Whilst we await the result of the judge’s deliberations following the latest appeal against the tunnel on the A303 at Stonehenge, we can turn our attentions to what can be considered a yowling moggy by omission.

We should all be familiar with this delightful/horrendous (depending upon your viewpoint) image of the tunnel entrance as ‘planned’:

a pristine scene

But that’s not half the story! Back in June last year, we provided a comparison with the A30 roadworks at Chiverton Cross in Cornwall, a project that is still ongoing with regular closures of the road and lengthy diversions.

some of the A30 ‘support infrastructure’

As if the potential temporary roadworks aren’t enough, a recent letter to the Salisbury Journal by a construction engineer, headed “fine detail missing from designs” points out some quite serious omissions in the Highways England image:

The tunnel will need electricity sub-stations, one at either end, water holding tanks for the fire suppression systems, holding tanks for the tunnel drainage water, an admin building for the tunnel staff and control room etc.
It will also need an apron at either end for the breakdown recovery vehicles and emergency vehicles, and safe areas for evacuees in the event of a major incident.
None of these structures/areas appear on the artist impression and they will be needed, some can perhaps be underground but not without significantly increasing the footprint of the site.
All tunnels need smoke and extract fans and lighting so they are sources of pollution…

It will be interesting to see if/when an updated impression is released, showing the true picture. Unless of course, all of this infrastructure is to be omitted from the project – but that’s unthinkable, isn’t it??