To enlighten the Americans a little - although the A303 is a major trunk road, there are large sections that are still only one lane each way across Salisbury Plain...

It's one of the main roads to the South West and the West Country (Devon, Dorset, Cornwall, Somerset) from the Midlands and north of England, so is frequently jammed with holidaymakers (grockles as they're known by the inhabitants of the West country) who don't want to pay the extortionate rates in the National Trust car park if they aren't a member.

Leaving the Stones aside, the whole area around there is absolutely stiff with rare chalk downs and their resident wildlife, ancient archaeology that baffles even the most brilliant and enlightened professor and as Morty says, training grounds for the Ministry of Defence (M.O.D.) - who are notorious for not wanting to relinquish ownership of land they hold. There's also an airfield which the Government insists should be operational 24/7/365.

It officially has World Heritage status, National Trust manage a portion, it's a National Nature reserve, a Site of Special Scientfic Interest (SSSI), has Special Landscape and Conservation Areas. It's also a sacred site for various religions (Druids being the obvious one) and millions of people all over the world.

The need for a by-pass is obvious, but it's not going to happen just yet.

Personally, I find it ironic that the Government have scrapped the plans for money reasons, because it's spent so much sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan from that very airfield...

LTS