106-572: The Newbury bypass , officially known as The Winchester-Preston Trunk Road (A34) (Newbury Bypass) , is a 9-mile (14 km) stretch of dual carriageway road which bypasses the town of Newbury in Berkshire, England. It is located to the west of the town and forms part of the A34 road . It opened in 1998. Between January 1996 and April 1996 the clearance of approximately 360 acres (150 ha) of land including 120 acres (49 ha) of woodland , and
212-576: A Section 6 notice. Another method used by protesters to stop the clearance work was the digging of tunnels, a tactic borrowed from the Viet Cong . A network of tunnels 10 feet (3 m) down was dug at Snelsmore Common in the belief that heavy machinery would not drive over them in case they collapsed, burying the protesters inside. Evictions of the protest camps, tree felling and undergrowth clearance work begin on 9 January 1996 and conflicts between security guards and protesters were widely reported in
318-407: A divided highway ( AmE ) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are designed to higher standards with controlled access are generally classed as motorways , freeways, etc., rather than dual carriageways. A road without a central reservation is known as
424-428: A single carriageway regardless of how many lanes there are. Dual carriageways have improved road traffic safety over the years and over single carriageways and typically have higher speed limits as a result. In some places, express lanes and local or collector lanes are used within a local-express-lane system to provide more capacity and to smooth out traffic flows for longer-distance travel. A very early (perhaps
530-402: A "lack of democracy". The road was originally approved for construction to begin in 1994. However, the then Secretary of State for Transport, Brian Mawhinney , announced that it would be delayed pending a further review. On 5 July 1995 Mawhinney announced that the building of the road was to proceed, and then resigned half an hour later. The bypass led to immense protests in an attempt to halt
636-562: A 'motorway/freeway' standard divided road. Most states only declare a divided road as a 'motorway' or 'freeway' if access is completely controlled . Speed limits are usually 100 km/h or 110 km/h. Twyford Down Twyford Down is an area of chalk downland lying directly to the southeast of Winchester , Hampshire , England next to St. Catherine's Hill and close to the South Downs National Park . It has been settled since pre- Roman times, and has housed
742-414: A broken line indicating passing zones and a solid line indicating no passing zones and solid white baseline shoulder stripes. On undivided roads with more than one lane in each direction, the center is normally marked with a double solid line. The double solid stripe denotes that it is illegal to pass on the other side of the center line. Multilane one-way carriageways use broken white lines between lanes;
848-478: A built up area is indicated by the presence of street lights; on lit dual carriageways that are not considered to be in a built-up area, the speed limit will be clarified with intermittent signs. Although in Ireland the term dual carriageway technically applies to any road with physically separated lanes, it is usually used only to refer to those route sections that do not have a motorway designation. Most often it
954-582: A central median, usually fitted with guardrails. The most heavily used expressways in Croatia is the D10 road , connecting capital Zagreb to Vrbovec and Križevci . In the United States, this type of road may be called a divided highway, boulevard, parkway, expressway, freeway, or interstate, and has a grassy median or Jersey barrier separating the traffic directions. With few exceptions, all roads in
1060-453: A fort and a chapel, as well as being a 17th and 18th century coaching route. In 1991, the down was the site of a major road protest against a section of the M3 motorway from London to the south coast of England. There had been plans since the 1970s to replace the 1930s Winchester bypass which was regularly congested due to design features that had become out of date. This was problematic owing to
1166-484: A freeway from the 1950s to 1970s. Opened to traffic in 1940, the 160-mile-long (260 km) Pennsylvania Turnpike was the first rural dual carriageway built in the United States. By 1955 several states had built dual carriageway freeways and turnpikes and in 1957 the Interstate Highway System began. Completed in 1994, the major highway system links all the major cities of the United States. In
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#17327758239171272-467: A lack of funding elsewhere, partial controlled-access "expressways" and limited-mobility divided arterial roads are more common in the western provinces where there are no specially numbered systems of freeways. On some portions of Ontario 's 400-series highway network, the median may be either steel guardrail or an Ontario tall-wall barrier rather than an unpaved strip, particularly in urban areas. Some partial limited-access divided highways such as
1378-481: A log of events. He used this log when defending other protesters in court. He visited those who had been imprisoned and helped establish a legal precedent of the right for protesters and demonstrators to have a witness while being questioned. Several artists, such as Jill Bray (b.1936) marked their protest by creating work based on the Twyford Down landscape. In 1995, the motorway section through Twyford Down
1484-502: A median barrier preventing left turns (motorists have to use a "turnabout" overpass to access exits on the opposing direction). Speed limits in Canada are usually 80 to 90 km/h on signalized divided highways and 100 to 120 km/h on freeways. In Australia, dual carriageways are referred to in some regions as divided roads, though there is no official terminology. Each state's road agency has its own definition of what constitutes
