Tunnel Proposal Under Stonehenge Has Been Resurrected

Stonehenge - tunnel proposal being dusted down

Having been ditched by a previous government in 2007, it looks as though plans to build a road tunnel to relieve congestion on the notorious A303 in Wiltshire are now back in the spotlight. Chancellor George Osborne is expected to commit hundreds of millions of pounds to give the long delayed project the go-ahead. It would end years of debate over the infamous bottleneck on the A303, which runs right past the World Heritage Site in Wiltshire.

So having recently survived a high profile “private visit” by US President Barack Obama, Stonehenge is once again centre stage. The opening of the state of the art visitor centre last year has ensured that it has never been far from our thoughts in the last few years.

General consensus for the work is favourable, although it is likely to provoke furious opposition from campaigners, who fear a tunnel could lead to damage the hugely important 5,000-year-old site. The Labour government of 2007 became twitchy about the project when the cost of the proposed 1.3-mile tunnel reached £540 million.

Traffic jams on the A303, one of the main routes into the South West, have plagued motorists for decades – prompting a local MP to brand it the ‘devil’s highway’.

Improving the road to make a real alternative to using the M4 and M5 would be hugely popular with motorists heading to and from the South West – a key battleground for the Conservatives at next year’s General Election. It is likely that the project may be mentioned in Mr. Osborne’s autumn statement. Other high profile road improvement schemes may also be included.

A source said, ‘Because we’ve got a grip on the public finances, we can make investments in important infrastructure all over the country as part of our long-term economic plan,’ he said.

The expected go-ahead comes after reports yesterday that the National Trust was now ready to support the idea of a tunnel up to 1.8 miles long under Stonehenge. It also follows Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin’s decision earlier this year to order a feasibility study into improving the A303, including tunnelling under Stonehenge or moving a section of the road to the north.

But sources indicated that the tunnel option was the likeliest to proceed.

Stonehenge