Ministers have finally accepted the case for tunnelling under a Surrey beauty spot to relieve congestion on the A3 – subject to a final check on the inflated price.
Ahead of a final decision on the much-delayed Hindhead scheme, the transport and environment secretaries are inviting comments on the escalation in cost, from £240M at the time of the inquiry in 2004/5 to £371M.
The Highways Agency blamed high construction industry inflation, a three-year delay in the anticipated start date and new health and safety regulations.
Lower limits for workers’ exposure to nitrogen oxides and crystalline silicates would necessitate use of more expensive, electrically-driven tunnelling machinery. Nevertheless, the cost-benefit ratio for the scheme to divert 6.7km of the Portsmouth Road – place 1.9km in a twin-bored tunnel under the Devil’s Punch Bowl site of special scientific interest – was unchanged at 2.8.
Local authorities greeted the statement as the long-awaited green light for the scheme.