ACT Stonehenge A303 Realignment Plan
Route and Options for the ACT Stonehenge A303 Realignment Plan
A
This section of road is on the same line as the Wylye Valley Relief Road at present being submitted for funding by Wiltshire County Council. The funding requirement of £32M would be saved under the new scheme. It should be noted that it follows alongside the existing A360 line for several kilometres. It would not be practical to go online with the A360 as that is a busy road, particularly at peak periods
A1/2
At the western end of the Wiltshire County Council proposed Wylye Valley Relief Road, two alternative routes can be seen. They are included in the A303 Realignment Plan to offer the possibility for local residents to have a choice of which line a new road should take. This would allow the chosen road to stay clear of all villages, unlike the present County Council selection that goes directly to Stapleford.
B
This link is part of the ‘Yellow Route’ that formed the northern route in the earlier plans for a Salisbury northern bypass.
C
A proposal for the Salisbury Eastern Link shown at the September 1999 Salisbury Transport Study Consultation held in the Salisbury Guildhall. This section was also part of the ‘Yellow Route’ in the earlier plans for a Salisbury bypass.
D
The A303 Realignment Plan, supported by ACT, is approximately 11 kilometres running between the A303 at Beacon Hill and The Beehive Park & Ride. On the approach to the airfield runway after leaving Beacon Hill, there are three possible options: (D1, D2, D3)
D1
Accepting that the runway must remain operational at all times Government approval would be required for the road to cross under the airfield reserve runway. A tunnel construction using the same technique recently used at Junction 15A of the M1, could be carried out. This technique is called 'Box Jacking' and whilst already used on railways it is a new innovation for roads. The 45-metre tunnel at the M1 cost approximately £7M. The distance for this tunnel may be about 150 metres. The road then runs immediately west to co-locate with the A345.
D2
This option swings the road around the end of the M.O.D. fence line at the southern end and moves mid-way between the A345 and the A338.
D3
In this option a tunnel would be constructed using the same technique as D1 under the grassed area at the southern end of the reserve runway. Both D1 and D3 would mean that the line of the road remains well away from the area of local housing between Idmiston and Boscombe.
In order to keep clear of Boscombe/Idmiston area, option D1 would be ideal.
Nevertheless, moving the road directly across to co-locate with the line of the north/south run of the A345 would be an excellent choice and would minimise the length of road running through open countryside. Crossing to link alongside the A345 was an earlier option examined, but was not selected after Idmiston Parish Council agreed unanimously with the principle of the road line running down the centre of the valley.
In early 2002, at the request of Idmiston Parish Council, a presentation of the proposed link and its approximate position (at D. on the map) was made to Parish Councillors and members of the public. It was acknowledged in principal at the meeting that this might help to reduce traffic using the A338, particularly heavy lorries. Nevertheless, it was explained to those present and accepted that a detailed assessment would be required by the Highways Agency.