Stonehenge road tunnel

[citation needed] In 1999, the Highways Agency stated that traffic flows on the A303 between Amesbury and Winterbourne Stoke (the section passing Stonehenge) were above the capacity of the road, and that the number of accidents in the area was above the national average.

These plans were criticised by the National Trust, Transport 2000 and others who expressed concern that it would cause damage to archaeological remains along the route, destroy ancient sites and not achieve an improvement in the landscape.

[4] The report stated: The physical loss of archaeological remains, the changes to the land form in these sections, and the scale of the new highway would adversely affect the authenticity of the site and more than offset the benefits of the proposed tunnel in the central area.

The published scheme would represent the largest earthwork ever constructed within the World Heritage Site; a feature that would contribute nothing to the authenticity.but concluded: ...after taking into account the requirements of local and national planning, including the requirements of agriculture, that it is expedient for the purpose of improving the A303 between points A and B on the plan referred to in the Line Order for a trunk road to be provided along the route shown in the Line OrderOn 20 July 2005 the tunnel scheme was withdrawn by the Government, partly due to rising costs of construction, which had doubled to £470 million.

[12] On 31 October 2005 a Government steering group was set up to look at possible solutions,[13] with the aim of choosing an "option in keeping with the special requirements of the location that is affordable, realistic and deliverable."

[20] In July 2012 work began on the £27 million project, which involved the closure and grassing over of part of the A344 and the closing of the underpass beneath the road at the monument entrance.

[23] In April 2013 it was reported that the chancellor was giving consideration to "...adding lanes to the A303 – known all too well to holidaymakers – which runs from Basingstoke through Wiltshire (past Stonehenge) and Somerset to the South West of England".

Chairman of Amesbury Museum and Heritage Trust, Andy Rhind-Tutt, described the tunnel plan as a "self-destructing time bomb" which would "do nothing" for traffic problems in the area.

[25] The group also responded with a statement:[26] We object strongly to the short tunnel scheme and address archaeological, natural environment, landscape and transport considerations.

We note a number of statements in the Technical Appraisal Report that indicate the scheme cannot be considered ‘value for money’.Both tunnel portals will lie within the heritage site, and campaigners are concerned that artefacts will be lost during construction.

[30] English Heritage, the National Trust and Historic England are quoted as supporting the concept of the tunnel with some concerns about the linking of byways, whilst the Stonehenge Alliance and Friends of the Earth remain opposed,[31] as are the Campaign for Better Transport.

[33] Later that year, the Stonehenge Alliance asserted that the project would cause irreparable damage in breach of the World Heritage Convention, saying that the tunnel needed to be deeper and more extensive.

[42] The following month, National Highways contracted with Mace for quantity surveying, cost consultancy and contractor liaison on the whole scheme, covering the road improvements as well as the tunnel.

In a 64-page letter he said he was "satisfied there is a clear need" for the new tunnel and the project's "harm on spatial, visual relations and settings is less than substantial and should be weighed against the public benefits".