The idea of building a tunnel under Stonehenge has been resurrected by a consortium of council leaders from across the South West of England. Wiltshire was among the authorities represented at a summit meeting to discuss A303 improvements, organised by Somerset County Council last week. They discussed ways to raise the £1 billion needed to widen the remaining single lane sections of the road between Wiltshire and Devon.
     The tunnel, which would have cost more than £500 million at the last count, is one of five separate schemes they believe are needed. Somerset's leader Ken Maddock believes there is scope to seek new funding in the light of Chancellor George Osborne's autumn statement, which said that pension funds could be used to fund up to £20 billion of infrastructure schemes. He said: "This is a fabulous opportunity to put a joint bid together that will bring huge benefits to the whole of the West Country." The 2.1km tunnel plans were shelved in 2007 after the government said the soaring cost was not justified.

Edited from Salisbury Journal (17 January 2012)