Between 7.30 and 10.00 am on every week day morning you are likely to find a stream of traffic, moving slower than a snail, tailed back in a southerly direction, towards Liphook, for up to three miles.
I am talking about the infamous Hindhead traffic lights which have blighted motorists lives on the journey from Portsmouth to London A3.
Unfortunately, for the residents of Thursley, Churt, Elstead and a few others I know the short cuts around the lights to try and avoid losing lots of precious time when travelling from job to job. However, the detours caused other problems with traffic which inevitably lead to bottlenecks and deteriorating roads elsewhere.
After many many years of public enquiries, A,B&C routes, surveys and bickering, the mammoth, mind boggling, futuristic and overwhelming Hindhead Tunnel is starting to take shape.
The project is an awesome testament to civil engineering at the highest level and I can only begin to imagine how to project manage something of this scale.
Once the infrastructure is built, the whole area will need to be landscaped. Once again it will be an enormous task and I will be interested in the progress.
I know the area so well - we completed a project right at the bottom of the Devils Punch Bowl in 2002. Keepers Cottage, a very old (circa 15thC) cottage nestles deep inside this tranquil and beautiful place - and it is very important that indigenous species are used where they are needed but most importantly, heather should be re-introduced as well.
If you would like to keep up to date with the developments and how the landscaping is tackled then bookmark the A3 tunnel site. The site was set up by RedRobbo, a local to Hindhead with an interest in developments. Since he started it, further eco warriors have joined him to keep the world up to date on developments.
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