A29 closure at Pulborough - latest

WSCC have thanked all those who attended the recent public meeting regarding the A29 in Pulborough

West Sussex County Council has issued an update following the public meeting on Monday 27 February. WSCC say that they fully appreciate the frustrations felt by local residents about the ongoing situation and the resulting inconvenience along with the hardship felt by businesses in the area.

The Council says it is doing everything it can to progress a solution to this issue as quickly as possible. The complexity of the issue is unusual in that the embankments on both sides of the cutting are not within the County Council’s control. They are not adopted highway land and are owned by private landowners, and it is this private land that has slipped with the embankments remaining unstable.

This has resulted in a longer than anticipated timeline due to discussions and negotiations with the landowners to allow Council workers to access their land and undertake the works. These discussions are ongoing and are productive. It is appropriate that before any statutory powers are enacted to enter the land and carry out the works, sufficient time must be allowed for the landowners to fully explore the implications on their property and understand what is required before they come to an agreement.

Councillor Joy Dennis, Cabinet member for Highways and Transport said: “We do appreciate how frustrating this is for everyone affected but please be assured we are taking the best technical advice and doing everything we can to expediate the process.  Our primary objective is to ensure that the road can be reopened for use safely by all road users."

“When the incident occurred, the County Council acted swiftly to close to road to ensure safety and put into place a temporary diversion. Once it became clear that a solution couldn’t be implemented quickly, our team implemented a more robust road closure and worked with our network coordination team to agree a longer-term diversion route which takes in to account the suitability of the alternative route for all vehicle types."

“We continue to monitor the official diversion along with those local roads being used as unofficial alternative routes, carrying out repairs and implement temporary measures such as parking restrictions as needed.”

The solution presented at the meeting was that once an agreement had been reached with the landowners, temporary repairs will be made which are anticipated to take approximately two weeks to complete. This temporary solution, which will reopen the road and allow for two-way traffic under temporary traffic lights has received support from local residents.

There are a further two phases to resolve this permanently, with the complete repair to be completed once a design and programme has been agreed with key local stakeholders. WSCC's objective is to have the road open to two-way traffic as quickly as possible and maintain that whilst the permanent solution is designed.

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