A3 road
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The A3 is a trunk road in Southern England, connecting London to Portsmouth.
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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 through Esher, 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 1930s 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 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. 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 1.2 mile (1.9 km) tunnel under Hindhead Common is to be built, with advanced works to begin in 2007 and the main work to start in 2008<ref>Highways Agency - A3 Hindhead Improvement</ref><ref>Government News Network - £371 million A3 improvements will go ahead - 26/10/2006</ref>. This will improve the last remaining single carriageway section of the A3 outside of London and Portsmouth to dual carriageway.
Another traffic black spot during peak hours is just outside London going northbound before the Hook underpass. The road is, before that point, three lanes, yet has to go down to two in order to go in the underpass. Also, the traffic from the A309 comes in just before the underpass creating congestion. The traffic is often busy in that section from about 7:50AM to 8:30AM and from 5:15PM to 5:50PM because of the sheer volume of the traffic.
[edit] Cycle paths
There are several shared pedestrian and cycle paths on the A3, although many seem to be very 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. However, an alternative cycle route would be the B2070 or 'Old A3' which was the main route from Liphook and Liss to Petersfield before the construction of the 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 as would be the case if they went to West Liss on Farnham Rd (the B3006).
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.
[edit] London
In Central London, the A3 starts at London Bridge, going 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 through Wandsworth to Wimbledon Common. It bypasses Kingston upon Thames in outer London.
[edit] A3(M)
| Image:UK motorway A3(M).PNG | |
| A3(M) motorway | |
| Length | 5 miles 8.5 km |
| Direction | North - South |
| Start | Horndean |
| Primary destinations | Guildford London Portsmouth |
| End | Bedhampton |
| Construction dates | 1979 - entire motorway |
| Motorways joined | none |
This section of the road was opened in 1979<ref>The Motorway Archive - M27 Dates Page</ref> and acts as a bypass of the A3 road in this part of Hampshire.
[edit] Junctions
| A3(M) Motorway | ||
| Northbound exits | Junction | Southbound exits |
| Road continues as A3 towards Petersfield | J1 | Horndean A3 |
| No exit | Start of motorway | |
| Horndean, Lovedean B2149 | J2 | Havant, Lovedean B2149 |
| Waterlooville, Denmead B2150 | J3 | Waterlooville, Havant B2150 |
| Widley, Havant | J4 | No exit |
| Drayton, Cosham A2030 Bedhampton B2177 | J5 | Chichester A27 Drayton, Cosham A2030 Bedhampton B2177 |
| Start of motorway | Terminus | Portsmouth A27 (M27, M275) |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
<references/>
[edit] External links
- CBRD Motorway Database - 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
| Image:UK road A3.PNG | A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain road numbering system | |
|---|---|---|
| A3 | A30 - A31 - A32 - A33 - A34 - A35 - A36 - A37 - A38 - A39 | |
| A301 - A303 - A307 - A308 - A316 - A337 - A338 - A340 - A344 - A346 - A350 - A354 | ||
| A361 - A363 - A368 - A369 - A370 - A371 - A390 | ||
| A3036 - A3203 - A3204 - A3400 | ||
| List of A roads in Zone 3 | ||
| Image:UK motorway symbol.svg | Motorways in the United Kingdom | Image:UK motorway symbol.svg |
| Great Britain: M1 • M2 • M3 • M4 • M5 • M6 • M6 Toll • M8 • M9 • M10 • M11 • M18 • M20 • M23 • M25 • M26 • M27 • M32 • M40 • M42 • M45 • M48 • M49 • M50 • M53 • M54 • M55 • M56 • M57 • M58 • M60 • M61 • M62 • M65 • M66 • M67 • M69 • M73 • M74 • M77 • M80 • M90 • M180 • M181 • M271 • M275 • M602 • M606 • M621 • M876 • M898 | ||
| A1(M) • A3(M) • A38(M) • A48(M) • A57(M) • A58(M) A64(M) • A66(M) • A74(M) • A167(M) • A194(M) • A308(M) • A329(M) • A404(M) • A601(M) • A627(M) • A823(M) | ||
| Northern Ireland: M1 • M2 • M3 • M5 • M12 • M22 • A8(M) | edit | |
| Past: M41 • M63 • A18(M) • A40(M) • A41(M) • A102(M) • A6144(M) Unbuilt: M12 • M15 • M64 Future: M4 Toll | ||
