// News

26 February 2009

3 - 2 - 1 BREAKTHROUGH!

On 26^th February 2009, exactly 1 year, 3 weeks, and 4 days after the first dig was carried out by the Secretary of State for Transport on 1^st February 2008, the North and South Portals met up some 40m below Hindhead Common.

The breakthrough was the culmination of over a year of 24/7 tunnelling, excavating approximately ¾ of a million tonnes of sandstone during the year-long process which was carried out by Balfour Beatty and J McArdle Contracts Ltd.

Around 60 dignitaries and invited guests gathered to celebrate this momentous occasion, along with BBC and ITV film crews, and a whole hoard of journalists from local publications, many of whom have followed the scheme from conception.

With both the tunnels breaking through simultaneously, guests, reporters and staff distributed themselves between the two tunnels.

When the teeth of the excavator appeared through the slither of sandstone and concrete left for breakthrough, a major milestone in the project’s history was reached.

It was clear that many of the invited guests and press felt extremely privileged to witness such an event, especially as a number of local councillors had been backing a solution to the problem at Hindhead for years.