A2 to go under Blackheath?

Plans to end traffic blight in south-east London by running the A2 underground through Blackheath are to be considered at a public meeting tonight.

The heath, a world heritage site, is crossed by the A2, one of the main routes linking Kent and the Channel ports with central London. It adjoins Greenwich Park - home to the Royal Observatory and the National Maritime Museum.

The recent collapse of Blackheath Hill owing to 18th- century excavations which led to the road being closed for six months last year has sparked renewed calls for a "cut-and-cover" tunnel. A deep channel would be dug which would then be covered and grassed over.

Greenwich Community Forum, which has organised tonight's meeting, believes the scheme could be the answer to the traffic problem blighting the area. Secretary of the forum, Howard Slight, said: "The total cost would only be about £50million, which is peanuts really. All the traffic and noise would disappear underground."

Minister of State at the office of the deputy prime minister, Nick Raynsford, is to open the debate at the Trafalgar Tavern in Greenwich at 8pm.

Although Greenwich council is thought to back the idea, there could be opposition from Lewisham council, which shares the boundary line.

Last year the collapse of the A2 took eight months and £2.5 million to repair. Every day about 35,000 commuters who would normally used the road were delayed or diverted.

The work started when the A2 at Blackheath Hill began moving in April and sank into a huge crater. More than 100 residents were evacuated. Heavy lorries had to be diverted through Blackheath village and Greenwich town centre.