Controversial plans to build a 1.8-mile road tunnel under Stonehenge have been given the go ahead by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling.
The scheme is intended to hide the sound and sight of the road from the monument site.
Following consultation, the scheme had been altered so that the tunnel entrance would not spoil the view of the sun during the winter solstice, the government said.
The A303 (pictured) is often gridlocked near the landmark, causing frustration for holidaymakers heading to and from the South West and businesses
But experts warned that the £1.6billion project would still compromise the ‘unutterably precious’ archaeology of the site and could lead to subsidence.
The A303 is often gridlocked near the landmark, causing frustration for holidaymakers heading to and from the South West and businesses.
The road is to be put into a dual carriageway tunnel in the upgrade by Highways England.
Mr Grayling said: ‘This Government is taking the big decisions for Britain’s future and this major investment in the South West will provide a huge boost for the region.
‘Quicker journey times, reduced congestion and cleaner air will benefit people locally and unlock growth in the tourism industry.’
The tunnel will closely follow the existing A303 route but will be a further 164ft (50 metres) from the monument.
Department for Transport officials claim it will avoid important archaeological sites and will not intrude the view of the setting sun from Stonehenge during the winter solstice.
Thousands of individuals and organisations responded to a public consultation on the plans earlier this year.
But opponents are concerned the plan, with a tunnel past the stones that would emerge within the World Heritage Site and a bypass to the north nearby Winterbourne Stoke, would damage the wider archaeology and environment.
Time Team presenter Tony Robinson has previously described the scheme as ‘old- fashioned’ because it ‘assumes what needs to be protected is that little clump of stone’.
He said the stone circle was invaluable, but over the past 20 to 30 years, experts had begun to appreciate that the area around it was a complex network of henges, pathways, barrows and track-ways.
Professor David Jacques from the University of Buckingham warned that a report Highways England had commissioned on the geology underneath
Stonehenge showed chalk dug up for the tunnel could damage the landscape and lead to subsidence under the monument.
Experts warned that the £1.6billion project would still compromise the ‘unutterably precious’ archaeology of the site and could lead to subsidence
He said: ‘The Stonehenge landscape is unutterably precious and you tamper with it at your peril.
‘There should be perpetual inquiry here and the Government, National Trust and English Heritage either value that or they don’t.
‘The tunnel scheme will compromise the archaeology,’ he said, adding politicians should ‘stop digging themselves into an even deeper disaster’.
The Stonehenge Alliance, which is supported by environmental and heritage organisations, said the plans would cause ‘severe and permanent damage’ to the archaeological landscape of the World Heritage Site, in direct conflict with international advice to the Government.
In March the International Council on Monuments and Sites (Icomos) UK, which advises United Nations cultural body Unesco, said it ‘firmly objected to the proposals.
Important criteria had not been met, including ensuring the tunnel was long enough that its entrances did not harm the World Heritage Site and adequately considering options for constructing a bypass outside the 10 square mile protected area, Icomos said.
Following Mr Grayling’s announcement, Historic England, the National Trust and English Heritage said in a joint statement the scheme ‘would restore peace and tranquility’ to the Stonehenge landscape.