1590-501: A narrow strip of trees down the middle. In 1907 the Long Island Motor Parkway opened, and roughly 20% of it featured a semi-dual-carriageway design. The New York City Belt Parkway system, which was built between 1907 and 1934, also pioneered the same design. However the majority of it featured concrete or brick railings as lane dividers instead of grass medians. In the year of 1924 the first Italian autostrada
1696-595: A network of tunnels along the proposed route of the Newbury Bypass. A firm specialising in industrial rope access, Richard Turner Ltd, was hired to provide climbers to evict protesters from the trees. Professional climbers condemned the actions of the company, questioning the safety of the procedures they were using. They presented the company with a special 'downside' award at the first British Mountain Festival held at Llandudno on 17 February 1996. Andy MacNae of
1802-605: A new standard was set to designate certain high-quality routes formally as "Expressways". Many roads such as the A1 , the A14 , the A19 and the A42 are built to a high quality, with grade-separated junctions, full barriers at roadside and central reservations and, in some cases, three lanes of traffic. They may still fall short of motorway standard in terms of hard shoulders, the height of overpasses or
1908-578: A petition of 19,000, of which 11,227 were Winchester residents. The group was also active in distributing leaflets to the local community. In March 1992, two travellers pitched a camp on the down, and discovered from local ramblers about the Bar End to Compton contract, meaning the land they were sitting on would soon be excavated. In response, noting that public inquiries had failed to stop construction, they decided to gather support. Environmental organisations attempted to take Department for Transport to
2014-500: A precedent for future highways. Although it, like the first autostrada , did not feature a dual-carriageway design, it inspired the mass construction of future high-speed roadways. During the 1930s, Germany, Italy, and the Soviet Union began construction of a network of dual carriageway expressways. By 1942, Germany had over 3,200 km (2,000 mi) of dual carriageway roads, Italy had nearly 1,300 km (810 mi), and
2120-418: A prefabricated church near Snelsmore Common . From July 1995 protesters began to occupy the land that was scheduled for clearance, a tactic known as tree sitting , in an effort to stop the felling of trees. Many lived in tree houses , which were also known as 'twigloos', while others occupied home-made tents on the ground made from hazel branches covered with tarpaulin known as 'benders'. The first camp
2226-531: A private members' club on the down in 1914. Outline strategic planning for the route of what was to be later known as the M3 motorway had begun in the late 1930s. The route was to link London to Basingstoke , in order to reduce the pressure on the A30 . Detailed planning for the first phase of construction, a 40 miles (64 km) section, between Sunbury on Thames and Popham , began in 1962-3. The 26 miles (42 km) section, between Lightwater and Popham, where
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#17327758239172332-472: A protester was manhandled by five officers. Another protester, according to a report by local MP John Denham , was strangled by officers and left unconscious on top of the Down for 30 minutes. Maggie Lambert, then a mature photography student, took numerous photographs of the protest, and challenged an injunction which suggested she had been involved with direct action . While Lord Justice Mann admitted there
2438-497: A recommendation to complete the M3 through Twyford Down. Following the completion of the motorway to Bar End in the summer of 1985, the junction at Hockley was the only set of traffic lights between London and Southampton. The Ministry of Transport (MoT) had problems purchasing the land required to complete the route past Winchester. The land required, east of the city on Twyford Down, was owned by Winchester College, which refused to sell
2544-416: A result of their misjudging the speed of approaching traffic on the other carriageway when doing so. The majority of dual carriageway roads now have barriers. Some are heavy concrete obstructions which can bounce a vehicle back into the path of other traffic; others are made from steel ropes mounted on moderately weak posts, where the rope cuts into the vehicle body to slow the vehicle while keeping it against
2650-491: A wider range of classes of people than had previously been the case, and included physical violence from onsite security officers. The motorway was completed as planned and provides a link of continuous motorway between Greater London and the South Coast ports. Nevertheless, the protests attracted interest from the national media, and drew attention to this form of campaigning. Subsequent road schemes took greater account of
2756-510: Is autovía (literally autoway ). All of them are government-owned and not tolled. First-generation autovías, built in the 1980s and early 1990s, were just duplications in parallel of existing roads, as shown in the photograph. Modern autovías are two carriageways built from scratch, leaving the old road they replace as an alternative route for pedestrians, bicycles and other non-motorized vehicles. Private properties may have direct access to an autovía, as well as bus stops and gas stations in
2862-399: Is national roads (roads with a route number prefix of N ; e.g. N8 ) that are built as or upgraded to dual carriageway. A number of non-national roads (for example, regional roads ) are dual carriageway, for example in urban areas near or in cities, or where the road was part of a national route. Dual carriageways of this class differ from motorways in a number of ways. The hard shoulder
2968-450: Is demarcated with a dashed yellow line (as opposed to an unbroken yellow line on motorways). The standard speed limit of 100 km/h (62 mph) for national routes usually applies (by default the limit is 80 km/h (50 mph) for non-national roads, even if dual carriageway). Local authorities have the power to apply a limit of up to 120 km/h (75 mph) as used on most motorways (The High Quality Dual Carriageway section of
