Drivers warned of three month road closure ahead of A303 Stonehenge upgrade

Essential work is scheduled to start in April to supply electricity for National Highways’ A303 upgrade past Stonehenge.

Motorists are being warned that a section of the A360 in Wiltshire is set to close for three months as work gets underway to prepare for the A303 Stonehenge upgrade.

Following the recent High Court ruling in favour of the scheme, National Highways is now firming up plans for the essential utilities work, including suppling electricity for the construction and the tunnel in the long term.

The A360 will close from early next month, just after the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, between the junction of The Avenue and Longbarrow junction on the A303.

High voltage and fibre optic cabling will be installed along the route, which National Highways says requires a full closure for safety reasons, due to the narrow width of the road and minimal space along the verges.

The section of the A360 south of the Longbarrow junction will be closed for three months for essential cabling work Credit: National Highways

During the closure, traffic will be diverted via the A345 and sections of the A303 and A36, as per the diagram.

To enable the underground cabling to be completed before the school summer holidays, National Highways says the work will be carried out seven days a week, with some overnight working.

Provision will be made for emergency services access and access for local landowners, residents and businesses affected by the closures, and arrangements will be discussed shortly with residents alongside and close to the A360.

David Bullock, National Highways’ Project Director for the A303 Stonehenge scheme, said, “The road scheme will ultimately tackle the longstanding issue of rat running and provide a real benefit to local communities, and for this essential preliminary work, we’ll be doing all we can to put in measures to lessen the impact of this work."

“We need to carry out the work now to ensure our programme timescales and we want to give local communities as much notice as possible."

“We appreciate that roadworks and road closures can be frustrating and we’d like to thank motorists, local residents and businesses in advance for their patience."

“We have deliberately avoided the summer holiday season, but we appreciate the work will impact the Whitsun Week traffic and the Summer Solstice, and we’ll be working hard to minimise disruption during those times and where we can."

Cllr Caroline Thomas, Wiltshire Council Cabinet Member for Transport, said, “We know that this closure will affect many Wiltshire residents and visitors, and so our officers have been working closely with partner agencies to ensure any disruption is kept to a minimum.

“National Highways will be installing diversion and warning signage in a wide area, from north Dorset to west and south Wiltshire, to ensure as many motorists as possible have an early warning to avoid the closure once the work starts.”