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Portsmouth Road

A3 shield

A3
A3 road map.png
Major junctions
North-east end: City of London
51°30′39″N 0°05′12″W / 51.5108°N 0.0866°W / 51.5108; -0.0866 (A3 road (northern end))
  A200A200 road
A2 A2 road
A201A201 road
A23 A23 road
A202A202 road
A203A203 road
A24 A24 road
A205A205 road
A214A214 road
A217A217 road
A219A219 road
A306A306 road
A308A308 road
A2043A2043 road
A240A240 road
A243A243 road
A309A309 road
A244A244 road
A245A245 road
[ M 25  ]M25 motorway
A247A247 road
A3100A3100 road
A320A320 road
A322A322 road
A31 A31 road
A287A287 road
A272A272 road
[ A 3 (M)  ]A3(M) motorway
A27 A27 road
[ M 27  ]M27 motorway
[ M 275  ]M275 motorway
A288A288 road
South-west end: Portsmouth Harbour
50°47′30″N 1°06′31″W / 50.7918°N 1.1086°W / 50.7918; -1.1086 (A3 road (southern end))
Location
Primary
destinations
:
Kingston upon Thames
Guildford
Petersfield
Road network

A3(M) shield

A3(M)
Route information
Length: 5 mi (8 km)
Existed: 1979 – present
Major junctions
North end: Horndean
South end: Bedhampton
Location
Primary
destinations
:
(London), (Portsmouth), (Chichester), (Petersfield), Waterlooville
Road network

A3 shield

The A3, known as the Portsmouth Road or London Road in sections, is a major road connecting London and Portsmouth passing close to Kingston upon Thames, Guildford, Haslemere and Petersfield. For much of its 67-mile (108 km) length, it is classified as a trunk road and therefore managed by Highways England. Almost all of the road has been built to dual carriageway standards or wider. Apart from bypass sections in London, the road travels in a southwest direction and, after Liss, south-southwest.

Close to its southerly end, motorway traffic is routed via the A3(M), then either the east-west A27 or the Portsmouth-only M275 which has multiple lanes leading off the westbound A27 — for non-motorway traffic, the A3 continues into Portsmouth alongside the A3M, mostly as a single carriageway in each direction through Waterlooville and adjoining small towns. The other section of single carriageways is through the urban environs of Battersea, Clapham and Stockwell towards the northern end, which has to accommodate bus lanes and parking meter bays.

By the 17th century, the historic Portsmouth Road bore great strategic significance as the road link between the capital city and what became the settled main port of the Royal Navy, as well as a non-military port like nearby Chichester — a petition was passed by Her Majesty for the expansion of the bench of justices of the town of Guildford along its route, in consideration of the importance of the Portsmouth Road, in 1603. Many of the other towns and villages that the road passed through gained income and, in the case of towns, a market advantage as a result — principally in the history of Kingston upon Thames, Godalming and Petersfield. The modern A3 follows the general route of the Portsmouth Road, but it bypasses many of the towns and villages along the way, leaving the various stretches of the old route for local traffic — for instance, the A307, its original course through Kingston-upon-Thames and Esher, retains its name, Portsmouth Road.


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Wikipedia

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