Stonehenge Tunnel and Traffic

England's Stonehenge may be put on UNESCO's list of endangered World Heritage Sites as the British Government abandons plans to relieve ancient site's traffic problems.

The Ancient Britons never had these problems. England's Stonehenge, which has been a World Heritage Site since 1986, may be put on UNESCO's list of endangered World Heritage Sites. The British Government has abandoned all plans to deal with the traffic congestion in and around the historic site, leaving the ancient standing stones to endure the traffic pollution that has been a source of concern for years.

It took about 3000 years to build Stonehenge in its various phases, and it may take the British Government that long to deal with the traffic problems. It was back in 1989 when the Commons Public Accounts Committee first referred to the setting of Stonehenge as a 'national disgrace'.

In 1991 the Government began assessing various options for relieving the problems caused by the excessive traffic passing too close to the ancient monument. In all some 50 different schemes have been considered, all of which have been abandoned in December 2007 at a cost of £23 million. This decision has had the knock-on effect of forcing English Heritage, which owns and manages Stonehenge, to cancel their own plans for a £67 million Visitor Centre.

The main Stonehenge traffic schemes included a northern bypass, a southern bypass and a tunnel built underneath the stones. Instead, cars and trucks will continue to rumble past on the A303 which goes within 150 yards of the stones. This is the main holiday route from London to Devon and Cornwall, becoming extremely busy in summer and on holiday weekends.

When Stonehenge was awarded World Heritage Site status in 1986, UNESCO told the British Government that it must do something about the traffic. Almost 20 years and £23 million later, nothing has been achieved.

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Read my Visitor Guide to Stonehenge.

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Read my blog about seeing Stonehenge Up Close and Personal.

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