UK cancels £1.7bn Stonehenge Tunnel project
30 July 2024
Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Labour party, which recently won the general election in the UK, has announced that the £1.7 billion (US$2.1 billion) A303 Stonehenge Tunnel will “not move forward”.
An aerial view of UNESCO World Heritage Site Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, UK. (Image: Adobe Stock)
The two-mile tunnel – which had been agreed by the previous Conservative government – had faced a number of legal challenges from campaigners. These included (UNESCO) recommending that Stonehenge be listed as ‘World Heritage in Danger’ due to the A303 upgrade scheme.
National Highways’ £1.7bn A303 Stonehenge (Amesbury to Berwick Down) scheme in the UK would have seen an A road in Wiltshire turned into a dual carriageway, including a 2 mile (3.3km) tunnel. The roads body has argued for the necessity of the scheme to reduce chronic congestion on the main road artery to the south-west.
The project had already announced contractors for what was expected to be a multi-year build. The three-way European MORE joint venture, consisting of Spanish contractor FCC, Italy’s WeBuild, and Austria’s BeMo Tunnelling, was lined up as the main contractor on the 12.8km-stretch of road upgrades. Costain and Mott MacDonald had been awarded a €70 million (US$74.8 million) contract to help coordinate and oversee the construction of the scheme.
Reeves said that the government was looking to fill a £22 billion (US$28 billion) “black hole” in public finances. Around £1 billion (US$1.2 billion) of unfunded transport projects that were to be brought forward in the next year will now be reviewed by the transport secretary to examine if they provide value for money.
