Highways Agency

• Executive summary
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Route description
• 3 Policy objectives
• 4 Route functions and performance
• 5 Route problems and issues
• 6 Route outcomes
• 7 Strategy impact statement

M3 London to Southampton Route Management Strategy

2 Route Description

2.1 History

The Popham to Sunbury section of the M3 was designed in the late 1960s by Hampshire and SurreyCounty Councils. The Hampshire section (Popham to Hawley) was built in two contracts - Popham toBlack Dam, built by A Monk & Co, and Black Dam to Hawley built by W&C French and Co. Itincluded the separate Winchfield Bridge crossing the main London to Southampton railway line,which was let as an advance contract to Mears. The Hampshire section was opened in 1971 and theHawley to Lightwater Surrey section later that year. The final Surrey section to Sunbury was openedin 1974. The Surrey sections were built by A E Farr.

The Popham to Winchester section of M3 was designed by the Hampshire Sub-Unit of the SouthEastern Road Construction Unit. This was built as a dual two-lane motorway because at that timetraffic predictions did not warrant the dual three-lane which had been provided on the earlier section.It was built in two sections - Popham to Bridget's Farm and Bridget's Farm to Bar End. The twosections were opened in the summer of 1985.

A complete reassessment by Mott Hay & Anderson (now Mott MacDonald) of the line from Bar Endto Compton led to a major change of route, with the decision to move the line from the west to the eastof St Catherine's Hill, which required a deep cutting through Twyford Down. The constructioncompany Tarmac was awarded the contract for this length, and construction started in 1992.Environmental protest was the main issue during construction. The road opened in 1995.

The line of the final section of M3 from Compton at Chilworth was originally built by SouthernCounties Construction as the Otterbourne Chandlers Ford A33 Bypass. This was designed byHampshire County Council and opened in 1967. It was modified at Chilworth to connect with theM27 firstly in December 1975 when the western leg to Ower was built, and again in July 1984 whenthe eastern leg towards Portsmouth was opened. The upgrade of this whole length of A33 from trunkroad to motorway was carried out and opened in 1992.

In the last ten years there have been few changes to the M3. An additional interchange, Junction 4a,was opened at Farnborough in April 1992. The road markings through Junction 2, the interchangewith the M25, were amended to introduce a "tiger-tail" diverge and merge at the interchange. Thesigns and road markings at Junction 6, Basingstoke Black Dam, Junction 9, Winnall, and Junction 14,M27 links, have been altered to improve capacity. Traffic light phasing has been altered at Junction 3to improve the operation of the junction.

The Table in Appendix A lists the major maintenance schemes that have been carried out on the M3and A316. It should be noted that existing records only go back as far as 1988.

2.2 Road Condition and Traffic

The M3 between Junctions 1 and 14 is a total of 93.5 kilometres (58.3 miles) in length. It is primarilya dual three-lane motorway, with the section from Junction 8 to Junction 9 being dual two-lane. Table2.1 gives details of the distances from Junction 1 along the M3 and the lengths of other sections ofroad included in the study.

The carriageway is primarily of bituminous construction, with one section being concrete. Thisconcrete section runs for 9 kilometres (5.6 miles) on both westbound and eastbound carriageways onpart of the length between Junctions 8 and 9.

The existing level and pattern of traffic flow on the M3 reflects to some degree the routecharacterisation described in Appendix M in Volume 2 of this RMS. Combined (east and west)Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) in 2002 ranged from a high of 125,570 vehicles at the easternend of the study area at the M3 junction with the M25, to a low of 58,564 vehicles just north ofWinchester and south of Basingstoke. This pattern is plotted in Figure M.1, of Appendix M in Volume2 of this document, which demonstrates the changing character of the route as an access to Londonand its environs, to a route that passes by some large conurbations and finally as an access to M27,Southampton and its environs.

The peak 2002 AADT of 125,570 between Junction 2 and Junction 3 reflects the proximity of the M25and London to the M3. The next section between Junction 3 and Junction 4 sees a slight drop invehicular flow to AADT of 115,000. The eastern section of the route continues to experience adecrease in traffic flow as far as the section between junction 9 and 8, where the lowest vehicular flowof AADT 58,600 is recorded. From this point flows begin to rise again, with AADT of 112,700recorded between Junction 11 and 12 and AADT of 121,600 recorded between Junction 13 andJunction 14. The general pattern shows that traffic levels are highest at each end of the M3, wherelarge urban areas (London and Southampton) are located and where the M3 meets other strategicroutes (M25 and M27).

