A tunnel could be built under Stonehenge after plans were given the green light as part of a £27billion masterplan to improve the nation’s roads.
For decades, motorists on the A303, which passes the stone circle, have endured severe congestion on the popular route to and from the South West.
Opponents have argued that plans for a 1.8mile (2.9km) tunnel to ease gridlock around the World Heritage Site could ruin the prehistoric archaeological surroundings.
But the £1.6billion project has finally been approved after years of controversy as part of the biggest road expansion fund since the 1970s.
Under plans unveiled in 2017, the tunnel will run as a dual carriageway and will be a further 164ft away from Stonehenge compared to the existing A303 route.
A tunnel could be built under Stonehenge after plans were given the green light as part of a £27billion masterplan to improve the nation’s roads
For decades, motorists on the A303, which passes the stone circle, have endured severe congestion on the popular route to and from the South West. Opponents have argued that plans for a 1.8mile (2.9km) tunnel to ease gridlock around the World Heritage Site could ruin the prehistoric archaeological surroundings
Officials have promised the project will avoid important archaeological sites and will not spoil the view of the setting sun from Stonehenge during the winter solstice.
The scheme is one of dozens intended to ‘level up’ the regions by improving road links. They have been unveiled as part of a Road Investment Strategy for the next five years.
In his first Budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak told the Commons that the A303 is ‘one of our most important regional arteries’ but has become ‘one of those totemic projects symbolising delay and obstruction’.
He said: ‘Governments have been trying to fix it since the 1980s. Every year, millions of cars crawl along it in traffic, ruining the backdrop to one of our most important historic landmarks.’
English Heritage chief executive Kate Mavor said: ‘We welcome this announcement and thank the Government for its support.
‘This is an important step towards finally doing justice to Stonehenge – one of the wonders of the world – and the prehistoric landscape within which it stands.
‘Placing the A303 within a tunnel would transform Stonehenge, reunite the landscape and leave a lasting legacy for future generations.’
When the project was revealed in 2002, the tunnel was due to cost £183 million. Officials have promised the project will avoid important archaeological sites and will not spoil the view of the setting sun from Stonehenge during the winter solstice
The project was designed to slash travel times on the A303 in Wiltshire which is often at a standstill on bank holidays. The scheme is one of dozens intended to ‘level up’ the regions by improving road links. They have been unveiled as part of a Road Investment Strategy for the next five years
Under plans unveiled in 2017, the tunnel will run as a dual carriageway and will be a further 164ft away from Stonehenge compared to the existing A303 route
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: ‘Since 1991 there have been over 50 different proposals for removing traffic from the Stonehenge site, with the most recent tunnel having been confirmed in 2017.
‘You can certainly hear drivers on the route, and almost the stones themselves, heaving a sigh of relief that the scheme is to go ahead rather than being sent back to the drawing board yet again.’
The £27billion road fund will pay for work on more than 20 connections to ports and airports, more than 100 junctions and 4,000 miles (6,437km) of road.
Strategy papers published yesterday make little reference to smart motorways, the controversial roads which are being reviewed amid serious safety concerns.
Author and historian Tom Holland, second left, took a petition of more than 50,000 signatures to Downing Street on February 19 calling for the plan to be scrapped
The document simply states: ‘In 2019, the Department commissioned an evidence stocktake to gather the facts on the safety of smart motorways and make recommendations.
‘The stocktake is expected to conclude shortly. Highways England will need to deliver its recommendations and assess what they mean for the delivery of enhancement projects involving smart motorways.’
The road expansion and improvement programme is an echo of the ‘roads for prosperity’ scheme unveiled by Margaret Thatcher in 1989 to boost ‘the great car economy’.
The expansion of more than 100 roads is due to start on April 1 and run until March 2025.
However, environmental campaigners warned the road-building plans could undermine the Government’s drive to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.