3074-533: The American Bridge , was built in case the Town Bridge was destroyed in an air raid . The American Bridge continued in use until it was replaced in 2001, but post-war traffic increases meant that the town centre and its bridges needed by-passing. The first Newbury bypass was built in 1963; however, by the 1980s this in turn proved insufficient to cope with the huge volume of traffic travelling through
3180-577: The Autobahn network programme but still have the blue signs (e. g. the B 59 , formerly A 540 near Grevenbroich ); and on the other hand some former non- Autobahn (yellow) motorways have been added to Autobahn budgeting but the signs have not been changed either (e. g. parts of the B 6 , now A 36 in the north of the Harz highland area in Saxony-Anhalt). Motorways that are neither in
3286-533: The British Mountaineering Council said "Climbers have an enviable environmental record, and the vast majority will be outraged at being associated with actions of this kind." Climber and writer Jim Perrin said "If we, as a community, do not disown and ostracise these mercenaries and renegades, we are undermining the reason for our own existence and helping accelerate the destruction of places we hold most dear". On Monday 29 January there
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3392-535: The Campaign for Better Transport in 2007. Veteran road protester Chris Gillham believes that his efforts in protesting against Twyford Down, where he took an active role in confronting security officers and crawling under razor wire, helped later road schemes, such as the Hindhead Tunnel to be planned with greater consideration about the environment. In 2012, several of the original protesters returned to
3498-458: The Campaign for Better Transport ) claimed the protest had enabled the incoming Labour government to look at alternatives to building more roads. Musician and activist Julian Cope was a frequent visitor to the camps and would document many of the protesters struggles in his album Interpreter . The English band New Model Army commemorated the conflict in its song " Snelsmore Wood ". Dual carriageway A dual carriageway ( BrE ) or
3604-508: The Campaign to Protect Rural England that traffic had returned to previous levels: the Highways Agency's rejoinder being that the road had reduced traffic problems in the town. In January 2016, a BBC magazine article commemorating the events of 20 years earlier showed 200,000 new trees starting to mature and the mutual respect but not affection between the former protagonists. One of the protesters, Rebecca Lush (since working for
3710-473: The Chalkhill Blue butterfly, extinct, putting a highly visible scar on the landscape, and that they believed the new motorway would not adequately resolve traffic problems. Protesters demonstrated their opposition to the road's construction by blocking the path of construction equipment. They were met by security officers from Group 4 . In December 1992, in view of a film crew from The Observer ,
3816-540: The English Heritage registered battlefield site of the first Battle of Newbury during the English Civil War in 1643; and The Chase, a National Trust nature reserve. It was also found that areas of the proposed bypass route were home to a rare snail , known as Desmoulin's whorl snail . A public inquiry into the plans was held in 1988, which found in favour of the road. Opponents argued that
3922-500: The Hanlon Parkway and Black Creek Drive have stop-controlled at-grade intersections and private entrances, but have sufficient right-of-way to convert them to full freeways with interchanges if traffic warrants. There are also RIRO expressways , such as Highway 11 and a portion of Highway 35 , which are not full freeways since they allow access to existing properties, but traffic speeds are faster than regular roads due to
4028-567: The High Court , stating that the road was against the government's own environmental protection laws. The European Commission dropped its objections that August. David Croker , who had become head of the protest group Twyford Down Association, said they "had come to depend on the European Commission so we're very disappointed." The principal arguments of the protesters were their concern about making wildlife species, such as
4134-708: The Mediterranean world . This influx of road activity necessitated the construction of a dual thoroughfare as the road approached the Porta Portese , the corresponding gate in the Aurelian Walls of Rome for the Via Portuensis . One claim for the first divided highway in the United States was Savery Avenue in Carver, Massachusetts , first built in 1860, where the two roadways were separated by
4240-707: The N1 between the end of the M1 and the border with Northern Ireland and the N25/N22 Ballincollig Bypass in Cork are the only route sections with such special limits). Traffic lights and junctions are permitted at grade on dual carriageways. For older sections of dual carriageway, this has resulted in fewer flyover junctions. Newer dual carriageway sections are usually near motorway standard, with grade-separated junctions, but may not be designated as motorways due to
4346-573: The Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and went to a public inquiry in 1985, where the then Planning Officer of Winchester City Council described the route as "bold" and an "imaginative solution" In February 1992, the M3 was improved between Southampton and Compton, and soon afterwards work began on clearing the route across the down. Part of the contract stipulated that the old bypass would be removed and restored to nature, restoring direct access to St. Catherine's Hill. We respectfully petition
