Monumental Decision.

The A303 currently runs past the site of Stonehenge in Wiltshire a course that looks set to be reshaped due to a government decision in November. the road will be turned into a dual carriageway tunnel running under the monument. This decision was made by the Department of Transport despite the planning inspectorate warning of permanent irreversible harm to the site however, the UK government insisted that the secretary of state is satisfied that on balance, the need cause for the development together with other benefits identified outweigh any arm.
Looks like Grant Chapps and his gang can do what they like. Wonder if them other benefits concern Tory donors.

 

The road is being moved further away from the stones, it doesn't go under the monument at all.

 

I hope you are right as it would be a travesty if the monument was disrupted in any way but I have not seen any evidence to the contrary.

 

https://highwaysengland.co.uk/media/2hod4d0q/a303-stonehenge-a2bd-web-march-2019-vi.pdf

 

I think the problem is that entire area could be of archaeological interest - www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-england-wiltshire-53132567

Do we just not build a road in the area when it certainly needs one?

 

They’ve been talking about this scheme for decades. I used to live at Durrington which is only a couple of miles from Stonehenge and it was an ongoing topic back then, in the 1980s.

The A303 is hugely overused in that area, especially in the summer months, and it’s always needed to be a dual carriageway just like it is in other parts of that route. The problem is that whatever you do is going to upset the historical infrastructure of that whole area.

There are ancient burial sites everywhere with long barrows in many locations across Salisbury Plain. Much of what lies beneath the surface has never been discovered so it is a big issue for archaeologists if the government go ahead with this tunnel. I really hope they don’t.

Improving the “visitor experience “ at the stones will be at the expense of land that has been undusturbed for thousands of years.

 

I've been along that A303 and it was diverted away from the stones a number of years back. It used to run more or less alongside Stonehenge. You can still see the remnants of the old road. There was talk of just widening the road to turn it into a dual carriageway but conservationists opposed that idea. A tunnel was thought to better protect Stonehenge but then you're digging on land that may be of archaeological interest.

 

I’m all for protecting sites of archeological interest but I’m pretty sure the tunnel will be bored through bedrock so won’t itself affect any archaeology (which will be limited to fairly shallow depths- say 5m).

The only impact will be at each end where the tunnel emerges but I presume it’s been designed to emerge in less sensitive areas.

My personal view is the tunnel will probably cause less long term impact to Stonehenge and surrounding area than then ongoing emissions from vehicles driving past it on the current A303. It’ll also be less damaging than re-routing it all together which would be the only other viable option to sort that stretch of road out.

The bigger issue is whether we should be building new roads to take more cars when we’re trying to battle climate change....

 

Spot on, old mate.

 

Meh! I thought the main objections were from the 'Stonehenge Alliance' protest group, Unesco and supported by one group actually the 'A303 scientific committee (all archeologists!) who are not civilengineers or experts in infrastructure projects but being archeologists have vested interest in preserving the status quo. To counter that, the Highways England and English Heritage support the scheme
but never let those facts get in the way of a good old rant at the Tories. Interesting how the OP posted on here believed he was authorising a tunnel right underneath the monument itself. Almost all objections come from people and organisations with an agenda. In the real world, many locals argue that the traffic jams, congestion on a vital route to the West need resolving and something has to be done. The monument itself should actually benefit long term if traffic pollution from vehicles stuck in tailbacks, as is the current situation in summer, is reduced.

Also, I may be being dense here but a) surely diverting traffic out of sight i.e. underground using a tunnel is better than a busy dual carriageway relatively close to the site. b) The argument that digging a tunnel impacts on any potential prehistoric burial sites more than a widened road makes little sense. The footprint of the tunnel is probably the same as a dual carriageway (possibly less given that the tunnel wall are the boundary constraints whilst a dual carriageway requires fences and verges distanced from the road itself). Furthermore, the depth of digging required to lay a major carriageway would probably obliterate any unidentified 'shallow' burial sites and earthworks in any case. I am sure surveys would be/will have been carried out on either option to ensure minimal disruption. Stonehenge is an important monument and, like many historic sites worldwide, needs protecting but, at the end of the day, it will remain undisturbed either way .

Only the archeologists and those environmentalists 'on a mission' are getting hot under the collar about it. Life goes on for the rest of us.

And some on here complain about me starting up non-footy, irrelevant threads. Bit different if it provides an opportunity to 'Tory Bash' eh!

 

Nail on the head.

 

Surely it would be easier to move Stonehenge? To Yorkshire, perhaps..?

 

They could move it to Avebury and get 2 lots of stones for the price of one

 

How very dare you, Dave, old mate? It's far better to ignore the expert archaeologists, in favour of the the views of the politicians and their sycophantic social media lapdogs. Their honesty, integrity and knowledge can't be called into question!

 

i was stationed in netheravon in the early 80's we sometimes used to go in the plough at durrington walls. i was there when the 2 bombs went off at the school of inf

 

Electric vehicles still need roads

 

1975-1986 was my Salisbury Plain period with a couple of years away in the middle. JWE Old Sarum, RAF Upavon and then A&AEE Boscombe Down. It was quite a wrench leaving the area on posting to Gloucester. Did you ever participate in any of the Hash House Harrier running clubs? Good fun following the trails in stunning countryside.

 

As I said above I used to live not far from the stones but very rarely visited them. Avebury is a much more interesting stone circle, having the village actually within the circle. Plus you have the bonus of visiting nearby West Kennet Long Barrow and Silbury Hill as well.

Or rather you USED TO be able to freely visit these places, in the good old days!