VISITORS to the Devil's Punchbowl in Hindhead will be able to observe construction work on the £371m A3 tunnel scheme from a newly opened viewing platform. The platform will allow people to see how work is progressing at the site of the northern tunnel entrance of the A3 Hindhead tunnel scheme. The platform has been built just off Footpath 95 above the site of the northern tunnel entrance and offers views of the construction works in Boundless Valley. The public can also learn more about the scheme and keep up to date with progress by going to the sites new visitor centre in Thursley. The centre is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 4pm, with staff available to answer questions on Tuesday mornings from 10am to noon and on Thursday afternoons from 2pm to 4pm. Highways Agency project manager for the scheme Paul Arnold, said: "I am pleased to announce the opening of the visitor centre and the viewing platform. "People will be able to view the construction work in safety, study the plans of the project and see photographs of progress. "When clearance work is complete at the southern tunnel entrance we plan to erect another viewing platform to see the construction works at the southern end." When completed the A3 Hindhead tunnel will complete the dual carriageway link between London and Portsmouth and remove a major source of congestion, particularly around the A3 and A287 crossroads in Hindhead. The new road will be four miles long and includes twin-bored tunnels under the Devil's Punch Bowl Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The tunnel is expected to open in 2011.
