There has been talk for more than 30 years of building a South Coast highway from Kent to Devon.

It would snake through Sussex on its way to linking the Channel Tunnel with places such as Southampton and Portsmouth.

But a new Government study says the super-highway is not really needed. Few motorists make long journeys along the South Coast.

The main pressure is on north-south routes from the big towns on the coast, such as Hastings and Eastbourne, to the capital.

Over those years, the highway has been built bit by bit, with bypasses such as the one around Brighton and other links.

But road building seems to have come to a halt with the rejection first of a bypass for Worthing and then one for Hastings.

There is evidence from Brighton and Hove that a properly-run bus service using dedicated lanes can play a part in improving public transport and in reducing the use of cars.

This sort of strategy could be put into place in other coastal towns such as Worthing and Hastings where the bus service is generally poor.

There is also scope for upgrading the rail network.

Improvements could be made by providing passing loops in more places, by reinstating the missing rail link at Polegate and by both electrifying and dualling the line from Hastings to Ashford.

There may be a need in time for more bypasses. But the super-highway looks as if it is dead at last.