Pollution Tunnels May Be Coming To A Motorway Near You

Highways England may install ‘pollution tunnels’ over British motorways in an effort to shield citizens from air pollution and harmful emissions.

The government-owned company says it is “investigating if we can reduce the costs to construct a canopy, which is a tunnel-like structure designed to prevent vehicle emissions reaching our neighbours”. Air pollution is linked to around 40,000 premature deaths a year in the UK.

The announcement follows last week’s news that the UK government will join Paris in banning new diesel and petrol vehicles from 2040 in a bid to tackle dangerous levels of air pollution and encourage people to buy electric cars.

Highways England previously installed pollution barriers in a trial scheme alongside the M62 near Manchester. The agency has now been given £100 million by the government to improve air quality through to 2021.

Photo by Devon Janse van Rensburg on Unsplash

About the author

Claire Lancaster

Tech & Entrepreneurship Editor

English-American, Claire has lived and worked in the U.S., South America, Europe and the UK. As Culture Trip’s tech and entrepreneurship editor she covers the European startup scene and issues ranging from Internet privacy to the intersection of the web with civil society, journalism, public policy and art. Claire holds a master’s in international journalism from City University, London and has contributed to outlets including Monocle, NPR, Public Radio International and the BBC World Service. When not writing or travelling, she can be found searching for London's best brunch spot or playing with her cat, Diana Ross.