Nine-year delayed East Sussex ‘road to nowhere’ to open in the summer

A long-delayed highway improvement scheme in East Sussex dubbed in Parliament a “road to nowhere” is now due to be completed later this summer.

The Queensway Gateway Road in St Leonards was initially slated for completion in 2016 but has been dogged by delays, most recently because of the need to relocate a major water main.

Balfour Beatty Living Places was brought in by East Sussex County Council last year to deliver the final remaining phase of the project, which will link the Queensway Gateway Road to the A21 Sedlescombe Road North.

This contract, initially worth £60,000, was recently extended due to construction delays until the end of October – or whenever services are complete – with an increased value of £83,000.

The job has been put on hold again until next month when Southern Water will begin to relocate the pipe, after which work will begin on the northern filter lane, signalised junction and carriageway surfacing.

Lucy Powell, leader of the House of Commons, described the project as a “road to nowhere” that was “still going nowhere fast” after the issue was raised in Parliament last week by local MP Helena Dollimore.

Dollimore said the roadworks were “causing chaos” for residents and asked why the moving of a major water main had not been planned for before the works began.

“The need to do so is delaying those roadworks indefinitely,” she said.

Last month, East Sussex Highways said it was “ready to complete the final elements” of the road as preparation works for the removal of 3,000 cubic metres of earth from the embankment had concluded.

“We anticipate the final stage of the project to be complete this summer, but once work is underway, we should be able to give a clearer indication of the completion date,” it said.

In a statement, East Sussex County Council said it was continuing to work closely with Southern Water on the current phase of the scheme.

“This is a complex project with much of the work needing to be completed in sequence,” it said.

“Following the removal of most of the embankment, Southern Water will relocate the water main and they are due to start their work to move the pipe in early July.

“We can then complete the work to construct the remaining northern slip lane.

“The road scheme, connecting two key roads in the town, is expected to be completed later this summer.”

Balfour Beatty has been approached for comment.

The project was first estimated to cost £15m in 2015. The council has not revealed the updated cost.