The announcement today by the Government, confirming the preferred route for the A303 just south of Stonehenge and the dual carriageway aligning the present A303, means progress and at last the powers that be are listening!
The tunnel will be constructed UNDER the A303 AT Stonehenge..... please note, we say "under the A303" and not as some campaigning groups would have it.....our friends at:
http://stonehengealliance.org.uk/alliance-shocked-by-highways-englands-indifference-to-unescos-advice/ who say the tunnel will be "under the monument"....all they are doing is scaremongering and muddying the waters....!!! But then, we also have it in writing from them that "the traffic on the A303 has not increased significantly since 2004".......I rest my case!
Highways England along with the National Trust: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ have been working tirelessly to iron out a lot of the points raised in the recent consultations which took place during January and February this year. This is when we all had our chance to "have our say". So! if you live local to Stonehenge and didn't attend one of the 10 consultations.....that was an opportunity missed. You can read the progress here:
http://roads.highways.gov.uk/projects/a303-stonehenge-amesbury-and-berwick-down/
This also shows the time line from 1989 - 2021
This also shows the time line from 1989 - 2021
During these adjustments, Highways England have addressed the problem raised at the consultations regarding the alignment of headlights approaching the western portal, which would have affected the view of the sunset at the Winter Solstice - they just moved the portal.....Simples! Therefore, at this stage, nothing is set in stone or spade!
This announcement is what local people who live and work close to the A303, have been waiting years to hear and naturally, there is some scepticism as to whether it will in fact happen. Winterbourne Stoke will get their By Pass to the north and this will also be preferred by the people of Berwick St.James to the south.
The people who live and work in Shrewton, suffer day in day out with rat run traffic, as drivers divert out of the queue on the over capacitated A303 so local people must surely see “light at the end of the Tunnel” albeit having to wait until at least 2025 with Highways England and The National Trust working with us to this end!!
Traffic in Shrewton has increased immeasurably over the past months and when I have elderly ladies telling me they feel safer taking their car to the surgery, rather than walk the 100 or so yards…... something needs fixed.
Here are some facts.....As a Community Speed Watch Volunteer, we regularly register 52 mph
within the 30 mph village confines. Also, in a three week period in June
this year i.e. NOT during the school holidays, our S.I.D: (Speed Indicator Device) showed 47,000 vehicles
west bound and 41,000 east bound. The SID during that period, also
registered a vehicle leaving the village at 82 mph still within the
30 limit!!!! The 3.5 tonne weight limit in our High Street is regularly contravened, Shrewton has narrow roads and very few pavements and as a
result of the traffic, cob cottages in the High Street could be
structurally damaged. It's extremely scary for people living on
London Road to venture down into the village for schools and doctors. These are just some of the reasons this news today is progress and is just another step in a long process, but I'm told by those involved for a much longer time than I.....decades in some cases, that this "feels different" and that it may just happen!
The people who live and work in Shrewton, suffer day in day out with rat run traffic, as drivers divert out of the queue on the over capacitated A303 so local people must surely see “light at the end of the Tunnel” albeit having to wait until at least 2025 with Highways England and The National Trust working with us to this end!!
Traffic in Shrewton has increased immeasurably over the past months and when I have elderly ladies telling me they feel safer taking their car to the surgery, rather than walk the 100 or so yards…... something needs fixed.
Here are some facts.....As a Community Speed Watch Volunteer, we regularly register 52 mph
within the 30 mph village confines. Also, in a three week period in June
this year i.e. NOT during the school holidays, our S.I.D: (Speed Indicator Device) showed 47,000 vehicles
west bound and 41,000 east bound. The SID during that period, also
registered a vehicle leaving the village at 82 mph still within the
30 limit!!!! The 3.5 tonne weight limit in our High Street is regularly contravened, Shrewton has narrow roads and very few pavements and as a
result of the traffic, cob cottages in the High Street could be
structurally damaged. It's extremely scary for people living on
London Road to venture down into the village for schools and doctors. These are just some of the reasons this news today is progress and is just another step in a long process, but I'm told by those involved for a much longer time than I.....decades in some cases, that this "feels different" and that it may just happen!
I give the final word to our Salisbury MP John Glen, who as usual, provides a balanced view on today's announcement and the way forward:
1 comment:
I have driven past stonehenge nearly every day for the last 8 years at various times of day so i think im qualified to comment. Traffic volume has not significantly increased in that time. The problem of congestion is caused by people in their cars slowing to look at or photo the stones ( this has been worse since you have to pay to see the stones).The congestion normally ends 50 yards in either direction after the stones have been passed and people have their pictures. I find it truely unbelievable that the government and certain groups want to waste billions of £ of tax payers money on a problem that could be solved with a 10 foot hedge along the side of the road to block drivers view of the stones.
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