Motorway - Trust Annual Report 1982
A hardy perennial of Trust reports, the A33/M3 debate lives on. Following the conclusions reached by the Inspector at the 1976 Inquiry, the Department of Transport has approved the extension of the M3 from Popham to the Easton Lane interchange and, against the Inspector's recommendation, on to Bar End. The construction of this section, with its appalling effects on the upper Itchen Valley at Easton, now seems inevitable and imminent. Ironically, by traffic or economic criteria, this is the least needed piece of construction in the trunk corridor. The extension to Bar End also seems economically frivolous when the Bar End to Compton section remains undecided.
This section, of prime importance to Winchester and to the Trust, is officially a matter of public consultation and the Trust has met the engineering consultants to discuss the options available. The Trust has indicated that it remains convinced that any dual 3 (six lanes and hard shoulders) provision in the Itchen Valley against St. Catherine's Hill will be ruinous. There are, however, options for going around the back of the hill and these may offer a real improvement for the water meadows without necessarily disastrous effects elsewhere. The Trust has expressed great interest in such measures, but has yet to take a definitive view of them. The opinions of the membership are sought on what is a fundamentally new appraisal of this section.