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4452-680: The autobahn network nor in the Bundesstraße network are given black on white signs, following the same sign code as high-speed dual carriageways—this is mostly seen on urban trunk roads. Italian Highway Code ( Codice della strada ) divides dual carriageways into three different classifications: Italian type-B and type-C roads do not follow a specific numbering criterion. They may be numbered as Strade Statali (SS; "state roads"), Strade Regionali (SR; "regional roads"), Strade Provinciali (SP; "provincial roads") or Strade Comunali (SC; "municipal roads"). The Spanish word for dual carriageway
4558-467: The 1930s, a by-pass was planned to the east of the city, passing immediately west of St. Catherine's Hill , opening to traffic on 1 February 1940. Construction of this had been controversial as it affected the Itchen Valley and offered only a partial solution to congestion, with some people calling instead for a by-pass to the north and west of Winchester. As a 1930s road construction project,
4664-543: The 3rd century, a fort was constructed on the hill, while in the 12th, a Norman chapel was constructed on the site. During the Middle Ages , paths along the down formed part of the Pilgrim's Trail from Winchester to Normandy via Portsmouth . This is commemorated by the modern Pilgrims' Trail which crosses the down. In 1675, John Ogilby noted that the main coaching route from London to Southampton ran over
4770-656: The A30 and the A303 separated, opened in June 1971; this was followed by the Sunbury to Lightwater section which opened in July 1974. The second phase was to extend the motorway 10 miles (16 km) southwards between Popham and Winchester, ending at Compton . Planning began with the first public inquiry which was held in 1971, to set the line of the motorway , and this second section
4876-473: The British media. By the following month the number of protesters had increased and there were more than 20 camps along the route of the bypass, with names such as 'Skyward', 'Rickety Bridge', 'Granny Ash', 'Quercus Circus', 'Sea View', 'Babble Brook', 'Radical Fluff', 'Pixie Village' and 'Heartbreak Hotel'. Peter Faulding was called in by the authorities to plan and safely remove the environmental protesters from
4982-595: The City Council to heed the strength of the case against the M3 and by vote in Council to rescind their previous support for the motorway between Popham and Compton. Petition from the M3 Joint Action Group to Winchester City Council Protests against the completion of the M3 had been ongoing since 1973, with the formation of the M3 Joint Action Group by David Pare . The group gathered together
5088-475: The Local Government Act 2001. Accordingly, hard shoulders are included wherever feasible to provide for the resulting pedestrian and cyclist traffic, and are present on much of the national route network. These hard shoulders may also be used as running lanes by motorised traffic under certain conditions. Until 2005, many motorways and dual carriageways in Ireland did not have crash barriers in
5194-439: The M3. The Rev. Michael Till explained that "the noise comes beaming straight across The Close. It does change life having a perpetual background noise". Also in that year, veterans of a Twyford Down protest threatened a new campaign of direct action in response to 200 new road-building proposals in the government's recently unveiled ten-year transport plan. Rebecca Lush went on to found Road Block in 2005, which became part of
5300-661: The Newbury area. In 1981 a new road to be built to the west of Newbury, mainly following the path of the disused Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway railway line , was proposed to bypass the town centre. This route was very controversial because it ran through three Sites of Special Scientific Interest : Snelsmore Common plus the Rivers Lambourn and Kennet; Penn Wood which was part of the North Wessex Downs AONB ( Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty );
5406-554: The Soviet Union had 400 km (250 mi). What may have been the world's first long-distance intercity dual carriageway/freeway was the Queen Elizabeth Way in Southern Ontario in Canada, initially linking the large cities of Toronto and Hamilton together by 1939, with construction on this stretch of the present-day Queen Elizabeth Way beginning in 1936 as "Middle Road". It was gradually upgraded to
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#17327758239175512-530: The Twyford Down cutting, the pace of road construction in the United Kingdom slowed. In 1994, a government committee concluded that building more roads would only encourage more traffic, and that the way to ease congestion and pollution was to take measures to control car use rather than accommodate more. When Labour came to power in 1997, many road schemes were cancelled. In 2000, campaigners mounted legal action to preserve an area of grassland created on
5618-659: The UK, although the term "dual carriageway" applies to any road with physically separated lanes, it is frequently used as a descriptive term for major routes built in this style. Such major dual carriageways usually have two lanes of traffic in each direction, with the lane nearest the centre being reserved for overtaking. Occasionally dual carriageways have only one lane in each direction, or more than two lanes each way (sometimes to permit easier overtaking of slower uphill traffic). Different speed limits apply on dual carriageway sections from those that apply on single carriageway sections of
5724-433: The area which is renowned for its dramatic rolling scenery and ecologically rich grassland. Its history can be traced back to pre-Roman times. Along it run a series of trackways known as "dongas", which resulted from farmers herding animals to surrounding markets. St Catherine's Hill , in the centre of the down has been identified as a human settlement more than 3,000 years ago and pre-dates the foundation of Winchester . In
