Fears that A27 work will not be completed

LANCING resident Bill Freeman says the community fears that improvement works to the A27 will never be completed.
W07185H14-FloodGrindsteadLane

Floods Grinstead Lane. Southbound lane closure on Grinstead Lane in Lancing, leading onto the A27, due to flooding. Lancing. SUS-140214-155138001W07185H14-FloodGrindsteadLane

Floods Grinstead Lane. Southbound lane closure on Grinstead Lane in Lancing, leading onto the A27, due to flooding. Lancing. SUS-140214-155138001
W07185H14-FloodGrindsteadLane Floods Grinstead Lane. Southbound lane closure on Grinstead Lane in Lancing, leading onto the A27, due to flooding. Lancing. SUS-140214-155138001

While he admits that communication with contractor Beatty-Mott Macdonald and the road’s signage has improved, Mr Freeman, of Lancing Manor South East Residents’ Network, thinks more needs to be done.

In a letter to Peter Phillips, route performance manager for the Highways Agency, Mr Freeman said: “Over the last two years, this stretch of the A27 has experienced lane closures, carriageway closures, innumerable diversions and this all started with the drainage works in autumn 2012.

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People are absolutely fed up with the inconvenience to their daily lives, particularly when there appears to be no cohesive plan and different parts of the A27 are being done, it appears to the public, in ‘penny numbers’ on a totally random basis.

“They presently doubt whether there is any form of plan.

“Continually, the A259 is in tailback because of the A27 road or lane closures.

“The residents there frequently discuss with us the problems for that road and those into Lancing and Shoreham High Street, the A283 and the Old Shoreham Road where traffic light controlled roadworks have recently coincided with the A27 closures.”

Mr Freeman said residents needed more information. “At the moment, the community fears the works will never be completed and we will be experiencing this level of disruption as a normal part of travelling around the area,” he said. “I am sure that the entire community in Adur will welcome information on when the works will complete and other relevant information.”

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Councillor Geoff Patmore said: “In Widewater Ward, it can take an hour to reach Lancing from Shoreham. This A27 disruption is at peak tourist time, it does not do our tourist trade any favours and visitors leave here with experiences of tailbacks and driving misery.

“My family came to visit from London and it took an hour to travel 50 miles on the M23 to Shoreham and then another hour to travel two miles from Shoreham to Lancing.”

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