Skip to main content

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.

Related Content

  • Reducing detection costs benefits intersection management
    February 3, 2012
    The continuing, favourable performance-versus-cost situation concerning detection and monitoring technologies is driving the proliferation of intelligence across road networks. The effective and safe management of intersections is a focus for network operators and systems manufacturers alike. The most complicated of road environments, and statistically among the least safe, intersections enjoy particular emphasis in longer-term work on cooperative infrastructure solutions. However there are current developm
  • MaaS: 130,000 chances for a bad user experience
    May 4, 2020
    Johan Herrlin, CEO of transit data specialist Ito World, puts himself in the hotseat with ITS International to talk about, among other things, why a beautifully designed MaaS app with a perfect subscription model is still a failure if you get your customers lost along the way
  • The long road to Spanish enlightenment
    October 22, 2018
    Julián Núñez, immediate past president of ASECAP, gets his teeth into the vision of a European strategy for toll roads. David Arminas reports from Madrid. Getting European politicians to agree to a long-term cross-border highway infrastructure programme for toll roads is extremely difficult. It’s a bit like pulling teeth: people want to avoid the pain. But pain is something that Spanish operators, including Abertis, OHL, ACS, FCC and Acciona, have been going through for the past decade. The country has
  • Umovity: Revolutionising mobility through innovative technologies
    December 1, 2023
    United under the brand Umovity, PTV Group and Econolite join forces and introduce their new combined Mobility Tech Suite. The companies’ CEO Christian U. Haas explains the details