[Sussex] The A27 in Sussex (mainly Worthing to Shoreham)

[Poskettspurpose]

So I have been wanting to get the NSC take on the A27 for a while but recent weeks have pushed me over the edge to create a post on the current state and future of this road. Recently Highways, after lengthy and ongoing work, commissioned further traffic lights at Shoreham Airport on the new roundabout. The Lancing College lights oddly have remained active stopping traffic for no apparent reason. The last two weeks I have seen my journey time in the morning between Worthing and Brighton increase by 15-20 mins. The hold up appears to be caused by lights at the new roundabout and then, just for fun, the Lancing college lights stop both east and west bound traffic for a further 20-30 seconds repeatedly.

Beyond my desperate rant what do people think about the current state of the A27 in Sussex? It seems an absolute disgrace to the county compared say to Hampshire which has as full A27/M27 dual carriageway/motorway system from border to border. The Highways website shows nothing but potential sticking plaster schemes and delights in telling us what has been proposed in the past 30 years and then shelved. There appears to be no hope in Worthing with no space to expand the road and its unlikely to be carved into the south downs national park. The road as it stands will inevitably start to stifle business and travel to and through Worthing if it hasn't already. Is there any hope for the A27 at all in the next 20 years without £100's of millions of investment?

 

[Dr. No]

Is there any hope for the A27 at all in the next 20 years without £100's of millions of investment?

No.

 

[Poskettspurpose]

No.

Thanks, how do I close the thread?

 

[HeaviestTed]

Tories out

 

[Withdean South Stand]

I think the real problem is that the section which is particularly bad is trapped on both sides. There is no additional space to expand the road so unless some hideous looking eyesore overpasses are built, I think the road is doomed and it will take a huge investment to compulsory purchase a lot of land and flatten a lot of homes in order to make the road fitter for purpose.

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

Chichester bypass is always fun

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

I think this was being discussed on BBC Sussex this morning as the traffic reporter has been asking Highways South East to review the state of the traffic (I missed the discussion but it will probably on BBC Sounds). The new lights are not phasing to manage the traffic flow and making things worse - especially as there is still only limited traffic coming up from the airport and industrial estate at the moment. The remaining Lancing college lights should be decommissioned shortly I believe as they are just finishing the new cycle / pedestrian path.

The new roundabout lights situation reminds me of the one at Polegate which took ages to get right so I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for a resolution

 

[LamieRobertson]

I think this was being discussed on BBC Sussex this morning as the traffic reporter has been asking Highways South East to review the state of the traffic (I missed the discussion but it will probably on BBC Sounds). The new lights are not phasing to manage the traffic flow and making things worse - especially as there is still only limited traffic coming up from the airport and industrial estate at the moment. The remaining Lancing college lights should be decommissioned shortly I believe as they are just finishing the new cycle / pedestrian path.

The new roundabout lights situation reminds me of the one at Polegate which took ages to get right so I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for a resolution

Housing estate?

 

[chip]

Beyond my desperate rant what do people think about the current state of the A27 in Sussex? It seems an absolute disgrace to the county compared say to Hampshire which has as full A27/M27 dual carriageway/motorway system from border to border. The Highways website shows nothing but potential sticking plaster schemes and delights in telling us what has been proposed in the past 30 years and then shelved. There appears to be no hope in Worthing with no space to expand the road and its unlikely to be carved into the south downs national park. The road as it stands will inevitably start to stifle business and travel to and through Worthing if it hasn't already. Is there any hope for the A27 at all in the next 20 years without £100's of millions of investment?

The A27/M27 Chichester to Southampton has not been so good either. I think there have been ongoing road works on the M27 for 20 years, often long delays on the 4-lane section of the A27 at Pompey and you can spend hours between Havant and Chi. At least the traffic moves at Shoreham. That said, I often go through Storrington on my way east to avoid Arundel, Worthing and Shoreham. Yes, it's crap and no real acceptable solution on the horizon. I'd rather the delays than f*cking up more of the downs.

