A3 road

A3
Major junctions
North east end	City of London 51.5108°N 0.0866°W / 51.5108; -0.0866 (A3 road (northern end))
Major intersections	M25 A3(M) M27 M275 A2 A24 A27 A202 A205 A240 A272 A31 A309 A320 A322 A219 A3100
South west end	Portsmouth Harbour 50.7918°N 1.1086°W / 50.7918; -1.1086 (A3 road (southern end))
Location
Country	United Kingdom
Primary destinations	Kingston upon Thames Guildford Petersfield
Road network
Roads in the United Kingdom Motorways A and B road zones

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 and short section where the Hindhead Tunnel is currently being built, is 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 At its southerly end, the original road has been replaced by the A3(M), but the designation A3 is still used to identify the old road.

The A3 near Liphook

The A3(M) at the Portsdown Hill Road Bridge nearing Junction 5 with the A27.

Northbound near the Wisley Interchange with the M25.

History

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 stretch of road between Guildford and Hook is three lanes with a good hard shoulder, and thus almost motorway standard.

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.

Current developments

Hindhead tunnel

Main article: Hindhead Tunnel

The Hindhead Tunnel is being constructed on the A3 near Hindhead to replace a busy single carriageway road through the Devil's Punch Bowl (a Site of Special Scientific Interest). It is on a busy commuting route used by some 28,400 vehicles per day where long queues build up particularly during the morning peak hours. The £371 million 1,830-metre (1.14 mi) twin bore tunnel will convert the last remaining single carriageway section of the A3, outside of London and Portsmouth, to dual carriageway. It will be the longest non-estuarial road tunnel in the UK.

Boring started from both the north and south approaches and the teams met in the middle in February 2009 Both tunnel bores have already been completed and the projected completion date is mid-2011.

The short stretch of road from the Grayshott exit leading towards Hindhead which is currently part of the existing A3 will be re-classified the A333 from July 2011

Proposed developments

Ham Barn roundabout

Although following the completion of the Hindhead Tunnel, the entire route will be 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, 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:

• full-time signalling,
• removing the roundabout entirely (and thereby removing the A3/B3006 connection completely),
• keeping the existing system.

In December 2010 however, the Highways Agency announced no changes would be made before 2015.

Route

London

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.

Surrey and Hampshire

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 reduces to a single carriageway at Hindhead where it climbs to about 260 metres (850 ft) over a ridge. It continues past Liphook and Petersfield and climbs over the South Downs and down towards Horndean.

Portsmouth

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 town where, after passing the Catholic cathedral, it meets with the A3020. It then continues through Old Portsmouth passing the Anglican cathedral and the old 15th century harbour where it comes to an end.

A3(M)

A3(M)
Route information
Length	5 mi (8.0 km)
Existed	1979–present
Major junctions
North end	Horndean
South end	Bedhampton
Location
Country	United Kingdom
Primary destinations	(Portsmouth), (Chichester), (Petersfield), (Fareham)
Road network
Roads in the United Kingdom Motorways A and B road zones

The junction between the A3(M) and the A27.

This section of the road was opened in 1979 and acts as a bypass of the A3 road in this part of Hampshire.

Junctions

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)

Information above gathered from Advanced Direction Signs May 2011

Cycle paths

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.

See also

• Great Britain road numbering scheme
• List of motorways in the United Kingdom
• British industrial narrow gauge railways

External links

• CBRD Motorway Database - A3 and A3(M)
• TAB-MSAs: Photos: A3(M)
• A3 Hindhead Improvement – Highways Agency page
• Pathetic Motorways - A3(M)
• Society for All British Road Enthusiasts entry for the A3
• A3 Hindhead Tunnel - Mott MacDonald Project Page