Public Views Sought On M25-A3 Interchange Plans

Published on: 11 Dec, 2016
Updated on: 12 Dec, 2016

People are being encouraged to have their say on planned improvements to the junction of the A3 and M25 at Wisley.

A series of public consultations, hosted by Highways England, will be taking place, with the next tomorrow (December 12) from 3pm to 7.3opm at Ripley Village Hall, Ripley GU23 6AF.

The government proposed to improve the junction in 2014. Highways England has been developing options to smooth the traffic flow, improve journey time and journey time reliability and crucially, improve safety.

This option proposes a four-level flyover. Click to enlarge in a new window.

From about 20 design plans two options have been chosen for public consideration. The first, estimated to cost £215 million, proposes a four-level flyover. The A3 would be expanded to four lanes between the junction 10 of the M25 at Wisley, north to Painshill. New slip roads would be created.

This option proposes the existing roundabout be elongated with upgrades and improvements to access routes.

The second, at £152 million, proposes the existing roundabout be elongated with upgrades and improvements to access routes, as well as some four-lane expansion on the A3.

Further public consultations are:

Friday, December 16, from 1pm to 7.30pm, Cobham Village Hall, Cobham KT11 2LU.

Saturday, December 17, from 10am to 3pm, Cobham Village Hall.

Monday, January 9, from 3pm to 7pm, Ripley Village Hall.

Friday, February 3, from noon to 8pm, Cobham Hilton, Seven Hills Road, Cobham KT11 1EW.

Saturday, February 4, from 10am to 3pm, Cobham Hilton.

Hugh Coakley, project manager at Highways England, who is based at its offices in Bridge House, Guildford, said: “The M25 junction 10 is a really important junction. It’s the interchange between the M25 itself and the A3, which is a road that takes traffic from the South East and distributes it around the M25 to the North, to Heathrow and to Gatwick.

“Anyone who uses the junction now knows that that there will be a delay from 10 to 40 minutes in the peak hours so there is a congestion issue here.

“Safety at the junction is very important as it has the highest accident frequency rate of any motorway junction in the country.

“We are encouraging people to come to the exhibitions and have their say on the options presented.”

If people can’t attend one of the events being held throughout December, January and February, they can see the detailed proposals at www.highways.gov.uk/m25j10.

Alternatively, you can pick up a brochure and a questionnaire at Guildford, Hersham, Cobham, Horley and Woking libraries and send back comments by Freepost.

The web link for the scheme itself is www.highways.gov.uk/m25j10

Visualisation – https://vimeo.com/194064497/6836ff5612

Responses to Public Views Sought On M25-A3 Interchange Plans

Jim Allen Reply

December 11, 2016 at 11:35 pm

It will be impossible to increase the capacity of junction 10 without some disruption. We will loose some bits of greenery to reduce the blue haze of air pollution so there will be winners and losers.

It is worth looking through the 500 pages not displayed at the public meetings and see what they haven’t thought of.

Option 9 is my preferred option as it involves less traffic lights an no five confusing lanes of traffic: http://roads.highways.gov.uk/projects/m25-junction-10-to-a3-wisley-interchange/ contains the 500 pages..

If writing in to Highways England I would caution not to state a blanket objection and remind everyone of the M3 Winchester saga which lasted 25 plus years. The objectors said a constant stream of nos to all options. In the end the cheapest option was taken and we all lost out. We lost Twyford Down completely to a trench when, 20 years earlier, a tunnel would have saved the majority of it.

So I urge those moved to do so to campaign wisely and rationally. Four lanes from the M25 to Guildford is very sadly what we will need in less than 25 years if all the housing is developed in this area. Anything less and we die of air pollution from stationary traffic.
Lisa Wright Reply

December 12, 2016 at 3:23 pm

Surely, if option 9 is taken, adjacent land must be given to compensate for the lost of the special protection area /SSSI?
Simon Schultz Reply

December 13, 2016 at 1:36 pm

I have no view on which option to choose, but it is unrealistic to think that increasing traffic capacity, and thus (given the saturated demand) the total amount of traffic, will lead to a reduction in pollution.
Jenny Procter Reply

December 17, 2016 at 3:34 pm

Neither option will do anything other than increase the congestion around Guildford since both mean a reduction from 4 lanes into 2 on the A3 after Ockham and can only add to the high levels of air pollution we already suffer.

It is high time that the powers that be recognised saturation and put money time and effort into looking hard at and implementing modal transfer away from road traffic and into other more viable and environmentally friendly means of transport.