5830-428: The barrier until it has stopped. Often on urban dual carriageways where the road has been converted from a four-lane single carriageway the central reservation will not be substantial: often just a small steel divider to save space. Turning right (that is, across the line of traffic heading in the opposite direction) is usually permitted only at specific locations. Often the driver will be required to turn left (away from
5936-459: The basis of their structure these roads have, comparable to the German autobahn , the legal foundation that no default speed limit exists (design speed 130 km/h), although the standard advisory speed limit ( German : Richtgeschwindigkeit ) still exists. Nevertheless, expressways are often given speed limit signs. Exit signs. At the moment some (blue) motorways have been taken out of
6042-460: The bypass also reduced traffic volumes from the village of Twyford and removed the road that separated St. Catherine's Hill from the city. When interviewed for The Independent , local residents said the latter had transformed the place, one adding "St. Catherine's Hill used to be cut off from Winchester by the A33. Now there's open, peaceful countryside. It's wonderful." Soon after the construction of
6148-570: The bypass was built to then-contemporary standards, including at-grade crossings at Bar End and at Hockley. As time progressed, the bypass became more and more of a bottleneck as roads around it were improved to higher standards, particularly after the opening of the A33 Chandler's Ford Bypass in 1968 and the A34 King's Worthy Link the following year, which meant all long distance traffic, as opposed to merely that from London to Southampton,
6254-458: The bypass. The name actually came from a meeting held by local townspeople and was the suggestion of a name by a local historian who cared deeply that the battlefields of the Civil War stayed safe to visitors. Although the majority of local residents were in favour of building the bypass, a sizeable minority were against it. A protest group of local businesses opposed to the building of the road
6360-691: The central reservation, the policy being to use a wider median instead. Crash barriers are now mandatory for such routes, and wire cabling or full crash barriers (depending on whether or not the route is a motorway, and median width) have been fitted to existing routes. Between 2000 and 2010, three major types of dual carriageway were built on national road schemes in Ireland: In Germany the term Autobahnähnliche Straße (motorway-like road) refers to roads that are similar to German autobahn in grade-separation and signage. Most of them are designated as Kraftfahrstraßen (expressways), which means that
6466-633: The city. These proposals had gone through two public inquiries in 1971 and 1976, respectively. The first in 1971, the line order inquiry, had considered the proposed route of the motorway; and in 1973 the government approved this route. The second inquiry, in 1976, was to consider both the stopping up of side roads and the compulsory purchase orders for the land needed to build the motorway. The latter inquiry in particular had drawn significant objection from protesters, including masters from Winchester College . Morgan-Giles argued in Parliament to support
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#17327758239176572-554: The cost blow-out on the protesters. Much of the aggregate used in the by-pass was from the decommissioned RAF Greenham Common . The runway, once one of the largest in Europe was broken up and removed (except for one centre section) as part of the effort to return the common to its former state. The concrete structures on the bypass received the Concrete Society 's Overall Award for Outstanding Structures in 1999. Following
6678-401: The decision was flawed and possibly illegal as there was no Environmental Impact Assessment — a legal requirement incorporated into British law two weeks after the start of the 1988 public enquiry. However, the inquiry decision was made in accordance with legislation at the time. The plans were passed in a closed session of Parliament , after a pro forma hearing, which opponents criticised as
6784-435: The dual carriageway) in order to loop around to an access road that permits crossing the major road. Roundabouts on dual carriageways are relatively common, especially in cities or where the cost of a grade-separated junction would be prohibitive. Where space is even more limited, intersections may be controlled by traffic lights. Smaller residential roads adjoining urban dual carriageways may be blocked off at one end to limit
6890-607: The entire length featured a dual-carriageway design. In the early 1930s, it was extended southward all the way to Naples and northward to Florence. Most of the original routing was destroyed by the Allies in World War II. By 1930 several US and European cities had built dual-carriageway highways, mostly to control traffic jams and/or to provide bypass routes for traffic. In 1932 the first German autobahn opened between Cologne and Bonn. It ran 21 km (13 mi) and became
6996-496: The environment or were cancelled. Several protesters at Twyford Down subsequently formed campaign groups, or joined existing ones such as the Campaign for Better Transport . Twyford Down sits to the southeast of Winchester and the northeast of Twyford, and is part of the Winchester-East Meon Anticline . The down's 142-metre (466 ft) summit, known as Deacon Hill, is towards the north-eastern edge of
7102-452: The extensive protests over the construction of the road, environmental concerns became much more of an important issue to civil engineers. The Newbury bypass itself was built with extra environmental features in an attempt to reduce the impact of the road. The Desmoulin's whorl snail colony, previously located at Rack Marsh in Bagnor , was moved to another location to allow construction of
