UK tunnel officially opened

UK transport secretary Philip Hammond yesterday cut the ribbon at the Hindhead twin bore tunnel in Surrey, signifying the end of a US$605 million, 1.8 km-long bypass of Hindhead village on the A3 between London and Portsmouth. The new tunnels will be used by 30,000 vehicles/day.
April 20, 2012 Read time: 1 min
UK transport secretary Philip Hammond yesterday cut the ribbon at the Hindhead twin bore tunnel in Surrey, signifying the end of a US$605 million, 1.8 km-long bypass of Hindhead village on the A3 between London and Portsmouth. The new tunnels will be used by 30,000 vehicles/day.

‘This new road will transform journeys on the A3 – improving journey times by around 20 minutes or more at busy periods – and will deliver a threefold return on investment for the economy,” Hammond said. “This cutting-edge road scheme has surpassed expectation in almost every way, and sets a new standard for how vital infrastructure improvements can be delivered,” he added.

Hammond pointed out that the tunnel contains state-of-the-art safety features, including the UK’s first radar-based incident detection system and 100% CCTV coverage.

Another safety feature was the inclusion of Astucia hardwired bi-directional LED road studs to guide motorists safely through the tunnel. A total of 868 of the studs emit a full 180 degrees of illumination when switched from uni-directional to bi-directional delineation should one of the tunnels be switched to contra flow mode.
Urban Traffic Control

Related Content

  • Machine vision - cameras for intelligent traffic management
    January 25, 2012
    For some, machine vision is the coming technology. For others, it’s already here. Although it remains a relative newcomer to the ITS sector, its effects look set to be profound and far-reaching. Encapsulating in just a few short words the distinguishing features of complex technologies and their operating concepts can sometimes be difficult. Often, it is the most subtle of nuances which are both the most important and yet also the most easily lost. Happily, in the case of machine vision this isn’t the case:
    Read More
  • Developing new detection and monitoring technologies
    November 21, 2012
    Established detection and monitoring technologies continue to evolve, but is it time to challenge their supremacy and take a serious look at less conventional ITS? Andy Graham considers the options with Jason Barnes. For ITS system providers, the most potentially lucrative markets over the next few years are going to be the BRIC (Brazil Russia India and China) group of countries, all of which are building many miles of new roads, applying tolling to existing ones (8,000km in China alone) and implementing w
    Read More
  • ITF diagnoses South Asia’s breathing difficulties
    August 26, 2022
    One of the world’s fastest-growing regions faces major transport sector decisions if it is to avoid spiralling emissions problems in coming decades. Alan Dron takes a look at a new report on Asia from the International Transport Forum
    Read More
  • Bright shiny green future: Asecap Sustainability Forum
    August 30, 2023
    Knowing your company’s carbon footprint is one thing, but the real issue is understanding and reporting to investors Scope 3 emissions. David Arminas reports from the 2nd Asecap Sustainability Forum in Vienna, Austria
    Read More

Highlighted Content