A major traffic bottleneck and accident blackspot is set for a £400,000 revamp.

Brighton and Hove City Council has revealed plans to overhaul the Woodingdean Crossroads outside the Downs Hotel in Woodingdean.

The junction forms a key northsouth route between the A27 and East Brighton, Rottingdean, Telscombe and Peacehaven, as well as the main route in and out of Woodingdean.

It has been designated one of the city’s 26 high-risk accident sites following a series of crashes believed to be caused by drivers getting frustrated by long waits at the traffic lights.

Rob Budinger, from Woodingdean, a barman at the Down’s Hotel, said: “It is an absolute nightmare.

There are accidents there all of the time.

“It only needs one car to be turning right and everyone ends up sitting waiting for them, then the lights change again.

“Most of the accidents are caused by people jumping the lights because they are fed up with waiting.”

The council has proposed a series of measures to improve the situation.

The key changes would be widening Falmer Road immediately north of the junction to create two southbound lanes, allowing a right hand turn lane and doing the same to the stretch of Warren Way east of the crossroads.

Modern sensor-controlled traffic lights would be installed and a triangular island in the middle of the junction would be removed to create more space.

New pedestrian crossings would be established and advanced stop lines created for cyclists.

A consultation about the proposals will be staged in Woodingdean during the autumn.

Councillor Dee Simson, who represents the area on the council, said it had been something the community had been requesting for some time.

She said: “It is a real accident blackspot and the numbers may be even higher than the amount recorded because there are a lot of small collisions.

What is important in this is that it will help east-west traffic as well as north-south.

This is in Woodingdean and it is important people in Woodingdean are treated as a priority, not just those coming to and from the A27.”

Improvements to the junction will be considered a welcome move ahead of Brighton and Hove Albion’s planned move to their new stadium in nearby Falmer in August 2010.

Opponents feared the crossroads would be gridlocked by traffic on match days.