7208-667: The federally funded Interstate Highway System are fully controlled access divided highways known as freeways . A broader definition, expressways , includes both freeways and partial limited-access divided highways, and "expressway" is often used specifically to refer to the latter. United States Numbered Highways , state highways and other locally maintained highways may also be divided. Speed limits on rural divided highways range from 65 to 75 miles per hour (105 to 121 km/h), with some portions as high as 80 miles per hour (130 km/h). One privately run toll road in Texas, SH 130, has
7314-538: The felling of nearly 10,000 mature trees to make way for the construction of the road, led to some of the largest anti-road protests in European history. Around 7,000 people demonstrated on the site of the bypass route in some way and over 800 arrests were made. The cost of policing the protest (known as 'Operation Prospect' and run jointly by Thames Valley Police and Hampshire Constabulary ) had reached approximately £5 million by December 1996. An additional £30 million
7420-514: The felling of trees (including mature oak, ash, and beech) and the start of building work. A number of protesters were veterans from the Twyford Down protests over the building of the M3 motorway . Others were students, unemployed people, part-time workers and people taking time off from work to protest. In 1994, a local comprehensive school teacher, Helen Anscombe, founded "The Third Battle of Newbury", an umbrella group of organisations against
7526-611: The first) example of a dual carriageway was the Via Portuensis , built in the first century by the Roman emperor Claudius between Rome and its harbor of Portus . The route between the city and the port experienced a great deal of commercial and pedestrian traffic, as Portus served as the primary avenue for the grain shipments of the Cura Annonae into Rome, as well as transporting the majority of goods imported from across
7632-673: The generic speed limit is 120 km/h (75 mph), minimum speed is 60 km/h (37 mph), driving backwards is strictly prohibited, and they shall not have at-grade junctions. Dual carriageways or expressways in Croatia (Croatian: brza cesta ) are non- tolled roads with 2 or more lanes in each direction, but without emergency lanes . The main motorways in Croatia are also dual carriageways, but they have emergency lanes and tolls. Many bypasses and beltways of smaller cities in Croatia have been recently constructed or planned as dual carriageways. All dual carriageways in Croatia house
7738-544: The hard shoulders. A controlled-access highway (motorway) in Spain is referred to as autopista (literally autotrack ). They may be operated by private companies and be tolled. The two major accesses to Spain from France, AP-7 into Catalonia and AP-8 into the Basque Country , are autopistas. In comparison, the prime road between Spain and Portugal is the photographed autovía A-5 . In both autopistas and autovías,
7844-478: The highest speed limit in the United States at 85 miles per hour (137 km/h). Urban divided highways which are at grade and typically have much lower speed limits are sometimes called boulevards . In keeping with the U.S. Department of Transportation 's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), since the early 1970s all divided highways are striped by color to show the direction of traffic flow. Two-way undivided roads have an amber center line, with
7950-680: The introduction the Irish Planning system in 1964. Today Irish planning policy prohibits such development on National Primary or National Secondary roads where the speed limit exceeds 60 km/h (37 mph). This policy results from concerns expressed by the National Roads Authority. A local authority is not obliged to implement this policy and can disregard this policy at its own discretion. This would usually only occur in exceptional circumstances or where planners are overruled by elected councillors using section 140 of
8056-465: The lack of available land between Winchester College and St. Catherine's Hill. After several public inquiries, particularly with using the water meadows near the college, a route was chosen that took the motorway over the down in a cutting. Although protests against the M3 had been ongoing since the early 1970s, the protest-action on top of the down, described in 1994 as the most controversial British motorway project ever to start construction, attracted
8162-471: The land to the government because part was a water meadow . The desired route, however, had been chosen to avoid St. Catherine's Hill, and pass to the south. Proposals were made for a tunnel through Twyford Down, but the estimated cost for this was £ 75 million more than the estimated cost for a cutting, and the government dismissed the plans. The final route chosen ran to the south of St. Catherine's Hill, taking 1.91 hectares (4.7 acres) (approximately 4.5%) of
8268-708: The lanes of an existing road (for example US Highway 33 between Elkhart and Goshen in northern Indiana). Like other countries, there are several types of divided highways; fully controlled-access divided routes with interchanges (commonly known as "freeways" in the United States, Australia, and regionally within Canada), expressways that often include a mix of interchanges and traffic signals, and divided arterial roads that are almost entirely stop-controlled. Unlike some other countries, divided dual carriageways in Canada are seldom equipped with traffic circles , roundabouts, or rotaries as alternatives to stoplights. In Canada,
8374-535: The median-side baseline is solid amber, and the right sideline is solid white. Frequently in the U.S. the two carriageways are separated by some distance (wide medians with small forests or even hills in them), but drivers can always tell whether the roadway is two-way or one-way—and, if one-way, the direction in which the traffic flows—by looking at the striping coloration. For an example, see inset showing U.S. Route 52 near Lafayette, Indiana . Some divided highways have been turned into undivided highways by widening
