MAJOR roadworks will begin in the first week of the New Year as a project to rebuild Brighton’s crumbling seafront gathers pace.

Brighton and Hove City Council have announced a 100 metre section of the seaside westbound lane of the A259 will close from January 4 because of work on the Shelter Hall project.

The lane closure is expected to be in place for two and a half years because of “the age of the structure and complexity of the construction”.

The £10 million project will repair the former beachfront gym at the foot of West Street which collapsed in 2013.

Brighton and Hove City Council officers will be closely supervising the works to “make sure there is minimum disruption” to the public, businesses and public transport.

Officers said work on rebuilding the lower promenade is on schedule with foundations being put in place for the construction of the seawall expected to be completed by the end of March.

Advanced warning signs about the road closure have just gone up on the seafront with motorists advised the lane will be shut for a distance of about 50metres either side of the junction with West Street.

The project has been largely funded by a successful bid for Government funding and will see the Victorian Shelter Hall be expanded into a seafront commercial site with a new walkway on the beach and building new public toilets.

Councillor Gill Mitchell, chair of the city’s environment and transport committee, said the project, which will also strengthen the A259, is "absolutely essential" for the future of the city's seafront.

She said: "We need to do the work to protect these assets into the next century."