 

[stewart12]

Going west I will sometimes head up to the Washington roundabout and go by Steyning just to avoid the A27 in Worthing. It probably takes longer but at least you're always moving

The A27 throughout the whole of Worthing is awful but I can't see it getting any better without going above or below ground- both would be expensive and the latter would look awful

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

Housing estate?

Nope - the industrial estate where Ricardo and other companies are based. When the housing estate is built and people move in will be a real test of how this roundabout helps (or not) with managing additional load on an already overstretched local infrastructure.

 

[Scappa]

Nope - the industrial estate where Ricardo and other companies are based. When the housing estate is built and people move in will be a real test of how this roundabout helps (or not) with managing additional load on an already overstretched local infrastrucure.

Not to mention the new distribution center build on the NE corner of the airfield

 

[The Colonel]

They binned the plan to bypass Arundel which by comparison would have been extremely simple, so Worthing's got no chance.

 

[Poskettspurpose]

Nope - the industrial estate where Ricardo and other companies are based. When the housing estate is built and people move in will be a real test of how this roundabout helps (or not) with managing additional load on an already overstretched local infrastructure.

I had not even considered this and it's a pretty dreadful prospect of a rush hour with a large estate of people stopping the A27 every time they want to join. Really thinking about it, a roundabout is inadequate and it needs a further underpass and merges to really have any chance of keeping the traffic moving. I was hoping someone on this thread might have inside information that Highways actually had some kind of plan for the A27 - clearly I'm going to be disappointed.

 

[zefarelly]

Not to mention the new distribution center build on the NE corner of the airfield

That's an absolute beauty, really sits well on the edge of the Southdown National park, a seamless transition.

The A27 from Shoreham to Clapham, Arundel, and Chi bypass are disgraceful, the longer they keep swerving it the worse it will get.

 

[Poskettspurpose]

That's an absolute beauty, really sits well on the edge of the Southdown National park, a seamless transition.

The A27 from Shoreham to Clapham, Arundel, and Chi bypass are disgraceful, the longer they keep swerving it the worse it will get.

And lets be honest, they have been swerving it for decades. I imagine now that it has been ignored so long that it is really completely financial un-viable as it would probably mean tunneling under the downs?

 

[banjo]

Another 5 or so years, it’ll be totally gridlocked.

 

[zefarelly]

And lets be honest, they have been swerving it for decades. I imagine now that it has been ignored so long that it is really completely financial un-viable as it would probably mean tunneling under the downs?

A lot of properties were bought under the CP scheme before they canned the idea, that was over 30 years ago. The Arundel bypass was a half arsed half hearted affair a similar time ago.

It's more likely they'll build an improved A283 link and Road from Findon to Clapham. ALthough I don't think the cuttings through Steyning are wide enough for a DC. . . Maybe they could squeeze it in then fill it up Creating a tunnel

Lets face it, the whole country is an over populated mess, our infrastructure is older than ther car itself, and has been largely neglected since the 1960's

 

[studio150]

Simple solution for Worthing, an elevated section for the A27.

I'm sure the home owners will love looking out onto supporting pillars, and on hot days enjoy the shade that the elevate section provides.

 

[Poskettspurpose]

A lot of properties were bought under the CP scheme before they canned the idea, that was over 30 years ago. The Arundel bypass was a half arsed half hearted affair a similar time ago.

It's more likely they'll build an improved A283 link and Road from Findon to Clapham. ALthough I don't think the cuttings through Steyning are wide enough for a DC. . . Maybe they could squeeze it in then fill it up Creating a tunnel

Lets face it, the whole country is an over populated mess, our infrastructure is older than ther car itself, and has been largely neglected since the 1960's

What I cant understand is the ongoing quest to build more housing without any thought for the supporting infrastructure - beyond the roads which are at their limit already - what about schools, emergency services and Dr's etc?