8480-678: The need to preserve access to adjoining property or to the absence of a non-motorway alternative route. Also, dual carriageways that are not motorway classified do not need to be equipped with emergency phones. Motorway restrictions only apply to motorway sections, rather than all dual carriageway sections of national roads (these are signposted with the N prefix on the route number, rather than M ). Some national secondary roads , and regional roads in particular often have houses, schools and other developments fronting on to them. Less important national primary roads , and older sections not yet upgraded may also feature such developments built before
8586-485: The new road, there was a 67% increase (from 6 to 10) in the five years after it opened. However, the total number of casualties fell by 32% (from 455 to 311). The same report concluded that the levels of traffic on the old road had not fallen as much as might have been expected, possibly because of traffic being able to use it for other reasons. In 2006, the Highways Agency defended the scheme from allegations by
8692-522: The number of junctions on the dual carriageway; often other roads will pass over or under the dual carriageway without an intersection. A dual carriageway with grade-separated junctions and which meets other requirements may be upgraded to motorway standard, denoted by an (M) added after the road number (e.g. " A1(M) " or " A38(M) "). Unlike in Ireland, there was no official terminology for 'high-quality dual carriageways' until April 2015, when in England
8798-568: The option of going over or through Twyford Down had not been considered, and the alignment of the proposed six- lane M3 motorway (three lines in each direction) was to run through the Itchen valley roughly west of the existing four-lane bypass. This would also require the realignment of the Itchen Navigation into the water meadows. However, there would be further screening of the motorway and pedestrian access to St. Catherine's Hill from
8904-750: The protests, site clearance and road construction proceeded under heavy security provided by the Thames Valley Police led by the Assistant Chief Constable Ian Blair , the Hampshire Constabulary , and private security firms. The road was eventually finished after thirty-four months in November 1998 and now provides a high-speed section of the A34 . It cost £104 million, against an original contract price of £74 million. The Highways Agency blamed
9010-453: The quality of intersecting junctions. The national speed limit applies on dual carriageways (unless it is in a ' built-up area ', or a lower limit is posted), which is as follows: A dual carriageway in a built up area will have a statutory speed limit of 30 mph (48 km/h) unless otherwise sign-posted. It is common for such urban dual carriageways to have an increased speed limit of 40 mph (64 km/h). A road deemed to be in
9116-463: The road to go ahead. However, in July 2006 it was reported that the species had become locally extinct at the new site. Due to the cost of policing the Newbury Bypass construction, the UK Government abandoned construction plans for a further 77 bypasses across the country. Analysis since the construction of the bypass has shown that instead of the predicted 47% reduction in road deaths due to
9222-508: The roads allow higher speed traffic than is common on other roads. This in turn requires them to have dual carriageways in most cases. An exception is the 2+1 road system in some rural areas; these roads are also referred to as expressways. Autobahnähnliche Straßen mostly are colloquially referred to as gelbe Autobahn (yellow motorway) because they have the same technical standard as the Autobahn but have black on yellow signs instead of
9328-687: The route from the largest camp at Snelsmore Common to Bagnor in objection to the road. Environmentalists claimed that this was the largest ever single demonstration against road-building in Britain. Two of the marchers were the television presenters Johnny Morris and Maggie Philbin , who lived nearby. The protest was peaceful and there were no arrests. A national poll published in the Newbury Weekly News (10 March 1996) found that 53% of respondents thought that "work should stop immediately to allow time for alternatives to be tried". Despite
9434-476: The route of the M3 was then fixed as far as Bar End, to the north of St. Catherine's Hill, that its route from there to Compton would undergo a fresh study, specifically stating that the Winchester Bypass should continue to be operational during construction of any new road, and that environmental matters were a key concern. By February 1983, consulting engineers Mott, Hay and Anderson had submitted
9540-407: The route of the old A33 Winchester bypass in mitigation of the land lost to the motorway which was threatened by a Park and Ride site. The legal action failed and the campaigners claimed that they had been betrayed for a second time. Land was provided elsewhere in mitigation. In 2004, Winchester Cathedral received £86,000 from the Highways Agency in compensation for increased traffic noise from
9646-403: The same class of road, except in cities and built-up areas where the dual carriageway is more of a safety measure. When first constructed, many dual carriageways—including the first motorways—had no crash- or other barriers in the central reservation. In the event of congestion, or if a driver missed their exit, some drivers made U-turns onto the opposite carriageway; many accidents were caused as
9752-560: The scheme, pointing out that Winchester and the Down had been cut off since construction of the old bypass anyway, and growth of Southampton Docks meant that improved links from London and the Midlands would become increasingly essential. This scheme was eventually rejected due to intensifying local pollution and disturbance. In 1981, Kenneth Clarke , then the Parliamentary Secretary for Transport, stated that, since
