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New Stonehenge road plans

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andy worthington A
andy worthington Feb 9, 2006 23:21:44
Replying to FourWinds

Hi all. Just catching up, and glad to see all the discussions. I have to say that I'm finding it hard to figure out what English Heritage and the Highways Agency are up to. The short bored tunnel proposal met with almost universal cricitism from so many different parties (including the National Trust) that I can't really see it being resuscitated, and the cut and cover proposal is, of course, even less appealing, and would attract even more criticism from respectable organizations (NT included again) as well as providing an extraordinary focus for direct action.
Another thing to bear in mind is that the dualling option is less important than it used to be. There was a time when the whole of the A303 was supposed to be dualled because it was some kind of European Trade Route, but that all went out of the window when Alistair Darling backed down on plans to dual part of the road further west in Somerset (last year? the year before?) Add to this the pressure that can - and will - be exerted by the environmental groups that are part of the opposition to inappropriate development (and who will start talking about how we may be nearing the point of maximum road traffic), and I think there's a strong message to be put out that, if the long bored tunnel option isn't economically possible, then all the plans to date should be ditched, and some fresh ideas introduced.
But for now: no short bored tunnel, no cut and cover, better the devil you know...
All the best,
Andy

Andy is the author of Stonehenge: Celebration and Subversion (Alternative Albion, 2004), described by SchNEWS as 'by far the best bit of modern British social history I've seen', and the editor of The Battle of the Beanfield (Enabler, 2005), described by Professor Ronald Hutton as 'probably the definitive work on its subject, something very rarely achieved in practice'.
http://www.andyworthington.co.uk

M moss
moss Feb 10, 2006 07:43:55
Replying to andy worthington

"But for now: no short bored tunnel, no cut and cover, better the devil you know...".
Yes, but, latest release (23/l/06) gives the following options
In addition to the bored tunnel, the following alternatives are being looked at;
1) Bypasses of the Stonehenge site, either to the north or south,
2) a cut and cover tunnel past stonehenge
3) Changes to the Countess roundabout, closure of the A344/A303 junction and construction of the Winterbourne Stoke Bypass.

Decisions still have to be made, opposition still has to be garnered, these options just won't go away. The full force of government plus constructional interests -
Balfour Beatty/Costain is the firm, with a cost estimate of £510 million and a starting date of 2008 - all will have a strong bearing on the outcome. A handful of environmentalists stand little chance, construction firms hire heavyweights.. In the end we all have to get out of our cars and stop driving every where because we think we have a right to do so..Stonehenge should be made more difficult to get to, perhaps we need a little more difficult wilderness in Britain and less urban escapism.