In front of a full house of around 200 plus attendees with standing room only, Jonathan Wade, Senior Project Manager, National Highways, spent two hours at East Horsley Village Hall last Wednesday describing how he managed the mammoth eight-year scheme.
Working with a £300 million budget, his mission was to reduce both queues and collisions at a junction that absorbs an average of 270,000 vehicles every day, a figure that includes 80% of all A3 traffic at that point.
By far the biggest challenge was navigating the natural constraints surrounding the area, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, common land, and protected nesting habitats. Minimising disturbance to the heathland was another priority. To this end, the upgrade includes Cockcrow Bridge, the UK’s first heathland bridge, enabling wildlife to move safely between reserves on either side of the A3.
Cockcrow is one of eight new bridges constructed as part of the scheme, while five existing bridges were demolished. Four years after construction began, work is now almost complete. Jonathan reports that tailbacks are already reducing and annual collisions, previously running at around 240 per year, are expected to fall significantly.
To watch his talk in full here