9858-646: The term "divided highway" is used for this type of road, and the segment between the roadways is referred to as a "median". There may be gaps in the median strip of a partially controlled-access road to allow turning and crossing. More informally, a divided highway may be referred to as "twinned". This stems from the practice of "twinning" an existing two-lane highway and converting it into a divided highway. Such highways in southern Ontario, southern Quebec, and parts of Atlantic Canada usually feature full controlled-access with interchanges where robust federal and provincial funding has made such freeways possible. However, due to
9964-460: The top of the down, going directly from Alresford to Twyford , avoiding Winchester. This remained the main coaching route until about 1800, when an alternative route via Winchester (now mostly the A31 and former A33 ) was formed. During this time, and up to the 19th century, the area was sometimes known as Morestead Down after the nearby village of Morestead . Hockley Golf Club was established as
10070-479: The town in 1643 and 1644 . Newbury has been on the route of north-south traffic across the River Kennet since the medieval period . A bridge on the site of the current Town Bridge has existed since at least the 14th century and the current bridge dates from 1772. As long ago as World War II this north-south traffic was considered to be of sufficient strategic importance that a second temporary bridge,
10176-414: The white on blue signs used on the Autobahn motorway network. These are generally high-speed arterial roads in larger cities or important roads within a federal state that do not connect to major cities, so that they do not fall under the federal budget for the Autobahn network. The federal road Bundesstraße 27 is an example where about half of its length is upgraded to a high speed motorway standard. On
10282-417: Was a matter for the police. The protest attracted different classes of people, the many of whom were peaceful. According to Denham, a popular phrase amongst those protesting was "I never thought that I would find myself doing something like this." Stephen Ward, who had been involved in the original 1970s protest, decided in early 1993 that excessive force was being used against protesters, and started keeping
10388-692: Was a public meeting at the Waterside Centre in Newbury organised jointly by Friends of the Earth and the Green Party to promote the Road Traffic Reduction Bill. At the meeting, environmentalist and broadcaster Dr David Bellamy addressed the crowd of around 400 people and voiced his opposition to the building of the bypass. On 15 February 1996 around 5,000 people from around the UK marched for 2 miles (3 kilometres) along
10494-522: Was at Snelsmore Common. Around September 1995 a further encampment grew up alongside the Kennet and Avon Canal and the River Kennet . Around October 1995 protesters set up a third encampment at Reddings Copse. By December 1995 there were three further camps at The Chase, Elmore Plantation and Rack Marsh on the River Lambourn . Protesters in many of the camps claimed squatters rights through use of
10600-524: Was formed, which named itself 'CAMBUS'. The split of opinion in and around Newbury concerning the building of the road was regularly demonstrated in the lively debate seen in the letters page of the local newspaper, the Newbury Weekly News . Clearance work began on 2 August 1995 when bulldozers demolished six empty buildings in the path of the bypass – three houses, a railway signal box, a lodge at Mary Hare Grammar School for deaf children and
10706-625: Was no evidence to suggest she had done anything more than take photographs, the injunction was upheld. Protester Rebecca Lush of the Donga Tribe , who had stayed on the down from September to the night of eviction, later claimed "It was a horrific experience and very violent. We were dragged through thorns and we were being kicked and punched and someone pulled out a clump of my hair." In March 1993, Kenneth Carlisle , then Minister for Roads and Traffic, refused to order an inquiry into any wrongdoing or excessive force by security officers, stating it
10812-556: Was opened in 1985. The third and final phase was to extend the motorway from Winchester to Southampton and the M27 motorway , and the northern part of this section was to impact on Winchester's bypass. Winchester had been a traffic bottleneck for many years as several major routes passed through the historic city centre, including the A31, A33 and A34 , as well as smaller routes like the A272 . In
10918-528: Was opened running 55 km (34 mi) from Milan to Varese . It featured a broad road bed and did not feature lane dividers except near cities and through the mountains. The London end of the Great West Road became Britain's first dual carriageway when it was opened in 1925 by King George V . In 1927 the Rome bypass was opened. It ran 92 km (57 mi) bypassing Rome to the east. Almost
11024-466: Was opened, making the M3 a continuous motorway. The old A33 Winchester Bypass between Bar End and Compton was then closed and removed. The new cutting caused the loss of 1.91 hectares (4.7 acres) of SSSI land. To redress this, the old route of the A33 was planted with 7.2 hectares (18 acres) of species-rich grassland under the supervision and monitoring of the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology . Replacing
11130-412: Was spent on private security guards, security fencing, and security lighting while the works were in progress, of which only £7 million was budgeted for in the original contract. The protest was known in some quarters as the "Third Battle of Newbury", a name which was also adopted by one of the main protest groups. The name was chosen in reference to the English Civil War battles that took place close to
11236-414: Was using the bypass. Morgan Morgan-Giles described the bypass as "utterly inadequate and dangerous, as everybody who lives in or near Winchester will agree. The accident figures are appalling. Therefore, a new motorway somewhere to relieve the traffic is urgently needed." The crossing at Bar End was grade separated in 1973, but the junction at Hockley remained a key point of congestion. At this point,
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