§ Lord Brougham and Vauxasked Her Majesty's Government:
On how many occasions in the past 12 months the A3 at the Devil's Punchbowl north of Hindhead has been closed in either direction other than for pre-planned maintenance; what was the reason for and the duration of each closure, and what diversion signs were put in place on the A287 at Hindhead and beyond to guide traffic back onto the A3. [HL5316]
§ The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Lord Macdonald of Tradeston)I have asked the chief executive of the Highways Agency, Tim Matthews, to write to the noble Lord.
Letter from the chief executive of the Highways Agency, Mr Tim Matthews.
The Minister of State, Lord Macdonald of Tradeston has asked me to reply to your recent question about the number of times over the past 12 months the A3 at the Devil's Punchbowl north of Hindhead has been closed in either direction, other than for pre-planned maintenance; the reason for and the duration of each closure, and what diversion signs were put in place.
The Highways Agency had no closures over the past 12 months other than those for pre-planned works. However, we are aware of 4 occasions during that period when the A3 in the vicinity of the Devil's Punchbowl was closed by the police due to road accidents.
On 15 October 2001 the A3 was closed for 10½ hours after a collision between an FIGV travelling southbound and one travelling northbound. During the closure traffic was diverted by signing via the A325 and A31.
On 2 April 2002 the A3 was closed for 12 hours after an HGV overturned and shed its load. Traffic was diverted by signing through Thursley.
On 14 May 2002 the A3 was closed for 1½ hours after a car travelling southbound collided with a lorry travelling northbound. The police did not request a diversion.
On 14 July 2002 the A3 was closed for 4½ hours when a car travelling southbound collided with 2 vehicles travelling northbound. Northbound traffic was diverted via the A287 to Farnham and A31. However, we understand that the police varied this at one stage, directing traffic via the A287 to Haslemere. Southbound, light traffic was diverted by signing via side roads from Thursley towards Farnham, onto the A287 and back on the A3 at Hindhead. The police did not request a diversion route for HGVs.
171WAThe responsibility for closing sections of a road or carriageway in the event of an accident rests with the police. The role of the Highways Agency and our Managing Agents is to provide assistance in setting and signing diversion routes or carrying out repairs to restore the road to a safe condition. The police have the power to vary the diversions at any time and there may of course be occasions when the police close a road without the Highways Agency's knowledge.
I hope that this explains the position.