ONE man died when two 40-ton articulated lorries collided on the A3 close to the Devil's Punchbowl in the early hours of Monday morning.
The driver of one of the lorries, Tony Brewerton (35) from Welwyn Garden City, had to be cut free from his cab but died on the way to hospital.
The driver of the other lorry was severely shaken and suffering from shock and was taken to the the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford.
The crash, which caused traffic mayhem for miles around, happened just after 4 am on Monday.
A Schweppes drinks lorry and a Booker cash-and-carry distribution lorry, travelling in opposite directions, collided.
The accident happened on the bend of the single-line carriageway some 400 metres before the dual carriageway of the Devil's Punchbowl.
The southbound Booker lorry was struck when the jackknifed trailer of the other vehicle swung round and hit its cab, trapping the driver.
The road was completely blocked in both directions with one lorry overturned and debris strewn across both carriageways.
The main Portsmouth to London trunk road was shut for almost 11 hours, closed in both directions until around 2-45 pm.
As rush-hour traffic ground to a halt, long jams built up in both directions.
Another lorry added to the hold-ups at Shottermill railway bridge when it became firmly wedged under the bridge at around 5-45 am, blocking the road and causing more tailbacks.
British Rail engineers were called to examine the bridge and trains were forced to reduce speed until the road was reopened just after 7-30 am and the bridge declared safe.
The Haslemere fire officer in charge, Bas Ashley, said the traffic situation was "pandemonium".
"The accident involved the two biggest trucks allowed on the roads in this country and I have never seen such a lorry accident in my 25 years in the fire service.
"It was horrendous," he said.
With the road closed between Hindhead crossroads and Milford, on the northbound carriageway traffic jams of more than 10 miles built up as far back as the Ham Barn roundabout at Liss with traffic being diverted along the A325 towards Farnham.
Hindhead traffic was diverted along the A287 towards Haslemere.
Vehicles leaving the A3 at Milford were diverted along the A286 and through the High Street which had only at the weekend been reopened to traffic, following a two-week closure because of the roadworks. Other diversions sent traffic through Puttenham.
p Police have appealed for any witnesses to the accident to contact Pc Dave Hughes at the police collision investigation unit on 01483 569922.