A23 safety scheme to be delayed over rising costs

Work on the A23 between Handcross and Warninglid, near Haywards Heath, would be expected to reduce accidents by a third.

The project, which includes widening the road to three lanes, was estimated to cost £40 million, but now the Department for Transport has said it is likely to be nearer £69 million.

Construction was due to start in 2011 or 2012 but the project is currently on hold while the government comes up with a more detailed cost estimate.

The South East England Regional Assembly's regional transport board, which advises the Government on which road schemes have priority and how funds should be allocated, has told ministers the A23 project is still a priority but has warned that they will have to make a bigger contribution to meet the increased cost.

The delay is bad news for the thousands of commuters who use the road every day.

Lesley Read, chairwoman of Handcross Residents' Association, said the road is dangerous and improvements were urgently needed.

She said: "We can't wait. The road is getting busier and busier.

"Whenever an accident happens our village becomes gridlocked with diverted traffic.

"A lot of the big lorries come through Handcross to avoid the road. We're only a small village and we really don't like it."

She said residents had come to expect delays and disappointments in relation to the improvements, which were first mooted in the early nineties.

She added: "I think you could say we'll believe it when we see it."

Geoffrey Coe, who lives in Warninglid and sits on Slaugham Parish Council, said most residents believe the improvements would be beneficial.

But he said residents had become tired of waiting for the improvements to take place.

He said: "It just goes on and on. We rather thought we were at the top of the pile by now and hopefully that remains the case."

Alfred McAlpine, the firm contracted by the Highways Agency to design and construct the improvements, have completed their proposals for the scheme but they cannot be officially published until the funding issue is resolved.

Chris Bacon, the Highways Agency officer in charge of the project, told The Argus the scheme would entail: * widening the dual carriageway to three lanes in each direction instead of two * improving the road alignment to increase safety * closing direct access onto the road from homes and businesses and building a new service road to the west of the A23 to Warninglid * modifying the Slaugham junction and improving slip roads * revising the junctions at Handcross and Warninglid * creating a new continuous cycle and footpath which follows the new service road from Warninglid, goes under the A23 at Slaugham and continues on the east side of the A23 to Handcross.

Mr Bacon said it had been difficult to plot a route because of the ancient woodland to the west of the A23 near Handcross and National Trust's Nymans property to the east.

He said: "The main objectives are safety and reducing the congestion.

"The scheme we've developed is open to objections and comment."

Once the public and statutory bodies such as West Sussex County Council have been consulted the plans will be revised and an environmental statement and draft order seeking permission for the scheme will be published.

On average 15 people each year were injured on the two-mile stretch between 2001 and 2004. The improvements are expected to reduce this figure to ten per year.

The latest available statistics show that between 1997 and 2001 there were 106 accidents involving personal injuries, four of which were fatal. The figure is two-and-a-half times the national average for this type of road.

Colin Clarke, 22, was killed when his van careered off the road in 2003 and Christopher Bentley, 36, from Haywards Heath died in a crash on the A23 Warninglid the following year.

Champion lawn tennis player Stewart Stephens, 23, from Crawley, died on the road in 2005.

The first improvement plans were put forward in the nineties but were later shelved. The scheme was later revived and an exhibition was held for residents in 2003, featuring a different route to the earlier plans.

These included a fourth crawler lane but this has now been scrapped.

Construction firm Alfred McAlpine won the contract for the project in 2005, along with the A27 Beddingham improvement scheme which is currently underway.

The Highways Agency and Alfred McAlpine have completed an extensive environmental study of the area as part of the latest plans.

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