The Thorpe Interchange is a large motorway
free-flow intersection in
Surrey, United Kingdom, connecting the M3 with the M25.
History
M3
The section of the M3 that passes through the interchange (
Bagshot A322 to
Sunbury Cross A308, junctions 1–3) opened on 11 July 1974. The
A316
The A316, known in parts as the Great Chertsey Road, is a major road in England, which runs from the A315 Chiswick High Road, Turnham Green, Chiswick to join head-on the M3 motorway at Sunbury-on-Thames. Its initial London section Chiswick L ...
from Sunbury Cross (eastwards) was improved at the same time. It was the last of four contracts of the first main section of the M3. Construction of this section of the M3 had begun in January 1971. The £12.7m contract was awarded to A.E. Farr of
Westbury, Wiltshire.
A.E. Farr
/ref> The section involved building fifty bridges.
M25
The section of the M25 to the north began in August 1974 and opened in December 1976. The section of the M25 to the south (Chertsey to Thorpe) began in July 1978 and opened on 9 October 1980.
The M25 north of here to the junction with the M4 junction 15, is one of the busiest roads in the UK. The M25 reached the M4 from the M3 in 1985.
Construction
Construction of the full interchange began in July 1978 and it opened in 1980.
Structure
The junction is junction 2 of the M3, and junction 12 of the M25. The M25 north of the junction is 5 lanes, and south of the junction it is 4 lanes wide. The next junction north along the M25 is the Addlestone Interchange, and south along the M25 is the Runnymede Interchange. The design is a turbine interchange. The B389 (west) and B388 (east) pass east–west close to the north of the interchange. Chertsey
Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, south-west of central London. It grew up round Chertsey Abbey, founded in 666 CE, and gained a market charter from Henry I. A bridge across the River Thames first appeared in t ...
is around one mile to the south-east. The Chertsey Branch Line passes close to the south-west, between Virginia Water railway station
Virginia Water railway station serves the village of Virginia Water, in Surrey, England. It is down the line from . The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by South Western Railway.
The Waterloo to Reading Line and the Chertse ...
(to the west), and Chertsey railway station (to the south-east).
References
External links
Sabre
A-Z blog
Motorway Archive
{{UK motorways
Buildings and structures in Surrey
M25 motorway
Motorway junctions in England
Roads in Surrey
Borough of Runnymede
Transport infrastructure completed in 1980