A3 road
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The A3 is a trunk road in Southern England, connecting London to Portsmouth.
As the major link between the capital city and one its major sea ports, and originally known as ‘the Portsmouth Road’ for much of its length, the route once had great strategic significance. Many of the towns and villages that it passed through gained income and prestige as a result - such as Kingston-upon-Thames, Esher, Guildford, Godalming, Haslemere and Petersfield.
However, a programme of road improvements starting in the 1930s transformed the road so that is now predominantly a two or three lane dual carriageway, bypassing the town centres.
The road was once the haunt of highwayman. For example, the legendary Jerry Abershawe terrorised the area around Kingston and led a gang based at the Bald Faced Stag Inn on the Portsmouth Road.
Another particularly dangerous location was in the vicinity of the Devil's Punch Bowl, Hindhead, about 8 miles (13 km) south-west of Guildford. Today, this is an area better known for traffic jams, for it remains one of the very few stretches of single carriageway on the A3, and is heavily used by commuters. Long queues build up here, particularly during the morning peak hours.
A 1.9 km tunnel under Hindhead Common is planned, subject to a Public Enquiry, with construction timetabled for 2005 to 2010. This will improve the last remaining single carriageway section of the A3 outside of London and Portsmouth to dual carriageway.
All junctions on the A3 are also being upgraded to slip roads, with bridges replacing crossroads and roundabouts.
External link
- A3 Hindhead Improvement (http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/a_roads/a3/hindhead/index.htm) – Highways Agency page