The M3 Motorway at Twyford Down, Winchester
The M3 motorway runs in England for approximately 59 miles (95 km) from Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, to Southampton, Hampshire and forms an unsigned section of European route E05. It is dual three lanes as far as Junction 8 (A303 road) near Basingstoke and then dual two lane until Junction 9 near Winchester and then dual three lane to Southampton. It was opened in sections starting in 1968 and was eventually completed in 1995 in the face of widespread opposition to the this section past Winchester that now passes through Twyford Down.
Winchester had been a traffic bottleneck for many years as several major routes passed through the historic city centre, including the A31, A33 and A34, as well as smaller routes like the A272. In the 1930s, a by-pass had been built to the east of the city, passing immediately west of St. Catherine's Hill.
Construction of this had been controversial as it affected the Itchen Valley and offered only a partial solution to congestion, with some people calling instead for a by-pass to the north and west of Winchester. With increasing traffic, the by-pass itself became a bottleneck, particularly at its junction with the A333 Portsmouth Road. Eventually it became this last missing link in the M3 motorway between London and Southampton.
The Ministry of Transport (MoT) had trouble purchasing the land required to complete this route past Winchester. The land required, east of the city on Twyford Down, was owned by Winchester College, which refused to sell the land to the government because part was a water meadow. The desired route, however, had been chosen to avoid St. Catherine's Hill (out of frame to the right), an ancient hill fort. Proposals were made for a tunnel through Twyford Down, but the estimated cost for this was £75 million more than the estimated cost for a cutting, and the government dismissed the plans. The final route chosen ran through important chalk grassland habitat, and 1.91 hectares (4.7 acres) of a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) were lost. In 1990, a link between Southampton and the southern end of Twyford Down was completed and soon afterwards work began on clearing the route across the down.
The motorway section that was eventually constructed through Twyford Down completed the route of the M3 motorway. Prior to its completion, traffic travelling from nearby Southampton and Portsmouth (major ferry ports) and from farther west to London and the north had to exit the truncated M3 and travel on the heavily congested 1930s Winchester Bypass. Once round this bypass, traffic could either rejoin the M3 in order to proceed toward London or join the A34 road.
Completion of the link in 1994 removed the traffic from the existing Winchester Bypass, allowing its closure and significantly reduced heavy traffic volumes from the village of Twyford. To redress the loss of 1.91 hectares (4.7 acres) of SSSI land, the old route of the A33 road was planted with 7.2 hectares (18 acres) of species-rich grassland under the supervision and monitoring of The Institute of Terrestrial Ecology.
In 1994, a government committee concluded that building more roads encourages more traffic and that the way to ease congestion and pollution was to take measures to control car use rather than accommodate more. When Labour came to power in 1997, most of the road schemes were suspended.
Twyford Down is a small area of ancient chalk downland lying directly to the southeast of Winchester. The down's 144-metre (472 ft) summit, known as Deacon Hill, is towards the north-eastern edge of the area which is renowned for its dramatic rolling scenery, ecologically rich grassland and as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It is situated at the western extremity of the South Downs National Park, having previously been designated as part of the East Hampshire AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty).
The South Downs National Park is England's newest National Park, having become fully operational on 1 April 2011. The park, covering an area of 1,627 square kilometres (628 sq mi) in southern England, stretches for 140 kilometres (87 mi) from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east through the counties of Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex. The national park covers not only the chalk ridge of the South Downs, with its celebrated chalk downland landscape that culminates in the iconic chalky white cliffs of Beachy Head, but also a substantial part of a separate physiographic region, the western Weald, with its
heavily wooded sandstone and clay hills and vales. The South Downs Way spans the entire length of the park and is the only National Trail that lies wholly within a national park.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M3_motorway_%28Great_Britain%29
The M3 Motorway at Twyford Down, Winchester
The M3 motorway runs in England for approximately 59 miles (95 km) from Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, to Southampton, Hampshire and forms an unsigned section of European route E05. It is dual three lanes as far as Junction 8 (A303 road) near Basingstoke and then dual two lane until Junction 9 near Winchester and then dual three lane to Southampton. It was opened in sections starting in 1968 and was eventually completed in 1995 in the face of widespread opposition to the this section past Winchester that now passes through Twyford Down.
Winchester had been a traffic bottleneck for many years as several major routes passed through the historic city centre, including the A31, A33 and A34, as well as smaller routes like the A272. In the 1930s, a by-pass had been built to the east of the city, passing immediately west of St. Catherine's Hill.
Construction of this had been controversial as it affected the Itchen Valley and offered only a partial solution to congestion, with some people calling instead for a by-pass to the north and west of Winchester. With increasing traffic, the by-pass itself became a bottleneck, particularly at its junction with the A333 Portsmouth Road. Eventually it became this last missing link in the M3 motorway between London and Southampton.
The Ministry of Transport (MoT) had trouble purchasing the land required to complete this route past Winchester. The land required, east of the city on Twyford Down, was owned by Winchester College, which refused to sell the land to the government because part was a water meadow. The desired route, however, had been chosen to avoid St. Catherine's Hill (out of frame to the right), an ancient hill fort. Proposals were made for a tunnel through Twyford Down, but the estimated cost for this was £75 million more than the estimated cost for a cutting, and the government dismissed the plans. The final route chosen ran through important chalk grassland habitat, and 1.91 hectares (4.7 acres) of a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) were lost. In 1990, a link between Southampton and the southern end of Twyford Down was completed and soon afterwards work began on clearing the route across the down.
The motorway section that was eventually constructed through Twyford Down completed the route of the M3 motorway. Prior to its completion, traffic travelling from nearby Southampton and Portsmouth (major ferry ports) and from farther west to London and the north had to exit the truncated M3 and travel on the heavily congested 1930s Winchester Bypass. Once round this bypass, traffic could either rejoin the M3 in order to proceed toward London or join the A34 road.
Completion of the link in 1994 removed the traffic from the existing Winchester Bypass, allowing its closure and significantly reduced heavy traffic volumes from the village of Twyford. To redress the loss of 1.91 hectares (4.7 acres) of SSSI land, the old route of the A33 road was planted with 7.2 hectares (18 acres) of species-rich grassland under the supervision and monitoring of The Institute of Terrestrial Ecology.
In 1994, a government committee concluded that building more roads encourages more traffic and that the way to ease congestion and pollution was to take measures to control car use rather than accommodate more. When Labour came to power in 1997, most of the road schemes were suspended.
Twyford Down is a small area of ancient chalk downland lying directly to the southeast of Winchester. The down's 144-metre (472 ft) summit, known as Deacon Hill, is towards the north-eastern edge of the area which is renowned for its dramatic rolling scenery, ecologically rich grassland and as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It is situated at the western extremity of the South Downs National Park, having previously been designated as part of the East Hampshire AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty).
The South Downs National Park is England's newest National Park, having become fully operational on 1 April 2011. The park, covering an area of 1,627 square kilometres (628 sq mi) in southern England, stretches for 140 kilometres (87 mi) from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east through the counties of Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex. The national park covers not only the chalk ridge of the South Downs, with its celebrated chalk downland landscape that culminates in the iconic chalky white cliffs of Beachy Head, but also a substantial part of a separate physiographic region, the western Weald, with its
heavily wooded sandstone and clay hills and vales. The South Downs Way spans the entire length of the park and is the only National Trail that lies wholly within a national park.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M3_motorway_%28Great_Britain%29