Coalition government to unveil £15bn road-building scheme including Stonehenge tunnel

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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The U.K. government is set to unveil a £15bn road-building scheme including Stonehenge tunnel on Monday with the aim to bring a “roads revolution” in England through improving infrastructure and combating congestion.

The Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, will announce the plan on Wednesday that would lead the government to invest in more than 100 road schemes over this parliament and next – 84 of which are brand-new. T will also lead to adding 1,300 new miles of extra lanes to motorways and A roads.

The scheme turned out as the first-ever Road Investment Strategy comprises of bringing improvements to junctions on the M25, to the A27 in Sussex, to approaches to Liverpool and to the A1 in the north east of England.

Mr McLoughlin has said: “I am setting out the biggest, boldest and most far-reaching roads programme for decades.

“It will dramatically improve our road network and unlock Britain’s economic potential.

“Roads are key to our nation’s prosperity. For too long they have suffered from under-investment.

“This Government has a long term plan to secure the country’s future and this £15 billion roads programme is demonstration of that. Better roads allow us to travel freely, creating jobs and opportunities, benefiting hardworking families across the country.”

A road tunnel near the prehistoric Stonehenge monument in Wiltshire to ease congestion and remove most vehicles from view of the ancient stone circle that has puzzled visitors and scholars for centuries, is also among the 84 newly proposed projects.

The government has also told that the region to gain the most jobs from the project will be the North East and Yorkshire, where 18 schemes (worth around £2.3bn) will create 1,500 construction jobs.

Chancellor George Osborne, who will also announce some details of the programme as part of the his Autumn Statement on Wednesday, has said: “For years our roads have been neglected.

“Now that this government is fixing the economy, we can afford to invest properly in our roads – unlocking jobs for the future and local growth by creating a road network that is fit for the 21st century.”

The coalition partner and the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg has said that the Government’s funding for road improvements is a “big moment” for England that will aid to “rebalance” the economy.

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