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Huge new plans for a £1.6bn tunnel designed to run alongside Stonehenge have been revealed.
Highways England today opened a public consultation on new plans for a tunnel running past the ancient monument 23 years after they were first proposed in 1995.
The tunnel, part of the £1.6bn upgrade of the A303 in Wiltshire, aims to "remove sight and sound of the road" as it passes the stone circle and will be dug largely along the existing route.
The National Trust, English Heritage and Historic England all welcomed the plans to increase the length of the tunnel with a grass-covered canopy.
The site is thought to be up to 5,000 years oldPixabayIn a joint statement, the three groups said: "This is a once-in-a generation opportunity to reunite this ancient landscape, giving people the opportunity to tread pathways used by our ancestors who built the monuments, to visit and appreciate the monuments and see and hear wildlife without the intrusion of the traffic and noise from the road. "
But experts warned the tunnel could destroy Blick Mead, a nearby spring of archaeological interest dating back to the Ice Age.
David Jacques, of the University of Buckingham, told the BBC: "It seems blatantly obvious the Stonehenge landscape is unutterably precious, and if you tamper with it, you are not going to get it back."
Highways England CEO Jim O'Sullivan said: "These upgrades in the south west will improve millions of journeys."
The public consultation runs until April 6.