AN exhibition opening in Amesbury today will give people the chance to have their say on an £183m package of road improvements aimed at restoring the natural setting of Stonehenge and tackling traffic snarl-ups on the key A303 holiday route.

The exhibition, running for three days at the town's Antrobus Arms hotel, follows last week's publication of the draft orders for the A303 Stonehenge Improvement scheme by the government's Highways Agency.

Covering the section of the A303 between Amesbury and Berwick Down, the scheme includes:

dualling the present single carriageway sections of the road;

removing the route from sight of the ancient stones by creating a 2.1km bored tunnel;

providing a bypass to relieve the village of Winterbourne Stoke of heavy trunk road traffic;

tackling congestion at the Amesbury Countess Road roundabout by providing a flyover; and

improving junctions at the A360 Longbarrow crossroads.

Highways agency projects manager Chris Jones said: "The single carriageway A303 carries more than 20,000 vehicles a day through local communities and passes close to one of the world's most important historic sites.

"Despite being a key route to the south-west, especially in economic terms, it regularly suffers major congestion and accidents.

"The A303 Stonehenge Improvement Scheme would give us the opportunity to relieve blighted communities such as Winterbourne Stoke, protect and preserve the country's heritage for generations to come and provide Stonehenge with the setting and facilities it rightly deserves.

"I urge people to visit the exhibition so they can understand and support this essential scheme."

The National Trust, which is one of the main players in the project with the Highways Agency and English Heritage, restated its enthusiasm for the scheme this week.

But it said it would continue to urge the case for a longer tunnel than the 2.1kms proposed by the government

The trust said it believed a longer tunnel is essential for the broader vision of reuniting the stones with the surrounding historic landscape and providing world class visitor facilities.

As part of that vision a visitor centre is planned for a site at Countess East, "bringing the story of the stones to life for all ages."

Meanwhile the Highways Agency proposal to double the width of the A303 through the world heritage site has been slammed by the Save Stonehenge pressure group.

Save Stonehenge spokesman Chris Woodford claimed: "This road is a Trojan horse. They claim to be building it for the benefit of Stonehenge. Nothing could be further from the truth - it is part of a wider plan to build a massive new M303 motorway by stealth from London to the west country."

The exhibition is open today and tomorrow from 10am-8pm and on Saturday from 10am-5pm.

And there will be a 12-week consultation period for people to make their views known.