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Hindhead Tunnel - Tom H (6th Nov 2007 - 11:44:03) Is anyone else struggling to understand why it will take a further four years to complete the Hindhead bypass and tunnel? My points: 1) Clearly it is a complex peice of engineering in a highly sensitive area, but relative to comparable projects (e.g. a much longer road tunnel in South-Western France I saw completed in less than 18 months) it seems excessive. 2) In coming up with such a long timeframe, have they got the balance right given the inconvenience being caused in the meantime. (Is anyone else noticing more and more traffic heading through Liphook towards Haslemere to avoid the works? Queues northbound starting before the Liphook turnoff mean more and more cars will divert through our village - even though journey times aren't much longer than they always were.) 3) Work has been underway for nearly a year, but everything seems to have been somewhat peripheral (oddly winding link roads, new underpasses, etc.) which - whilst undoubtedly important - surely could have been done whilst tunneling was underway? I'm no expert in civil engineering, but I am a project manager on large public sector projects and find it hard to believe that these form part of the critical path 4) Sorry to be a bit of a cynic, but could the time be so long so that the project can claim to coming in on (or even ahead) of time?

Re: Hindhead Tunnel - Chris Taylor (6th Nov 2007 - 12:45:28) I'd say a very healthy amount of contingency time has been built in.

Re: Hindhead Tunnel - Simon Avarne (30th Nov 2007 - 16:56:47) I think one of the reasons it will take so long is that they are only going to be digging from one end. The reason given is to avoid tranfering the spoil over existing roads whcih would be an inconvenience to locals. Others may argue that the real reason is to complete the tunnel in time for the Olympics at the lowest possible cost. Digging from one end only means only one pair of tunnelling machines is needed.

Re: Hindhead Tunnel - Dawn Hoskins (4th Dec 2007 - 13:34:57) I have noticed a huge increase in early morning traffic coming through the village and going off towards Godalming on the Haslemere Road. I wonder if this has become the new “avoid the cones” rat run? I must admit – it is a nightmare trying to get up the A3 with cones and speed cameras all over the place. I am avoiding it like the plague – opting for Christmas shopping by train instead of car.

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