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Hindhead tunnel speed limit 40mph. - paul (11th Jun 2013 - 21:20:08) Hi, Does anyone know why the tunnel south bound towards Liphook is signed as 40mph. It has been like this for a couple of weeks. Is this crawl for some distance before and after the tunnel needed?

Re: Hindhead tunnel speed limit 40mph. - Mike G (12th Jun 2013 - 12:20:17) HIGHWAYS AGENCY News Release issued 11 June 2013 Road users are advised that the southbound A3 through the Hindhead Tunnel will be closed overnight tomorrow (Wednesday 12 June) for maintenance work to the electrical system. The work will be carried out between 10pm and 5am and the southbound A3 will be closed between the Stag Hill and Longmoor with a fully signed diversion route in place via the A31 and A325. Once the work is complete the temporary 40mph speed limit - which has been in place recently - will be lifted.

Re: Hindhead tunnel speed limit 40mph. - sdfg (12th Jun 2013 - 15:01:16) Why if work is carried out at night is the speed limit in place in the daytime ?

Re: Hindhead tunnel speed limit 40mph. - Steve (12th Jun 2013 - 15:36:27) Reading between the lines it seems likely that at least some of the safety systems in the southbound tunnel are not fully operational and that the highways agency has decided to slow traffic down in order to mitigate the risk.

Re: Hindhead tunnel speed limit 40mph. - Editor (10th Aug 2015 - 16:11:27) To know the reasons behind congestion / an incident / a fault, you should contact Highways England Customer Contact Centre on 0300 123 5000 (24hrs a day) or by email: info@highwaysengland.co.uk. They will provide a response to queries/complaints within 10 working days. My query resulted in this response ...there are many reasons for why the 40mph signs may be initiated in the Hindhead Tunnel. The RADAR system detects slow traffic, stationary vehicles, animals and debris amongst other hazards that could put motorists in danger. The way the alarm system works is that a reduced speed limit and a message is automatically set in the tunnel just in case of an incident. The alarm system is highly sensitive in order to detect even the slightest thing that may be dangerous for motorists. If this causes a false alarm, the Operators in the control room who are continuously watching the CCTV cameras vigilantly, will ensure this false alarm and 40mph speed restriction is cleared within 30 seconds or so. I am sure that you would agree that it would always be better to slow motorists (who could be unaware of what is head of them) down in case of an incident. Another reason why 40mph signs may be activated could be due to signalling failures. This is in line with our minimum operating requirements from Highways England. We are unfortunate to have had these faults recently however I can confirm that this has now been repaired. If there is a technical fault, the mitigation is to reduce the speed limit to lessen the likelihood of high speed accidents. I must emphasise that this is a safety feature and safety is the primary concern for EM Highways and in this case particularly, the team that maintains the Hindhead Tunnel. I can also advise that the team are looking to upgrade the signs and systems to prevent further closures. This is due to happen this week (Monday-Thursday overnight) under Lane 2 closures in both bores. The 40mph speed limit will be in place for safety reasons as there will be traffic management and the workforce in the bores.

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