A27 improvements included in Highways England’s five-year plan

Plans to upgrade the A27 at Chichester through ‘junction improvements and a bypass removing congestion from the local villages’ could start as early as 2018/19 and be completed by 2020/21.

Back in July the organisation said it was looking at six options for upgrades at Chichester, and public consultation on these would be held in the winter.

Meanwhile Highways England has also committed to ‘taking forward and developing solutions’ which will help to relieve congestion at Arundel, Worthing, Lancing and east of Lewes.

In 2015 this work would involve engaging stakeholders over plans for a bypass at Arundel and improvements between Worthing and Lancing.

On the Lewes scheme Highways England would be talking to the local enterprise partnerships and authorities to review long-term growth plans so they could model future traffic demand and inform potential options.

Proposals would then be further developed in 2016, while assessing potential traffic and environmental impacts.

It estimated any recommendation on the preferred routes for the two areas would be made in 2017.

This information was published today (Thursday September 24) in Highways England’s Delivery Plan 2015-20 as it met with suppliers in Guildford to set out how £2.2bn of Government investment would be spent on improving roads in the South East.

Andrew Jones, roads minister, said: “Roads are key to our nation’s prosperity. For too long they have suffered from under-investment.

“The government has a long-term plan to secure the country’s economic future. This £2.2 billion investment in the region’s roads will directly benefit hardworking families across the South East.”

Simon Jones, South East regional director at Highways England, added: “Around 8.7 million people live and work in South East England, more than any other region, and our 932 miles of major roads are some of the busiest in Europe.

“The M25 alone is used to make an estimated 1 million journeys every day. We’re delivering £2.2 billion investment in improvements to the South East’s motorways and major A roads over the next five years.

“That includes nearly 150 miles of extra lanes, new junctions, and measures to tackle congestion, benefitting businesses, local residents and road users as well as delivering a fourfold return on investment for the UK economy.

“It’s vital that we continue to improve the existing road network as well, which is why we’re investing over £200 million this year alone in resurfacing, improving technology and safety measures and other maintenance projects.