This route characterisation is also reflected in the level of HGVs as a proportion of total traffic. TableM.1, in Volume 2 of this document, illustrates the proportion of HGVs in 2002 AADT. Thepercentage of HGVs varies between 4% and 11%. The higher percentage of HGVs between Junction 9and Junction 14 shows the strategic importance of the M3 between the M27 and Southampton Docksto the A34. These proportions can be compared to rates on the A2 from the port of Dover, whichcarries between 10% and 13% HGVs and the M20, a major strategic route, which has rates of around18%.

2.3 Air Quality

Three local authorities have declared Air Quality Management Areas (AQMA) within their boundaryand that include the M3. This means that pollutant concentrations in these areas are not unexpected toachieve the objectives in the Air Quality Strategy.

Spelthorne Borough Council (SBC) has declared almost its entire borough, including Junction 1 of theM3, as an AQMA with regard to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollutants.

Also in Surrey, Surrey Heath Borough Council (SHBC) has declared an AQMA of the M3 corridorthrough its borough. The area includes the houses that are immediately adjacent to the M3 Motorway.The declaration will action against nitrogen dioxide pollutants and Particulate Matter < 10µm (PM10).

Lastly Rushmoor Borough Council (RmBC), an adjacent authority to SHBC, has also declared an areaextending 51m either side of the M3 Motorway centreline between Junctions 4 and 4a. The pollutantdeclared here is nitrogen dioxide. Both RmBC and SHBC are working together to formulate theiraction plans to reduce NO2 pollutants in their respective boroughs.

These local authorities are required to prepare an Air Quality Action Plan to try to achieve theobjectives. As operator of the M3, the HA is required to work with the local authorities to try toachieve the objectives. Achieving the Air Quality Strategy objectives is a Public Service Agreementtarget between Defra and DfT. The objective that is proving the most difficult to achieve is that forannual mean nitrogen dioxide concentrations which is to be achieved by 2005. The EU has set amandatory limit value for nitrogen dioxide which is to be achieved by 2010.

It is therefore very important that the effect on air quality of the M3 RMS is carefully assessed so thatit improves air quality, especially in the Air Quality Management Areas. The RMS is an idealopportunity to produce a coherent strategy to help improve air quality in this area by reducingemissions from the M3 and should be seized.

Further details of all the M3 Motorway's local authorities' air quality status can be found in Volume 2,Appendix M.

2.4 The M3 Route

The route can be seen in three sections, Thames Valley and North Surrey, North Hampshire andfinally South Hampshire, as shown in Table 2.1.

Throughout its length, the M3 passes through landscapes and natural areas of high ecological,recreational and scenic value. Many sites are the subject of conservation designations and are worthyof particular protection. These natural areas are dispersed by urban areas varying in size from in filledsuburban settlements in south west London to commuter towns in north Surrey and north Hampshirethrough to historic towns, cities and coastal settlements in central and southern Hampshire.

Natural areas are sub-divisions of England, each with a characteristic association of wildlife andnatural features. They provide a way of interpreting the ecological variations of the country in terms ofnatural features, illustrating the distinctions between one area and another. Each natural area has aunique identity resulting from the interaction of wildlife, landforms, geology, land use and humanimpact.

Natural areas have been formally defined as "biogeographic zones which reflect the geologicalfoundation, the natural systems and processes and the wildlife in different parts of England, andprovide a framework for setting objectives for nature conservation"¹.

Plans are included in Volume 2 Appendix J, showing the sites in proximity to the M3.

2.4.1 Thames Valley and North Surrey - Junctions 1 to 4a

The Junction 1 to 4a section incorporates the approaches to London, the interchange with the M25 andthe Blackwater Valley towns of Fleet, Farnborough, Frimley, Bracknell and Camberley.

The M3, between Junctions 1 and 2, lies in the Thames Valley character area. This is predominatelygrazed pasture and includes a number of designed parklands on its higher grounds. Clay vales arecharacterised by large regular field patterns and small woods. In the southern half of the region theThames Valley (where the M3 lies) is edged by wooded ridges and rolling farmland. Rapiddevelopment in the areas of the M3, M4 and M25 has often left new structures and buildings unrelatedto the landscape around them. The overall impression is of a lack of cohesiveness, although oldervillages and woodlands survive in secluded areas.

