Preferred route for the Government’s major upgrade of the A303 near Stonehenge has been revealed this week, marking an important milestone towards creating a dual carriageway ‘expressway’ to the South West.

 

Highways England has amended its plans for the project – which includes a new 2.9km tunnel close to the ancient monument – following a public consultation.

 

The proposed position of one of the tunnel entrances has now been moved 50m to avoid conflicting with the view of the setting sun from Stonehenge during the winter solstice. But this appears to have had cost implications for the scheme which is now expected to cost £1.6Bn – up £200M from previous estimates.

 

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: “This major investment in the South West will provide a huge boost for the region.” The scheme is expected to reduce congestion along the currently single carriageway route while unlocking growth in the tourism industry and supporting new jobs and homes.

 

Announcement of the project’s preferred route has been warmly welcomed by the Civil Engineering Contractors Association. Its director of external affairs Marie-Claude Hemming said: “This scheme will dramatically cut journey times for millions of road users, boosting connectivity and driving growth across the South West.” She added: “It is now vital that the scheme moves forward to delivery without delay.”

 

However campaigners still have concerns about the upgrade’s impact on the area’s heritage. The Government says the project will reconnect the two halves of a 2600ha World Heritage Site which is currently split by the A303, and remove the sight and sound of traffic from the landscape.

 

But campaigners argue that the scheme will cause ‘severe and permanent damage’ to the archaeological landscape of Stonehenge, in direct conflict with UNESCO advice to the Government earlier this year.

 

It is said that the current scheme would leave around 2.5km of four lane expressway, substantially in cuttings, within the World Heritage Site – impacting on Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age sites.

 

Earlier this year UNESCO urged the Government to explore alternative options such as a southern bypass or a longer tunnel. But this week’s preferred route announcement includes no such compromise.

 

“Progressing with this damaging scheme in the face of the concerns raised by UNESCO is a gravely flawed decision,” commented Chris Todd of the Campaign for Better Transport. “The scheme either needs to be abandoned altogether, or the whole process rerun with a full range of options which do not result in any harm to the World Heritage Site.”

 

In total the project includes the new 2.9km tunnel, 13km of free flowing, high quality dual carriageway, a new bypass to the north of the village of Winterbourne Stoke and new junctions with the A345 and A360 either side of the World Heritage Site.

 

(Photo: DfT)