returned by July, and it is expected that a contractor will be appointed in September.
There will then be further consultations, and refinements to the design before the scheme is put before a public inquiry, probably next summer.
The twin tube tunnels are proposed as TBM drives with cross passages every 100m, although the final construction method will be down to the contractor.
The tunnels form a section of the US$154M, 6.5km long A3 London to Portsmouth trunk road improvement scheme. If the scheme follows the proposed schedule, the target is for the new road to be open by 2009.