From Junction 2 through to the west of Hook (Junction 5), the M3 travels through the landscape of theThames or London Basin Heaths. The London Basin is a large, trough-like basin which was formedaround 50 million years ago, and is filled with mostly sands and clay sediments. About one-third ofthe area is covered by London and the wildlife of the Natural Area is characterised by islands of seminatural habitats. These habitats include large areas of woodland, with extensive stands of mature beechwoods, significant areas of lowland mixed deciduous woodland and numerous large wood pastures andparklands. There are also notable areas of heathland in the natural area, including ChobhamCommon.

The London Basin is drained by the River Thames and its extensive network of tributaries. It also hasnumerous canals, with some areas that are very rich in plants and invertebrates. Other freshwaterhabitats include a series of flooded gravel pits and reservoirs that support nationally importantpopulations of waterfowl. Associated with many of these freshwater habitats are areas of grazingmarsh, neutral grasslands and fens.

The once extensive heathland is now largely fragmented and degraded but the landscape stillmaintains its open and "heathy" character. The area still contains large areas of rolling unenclosedheathland where the varying seasons and weathers change the character of the open landscape fromcolourful and exhilarating to sombre and bleak. The distinctive and widespread occurrence of oak,birch, bracken and pine reflects the poor acidic soils and heathland origins of this area.

2.4.2 North Hampshire - Junctions 4a to 9

The Junction 4a to 9 section passes through less developed areas, bypassing the towns of Basingstoke,Hook, Yately and Alton. This section includes the divergence of the A303 trunk route to south westEngland at Junction 8 and ends at the divergence of the A34 trunk route to central and northernEngland at Junction 9. The link between these two divergences is the most lightly trafficked part ofthe route, and is the least dominated by local commuter traffic. This section also contains the twomotorway service areas along the motorway, Fleet services operated by Welcome Break and theWinchester services, opened in 2000, and operated by Road Chef.

From Junction 5, the Hampshire Downs are part of the broad belt of Chalk linking the Dorset Downsand Salisbury Plain in the west with the South Downs in the east. This section of the M3 to betweenJunctions 11 and 12 is characterised by a complex landform consisting of strongly rolling downland,dissected by both deep and shallow sheltered valley landforms with numerous distinct hilltops, ridgesand scarps. These characteristics make the Downs both striking and conspicuous.

The main habitats found within this natural area include extensive chalk grasslands, ancientwoodlands, river valleys with chalk streams rich in wildlife, and arable headlands which support goodarable weed communities.

The landscape is large in scale with a predominantly rural character typified by often extensive viewsand widely dispersed settlements. Numerous wooded valleys are particularly characteristic features.Within them, ancient semi-natural woodlands are seemingly interconnected by a dense and welltrimmednetwork of mixed-species hedges with oak hedgerow trees that frequently mark field androad boundaries.

2.4.3 South Hampshire - Junctions 9 to 14

The Junction 9 to Junction 14 section passes through the extended Winchester and Southampton urbanarea, which includes Eastleigh, Chandler's Ford and smaller settlements such as Fair Oak andBishopstoke, Otterbourne, Twyford and Shawford. The M3 carries traffic using the A34 trunk routeand large amounts of local commuter traffic between these towns and cities and on to the M27 southcoast motorway, serving an area from Bournemouth and Poole in the west to Portsmouth in the east.

From Junction 12 of the M3, to its intersection with the M27, the M3 corridor passes through theSouth Hampshire Lowlands character area. The landscape of the South Coast Plain and HampshireLowlands is split between the generally open, often featureless landscape of the coastal plain and themore varied landscape in the west. The natural area contains a number of nature conservation features.Although relatively small in extent, the south-facing slopes of Portsdown Hill support some highquality chalk grassland, and the chalk rivers of the Itchen and Test flow through the natural area,supporting fine examples of threatened habitat and several key species. The floodplains of the RiversTest and Itchen contain some botanically rich neutral grassland and elsewhere in the natural area fenand fen-meadows occur, especially where chalk springs arise at the foot of the downs.

The low-lying undulating plain of the Hampshire Lowlands is characterised by its varied compositionof landscape features and land uses reflecting the changing soil types and local variations oftopography. A varied small-scale agricultural landscape, the lower ground is generally used forgrazing on the heavy, difficult to work clay soils with some arable use confined to pockets of betterdrained higher ground. The predominantly pasture farmland is set within a patchwork of small,intimate and irregular fields typical of an ancient landscape. Typically, settlements have a looselyclustered pattern with many villages often distinctly nucleated. The overall feeling is one of calmprosperity, with well-managed farmland and some large estates, although pressure from urbanexpansion and the M3 and M27 corridors mask the essentially rural character of the landscape.

1. Biodiversity: The UK Steering Group Report, HMSO, 1995 back [1]