| A3 road | |
|---|---|
| Major junctions | |
| North east end: | City of London |
| M25 motorway A3(M) motorway M27 motorway M275 motorway A2 road A24 road A27 road A202 road A205 road A240 road A272 road A31 road A309 road A320 road A322 road A219 road A3100 road |
|
| South west end: | Portsmouth Harbour |
| Location | |
| Primary destinations: |
Kingston upon Thames Guildford Petersfield |
| Road network | |
The A3, known as the Portsmouth Road for much of its length, is a dual carriageway, or expressway, which follows the historic route between London and Portsmouth passing close to Kingston upon Thames, Guildford, Haslemere and Petersfield. For much of its 67-mile (108 km) length, it is classified as a trunk road and, apart from a section within the London conurbation is a dual carriageway. At its southerly end, the original road has been replaced by the A3(M), but the designation A3 is still used to identify the old road.
Contents |
Also known as the London Portsmouth Trunk Road.
The historic Portsmouth Road once had great strategic significance as the major link between the capital city and one of its major sea ports. 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. The modern A3 follows the general route of the Portsmouth Road, but bypasses many of the towns and villages along the way, leaving the various stretches of the old Portsmouth Road for local traffic — for instance, the A307 which passes through Kingston-upon-Thames and Esher, is also known as the Portsmouth Road. For some of its length, the road follows a similar line to the Portsmouth Direct Line railway, although one of the major exceptions is that the A3 does not go through or closely bypass Havant.
However, a programme of road improvements starting in the 1920s transformed the road so that is now predominantly a two or three lane dual carriageway, bypassing the town centres, with a section of motorway, the A3(M), just before the road reaches the A27 at Havant. The construction of the Kingston and Guildford bypasses in the 1920s and 1930s made use of temporary narrow gauge railways to move the construction materials. The Esher bypass, between Hook and the M25, is three lanes with a good hard shoulder, and thus almost motorway standard; from the M25 to Guildford also has three lanes.
The Kingston By-pass had been proposed in 1912 but with the advent of World War I plans were shelved. By the early 1920s, traffic in Kingston town centre had increased by over 160% in 10 years and the decision was taken to revive the plans. Work finally started in 1924 on what was to become one of the first arterial roads in Britain. It was opened by the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Stanley Baldwin MP, on 28 October 1927. It ran for 8.5 miles (13.7 km) from the Robin Hood Gate of Richmond Park to the outskirts of Esher. The opening ceremony concluded with refreshments for 800 guests in marquees near what is now the Merton fly-over. The Merton flyover takes the Merton Spur 1 mile (1.6 km), finishing close to Wimbledon Chase railway station.
The construction of the Kingston By-pass immediately attracted developers wishing to build houses where access was already provided. The 1935 Ribbon Development Act came too late to prevent this building, which is especially notable where the A3 winds through Tolworth and New Malden.
The road was once the haunt of highwaymen. 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.
The Hindhead Tunnel is a 1,830-metre (1.14 mi) twin bore tunnel,[1] which cost £371 million to construct, and is the longest non-estuarial road tunnel in the UK. Transport Secretary Philip Hammond conducted the opening ceremony on 27 July 2011, though the northbound tunnel opened to traffic two days later than the southbound one, on 29 July.[2][3][4]
It was constructed near Hindhead to replace the busy single carriageway A3 road, through the Devil's Punch Bowl Site of Special Scientific Interest. This was a busy commuting route used by some 28,400 vehicles per day, where long queues built up, particularly during the morning peak hours and school holidays. It was the last single carriageway section of the A3, outside of London and Portsmouth, to be replaced by dual carriageway.
The short stretch of road from the Grayshott exit leading towards Hindhead remains in use, but has been renumbered from A3 to A333.
