The stretch of road south of the city is known for regular traffic jams and long traffic jams.
Although universal recognition action is needed, consensus on a detailed scheme of improvements has been elusive.
Improvements to the A27 at Chichester are one of the measures included in the huge package of transport upgrades listed in the plan.
The SIP highlights the goal of “targeted interventions aimed at providing high quality east-west connections for freight, private and transit vehicles that eliminate conflicts between local and longer term traffic. distance, with the greatest benefit when supported and supported by improvements in public transport”.
But the group’s recommendation for a new, attenuated northern route with a ‘reasonable alternative’ of substantial and sensitive improvements to the current line of the route south of the town was rejected by Highways England.
According to National Highways, formerly Highways England, improvements to the A27 at Chichester are one of 32 pipeline projects being considered for possible inclusion in RIS3.
Its website says: ‘We are currently reviewing and assessing potential options to improve the A27 Chichester Bypass as it continues to suffer from high accident rates, daily traffic jams and long queues at most junctions along this 5 km stretch of road. With a 24% increase in traffic by 2035, this situation will systematically worsen if there is no intervention.
A March update outlines how a non-statutory public consultation should be held early to present a shortlist of options.
Chichester District Council is in the process of reviewing its local plan and one of the arguments for lowering its housing targets is the lack of certainty over improvements to the A27 and the provision of capacity extra needed to accommodate additional residents.
In an email update earlier this month, the council said: ‘Due to the significant road improvements required and the fact that there is insufficient funding to achieve this, we have explained that it is unlikely that the plan achieves all the housing targets set by the government.
“Instead, we are working closely with National Highways and West Sussex County Council to set out a revised development strategy based on any improvements that can be made to the A27 over the plan period.”
Comments are closed.