LOCAL MP Virginia Bottomley has written to the new Minister of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions in her continued bid to establish a timetable for the development of the A3 tunnel at Hindhead.
In the letter, the SW Surrey MP has asked the Rt Hon John Spellar MP to come to see the "appalling situation" at Hindhead for himself.
The £107 million toll-free tunnel was finally approved by the former Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and the Regions John Prescott in March, and in May, Highways Agency chief executive Tim Matthews announced that construction work was expected to begin within seven years.
But a specific timeframe for development has still not yet been set.
Since she started campaigning on the issue, Mrs Bottomley has continually requested that the government respond to local concerns with "action, not words".
In her letter she argues "this landscape of international significance is in jeopardy", that "our rural villages and market towns are being destroyed by rat-running vehicles" and "the costly delays undermine the economic regeneration of Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight".
Mrs Bottomley concludes by requesting that Mr Spellar appoint consultants to examine the details of planning, engineering and construction aspects of the whole project, and to make an implementation strategy available to the local community as soon as possible.