Although - with the Hindhead Tunnel now open - the entire route is dual-carriageway between London and Portsmouth, at Liss there remains an at-grade roundabout; the only such junction on the route. Widely considered a traffic blackspot, and an accident hotspot (due to its unusual egg-shape and camber angle causing lorries to tip over), there have been wide calls for its removal,[5] particularly with the projected increase in traffic with the completion of the tunnel. Eventually, in November 2010, the Highways Agency announced it would discuss three options for the roundabout's future:[6]
In December 2010 however, the Highways Agency announced no changes would be made before 2015.[7]
The slip road exiting the A3 leading to the Royal Surrey County Hospital and the Surrey Research Park regularly creates congestion on the main A3 during peak times when the traffic queue reaches onto the main carriageway. This is due to be resolved with new improvements to the traffic system directly adjacent to the A3 with work funded jointly between the University of Surrey and Surrey County Council[8]
The A3 starts at King William Street at its junction with Gracechurch Street in the City of London, crosses London Bridge, and goes south-west along Borough High Street and Newington Causeway to the Elephant and Castle roundabout. It continues along Newington Butts, Kennington Park Road, Clapham Road and Clapham High Street. The road then passes the north side of Clapham Common and carries on through Wandsworth to Putney Heath and then between Richmond Park and Wimbledon Common. It bypasses Kingston upon Thames, where the road is referred to as the Kingston By-pass.
Today there is a traffic black spot during peak hours going northbound before the Hook underpass. The road reduces from three lanes to two in the underpass. The speed limit at this point reduces from 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) to 50 miles per hour (80 km/h), with the first of many GATSO speed enforcement cameras situated before the road bears to the right and under the bridge . The traffic from the A309 also joins just before the underpass. This section is often busy from about 7:50am to 8:30am and from 5:15pm to 5:50pm.
The Kingston By-pass becomes the Esher By-pass at the A3's junction with the A309.
The road then intersects with the M25 and runs through Guildford as a dual carriageway standard before bypassing Godalming. It continues through the new tunnel at Hindhead, passes Liphook and Petersfield, then climbs over the South Downs and down towards Horndean.
From just north of Horndean southwards the A3 separates from the A3(M) (below) and continues as London Road as far as Hilsea, south of which it is Northern Parade (London Road continues as the A2047). It runs along the west side of Portsea Island, roughly parallel with the M275, into the centre of the city where, after passing the Catholic cathedral, it meets with the A2030. It then continues through Old Portsmouth passing the Anglican cathedral and the old 15th century harbour where it comes to an end at Portsmouth Point.
| A3(M) motorway | |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Length: | 5 mi (8 km) |
| Existed: | 1979 – present |
| Major junctions | |
| North end: | Horndean |
| South end: | Bedhampton |
| Location | |
| Primary destinations: |
(Portsmouth), (Chichester), (Petersfield), (Fareham) |
| Road network | |
This section of the road was opened in 1979[9] and acts as a bypass of the A3 road in this part of Hampshire.
| A3(M) motorway | ||
| Northbound exits | Junction | Southbound exits |
| Road continues as the A3 to Petersfield and London | A3 Terminus (J1) |
Horndean, Clanfield A3 Portsmouth, Hayling Island A3(M) |
| No exit | Start of motorway | |
| Horndean, Cowplain B2149 | J2 | Emsworth, Cowplain, Rowland's Castle B2149 |
| Waterlooville B2150 | J3 | Waterlooville B2150 |
| Purbrook, Leigh Park | J4 | No exit |
| Start of motorway | J5 Terminus A27 |
Bedhampton, Farlington, Drayton |
| Petersfield, London, Waterlooville, Leigh Park (A3(M)) Bedhampton B2177 |
Brighton, Chichester, Havant, Hayling Island A27(E) Portsmouth, Southampton (M27) A27(W) |
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Information above gathered from Advanced Direction Signs May 2011
There are several shared pedestrian and cycle paths on the A3, although many are infrequently used. One cycle path links the village of Liss with the town of Petersfield on the Portsmouth-bound side of the A3 Petersfield bypass. Another links the village of Greatham with West Liss. The path is on the London-bound side, linking to a bridge over the A3 to West Liss. This means cyclists and pedestrians are not required to cross the dual carriageway on foot at the Ham Barn roundabout. There is another path on the Portsmouth-bound A3 between Longmoor Rd (near Greatham) and Liphook via Griggs Green.
There is also a cycle path between Greatham and Liphook, and nearer Portsmouth there is a cycle path between Clanfield and the Queen Elizabeth Country Park, a large forest near Petersfield next to the A3. There is, however, no cycle path between Petersfield and the Queen Elizabeth Country Park.
Between Thursley and Milford (near Guildford), cycle crossings of the slip roads have been constructed on both sides of the carriageway for the few cyclists travelling on this dual carriageway.
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