Community
Project helpline
We have put in place a telephone helpline and email helpdesk to provide information and address any issues that may arise. Calls and emails will be answered during core working hours (subject to safe working practices), but enquiries or incident reports can be left 24/7 for an initial response the next working day. You can also register to receive weekly emails of planned works activity in the coming weeks by sending an email to our helpdesk with the subject ‘subscribe’.
Site working hours
The working hours consented under planning for the site are 07:30 – 18:00 Monday to Saturday and 10:00 – 16:00 on Sundays. Prior approval from Highways England is required for Bank Holiday working. Some deliveries and site start-up/shut-down activities are permitted outside of these hours.
Landscaping
The new carriageway is designed to blend into the existing topography of the site. Any disturbed areas will be planted with native species and seeded with a suitable wildflower mix.
Section A shows where the road cuts into the bank for a relatively short distance, with a low-level timber retaining structure retaining existing vegetation and safeguarding potential ecological habitat.
Section B, shows a typical section, where the road follows the existing contours without any undue impact to the bank and associated vegetation.
(Source: Hyland Edgar Driver HED-1172-LA-703)
Sustainability
We have sustainability at the core of our project execution. For example, we are planning to reuse the soil and other substrate excavated from the site in the creation of project assets, such as the roundabout and landscaping. Similarly, we operate within a waste disposal management plan to minimise waste that needs to be removed from site and use a range of skips to ensure that what is removed is correctly sorted for effective recycling. Our site compound provides full welfare facilities and off-road parking for our team and both buildings and hard landscaping will be removed at the end of the project before full restoration of the site.
Site behaviours
We pride ourselves on the proactive behaviours of our site teams and subcontractors coming to site. All staff and contractors undergo thorough site induction training, which covers health and safety compliance, environmental considerations, site housekeeping and being a good neighbour.
Site activity mitigation
We are aware that our site activity has the potential to impact on residential properties, schools, organisations and the road users near this site. We will work to ensure factors such as noise and vibration are restricted and provide mitigation to prevent dust.
Access
Access considerations
We will be providing temporary traffic management throughout the project to maintain two-way passage on the A27 plus access and egress for Brighton City Airport, the new Withy Patch Gypsies’ and Travellers’ site and the New Monks Farm development site.
Our objective is to maintain local access to and from the A27 with disruption kept to a minimum as far as practicable. We also seek to maintain the existing vehicle access and egress arrangements for Mash Barn Lane, Hoe Court, Coombes Road, Old Shoreham Road, Manor Close and Manor Way. Pedestrian and cycling access will remain throughout the works (except for short periods when we may temporarily close the footway and cycleway to safeguard users) although the route may be redirected at times with clear signage. Access for emergency vehicles will be maintained at all times.
The Lorry Stop layby is now only accessible to construction traffic for the duration of the project but will re-open on completion following demobilisation.
We are, of course, aware of the other National Highways improvement on the A27. Our programme has been engineered to take these road closures into account and to avoid any escalation of disruption. We will continue to review the National Highways programme in tandem with ours through 2023.
Programme
A27 works programme
The programme of facilitating works commenced in 2022 with main construction works starting in the spring of 2023. It is anticipated that the roundabout and the new fourth exit into the New Monks Farm development site will be in permanent operation by Autumn 2023, and that all remaining works will be completed by the end of 2023.
Online and offline working
We can deliver a significant proportion of the road construction works away from the live carriageway to minimise the disruption to traffic flow along the A27. Additional works to create new accesses into the New Monks Farm site, Brighton City Airport and the Withy Patch Gypsies’ and Travellers’ site will not impact the A27.
The works activity directly impacting the A27 is taking place in two zones: the live carriage way (shown blue) and offline works to the A27 (yellow).
The works we are undertaking include, but are not limited to:
- Laydown of new carriageway, cycleway, pavements and
associated infrastructure - Provision of new street lighting
- Installation of road drainage
- Installation of traffic-light management system
- Installation of traffic signage and vehicle restraint systems
- Diversions of statutory utilities
- Construction of retaining walls
- Landscaping and planting
Planned A27 traffic management phasing
PHASE 1: All westbound traffic will be rerouted onto the new A27 westbound carriageway around the roundabout and improvement works will commence between the westbound and eastbound carriageways.
PHASE 2: A27 eastbound traffic will be restricted to one lane between Hoe Court and Old Shoreham Road/Brighton City Airport junction.
PHASE 3: One lane of A27 eastbound carriageway will be diverted onto the new eastbound carriageway between Hoe Court and Old Shoreham Road/Brighton City Airport junction.
PHASE 4: A27 eastbound traffic will be rerouted to the new A27 eastbound carriageway. The junction of Coombes Lane/A27 will remain open but vehicle access to, and egress from, Coombes Road will be via the eastbound A27 only. Access to the westbound carriageway (crossover) at Coombes Lane/A27 will be closed and vehicles diverted to the new roundabout. The crossover closure is for safety reasons due to the proximity of the new roundabout.
PHASE 5: Works to the central reservations and Coombes Road and Shoreham junctions will be undertaken.
PHASE 6a: Lane closure on eastbound carriageway while Coombes Road junction is permanently closed and verge-side works undertaken. PHASE 6b (16 August – 11 September 2023): Lane closure on the westbound carriage way A27/Old Shoreham Road while verge-side works undertaken.
PHASE 6c: Traffic lights will be commissioned on both carriageways and other finishing works undertaken.
PHASE 7a: Overnight closures of the A27 eastbound carriageway to complete surfacing and road marking work. Diversion will be signed via A2025 South Lancing, A259 Old Shoreham and A283 Old Shoreham Road.
PHASE 7b: Overnight closures of the A27 westbound carriageway to complete surfacing and road marking work. Diversion will be signed via A283 Old Shoreham Road, A259 Old Shoreham and A2025 South Lancing.
All traffic management will be under the control of experienced and dedicated Traffic Safety Control (TSCO) and Traffic Management (TMO) Officers. There will be a 40mph speed limit through the roadworks to safeguard our site team and manage traffic flow.