 Chairman Sybil Saunders welcomed members to the July meeting on a typical British summers day ie it was raining! Then with great sadness announced the passing of Peggy Askew who had been an enthusiastic member for many years and had managed to join in many activities well into her 90s with the help of her many friends.
Our Speaker for this meeting was My Ian Whyte of Balfour Beatty who we all know are responsible for building the 'Hindhead Tunnel' . However as Ian explained the tunnel itself is just a part of a very complex solution to the traffic problems of Hindhead.
The most interesting points to come out of this talk were that this is not just about building a detour around the Hindhead Crossroads - the needs of people and wildlife in the area are considerable and have been taken into account with underpasses, bridges and 'translocation' . The tunnel is only 1.2 miles long but around that are 'green' bridges that disappear into the landscape, orchids that have been moved, hibernating dormice that cannot be disturbed, trees that cannot be uprooted whilst birds are nesting, not to mention the humans whose lives have been severely disrupted for over two years but who will have a wonderfully peaceful time once the new road is fully open.
Using photographs and diagrams Ian brought us up to date on the progress of the works and explained how each stage is carefully monitored by the Highways Agency, ecologists and many other technical experts. When it is fully open the air supply in the tunnel will be controlled by computers depending on the volume of traffic at the time. We also learnt exactly how the concrete tunnel and underpasses are built and the timing involved.
The opening of the tunnel in the summer of 2011 will not be the end of the story as work will then start on some of the surrounding roads and the landscaping – during this over 200,000 trees and shrubs will have been planted. At the end of this fascinating presentation members had many questions before enjoying the tea and sandwiches.
At our next meeting on August 4th our Speaker will be Ellsie Russell talking about 'Charles II & His Mistresses' – vastly different from today's subject!
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