It’s stood for five-thousand years but the modern world around Stonehenge is now imposing change.<br /><br />The main roads leading to the British site are clogged daily with thousands of commuters and tourists – to the frustration of local residents. <br /><br />The government has promised the equivalent of more than two billion euros to build an almost 3 km-long tunnel underneath the ancient landmark. <br /><br />But critics such at Kate Fielden of the Stonehenge Alliance fear that could be disastrous: <br /><br />“The deep cuttings, the lights, the gantries, the signage – all those things that go with a busy expressway, four-lane highway, will damage the integrity, by the sight and sound of it, of a number of really important monuments in this landscape.”<br /><br />Damage caused by the tunnel could also rob Stonehenge of its UNESCO World Heritage Status – reserved for the world’s most historically valuable sites. <br /><br />Campaigners say any tunnel must be long enough to avoid Stonehenge and its setting altogether. <br /><br />But they might be out of time. The shorter tunnel may finally get approval on Tuesday (September 12) when an announcement is due from the British government.<br />
