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Feature: Routes identified for new tunnel through Britain's scenic Peak District

Xinhua, August 20, 2016 Adjust font size:

The most ambitious road project in Britain since the building of the first motorways over 50 years ago has moved a stage closer.

Transport officials have short listed five potential routes for a new 8-billion-U.S. dollar tunnel between the northern England cities of Manchester and Sheffield.

The project, cutting through one of the most scenic areas of England forms a key part of the government's Northern Powerhouse agenda.

Officials say the proposed trans-Pennine tunnel could almost halve journey times between the two big industrial cities.

Currently just one motorway, the M62, crosses the Pennines, the mountain chain known as the "backbone of England" which divides the counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire.

According to officials, the tunnel would cut journey times by 30 minutes, providing an economic boost to the two cities and also help to protect the environment by reducing traffic through the scenic Peak District National Park.

The trans-Pennine tunnel study was launched by the government last fall as one of a number of studies aimed at addressing some of the biggest challenges facing Britain's ageing road network.

Government transport minister John Hayes said the study "brings us a step closer to building a trans-Pennine roads tunnel. It would be the most ambitious project since the construction of the first motorways 50 years ago. We are already spending 15 billion pounds (20 billion U.S. dollars) on the biggest upgrade to the road network for generations."

John Cridland, chairman of Transport for the North, added: "The study shows a tunnel beneath the Pennines would both boost the economy of the region, and potentially benefit the environment of the Peak District by reducing traffic in the national park. This is just one of the visionary projects we are working on to develop a transport and investment strategy to connect the North and transform its economy."

A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: "The tunnel could provide an economic boost to the two cities as well as the surrounding area. The link would help protect the environment by reducing traffic through the Peak District National Park, as well as support the government's plan to build a Northern Powerhouse."

The Northern Powerhouse project, launched by former chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne, is a government strategy aimed at tackling the so-called north-south divide by encouraging more investments in northern provinces of England.

Final reports on the project and five other major road schemes, announced Thursday by the Department for Transport, will be completed within six months.

One scheme proposes an Oxford to Cambridge expressway to connect the two big university cities in the so-called "the brain belt." Another study puts forward a multi-million U.S. dollars scheme for a 100 km stretch of the main AI road from its junction with the M25 outer London ring road towards Peterborough.

The final reports will help the development of the government's second road investment strategy for the period from 2020. Endit