Progress report

We have been developing the preliminary design for the A27 East of Lewes scheme since the publication of the preferred route in September 2017. In March we displayed the plans for the junctions at Polegate and Berwick and we are now delighted to announce that the preliminary design for the shared user path element of the scheme has now been completed.

We are holding five public exhibitions where we invite you to come along view the designs and find out more information:

Date	Time	Venue	Address
Monday 15 July 2019	2pm to 7pm	Alciston & Selmeston Village Hall	The Street, Selmeston, BN26 6UG
Tuesday 16 July 2019	1pm to 6pm	Polegate Community Centre	The Lounge - 54 Windsor Way, BN26 6QF
Friday 19 July 2019	1:30pm to 6:30pm	Berwick Village Hall	7 Station Road, Polegate, BN26 6TD
Saturday 20 July 2019	11am to 3pm	Firle Village Hall	The Street, Firle, BN8 6NT
Saturday 27 July 2019	11am to 3pm	Berwick Village Hall	7 Station Road, Polegate, BN26 6TD

If you are unable to attend the events, you can still find out more about the designs by viewing the banners and slides that were presented at the events.

What's next?

Once the statutory process and arrangements for procuring the land have been finalised, the scheme will move to detailed design, which look at the design more closely and look to organise the finer details of the works.

The scheme is still on track to start the works around Berwick roundabout in March 2020, in line with our current programme expectations.

Timeline

Date	Event
April 2016	Stakeholder workshop
Late 2016	Have your say on proposed options
Summer 2017	Preferred route announcement
March 2019	Public information exhibitions (junctions)
3 May 2019	Publication of orders (Junctions)
14 June 2019	End of representation period
July 2019	Public information exhibitions (Shared use path)
July 2019	Publication of orders (Shared use path)
Spring 2020	Start of work
2022	Open to traffic

Highways Act 1980 Orders

Highways England published the Orders for the A27 East of Lewes improvement scheme under the Highways Act 1980 on 3 May 2019. The scheme proposals require the following Orders:

The Highways England (A27 trunk road East of Lewes Improvement scheme) (Berwick and Polegate junctions) (Side Roads) Order 2019

• Side Roads Order - Schedule and plans
• Side Roads Order - Public Notice

The Highways England (A27 trunk road East of Lewes Improvement scheme) (Berwick and Polegate junctions) Compulsory Purchase Order 2019

• Compulsory Purchase Order – Order and Schedule booklet
• Compulsory Purchase Order - Plans
• Compulsory Purchase Order - Public Notice

Supporting documents that have also been published include:

• Statement of Reasons
• Consultation Report
• Preliminary Design Drawings (available in the 'Highways Act 1980 Orders' section below)

Why we need this scheme

The A27 to the east of Lewes suffers from congestion due to the narrow carriageway and low capacity at junctions. There are limited overtaking opportunities, meaning that traffic regularly queues behind cyclists and other slow moving vehicles.

Aims

The aim of this scheme is to address safety, capacity, sustainability and accessibility issues on this stretch of the A27. We aim to:

• reduce travel time and improve journey time reliability along the A27 section
• promote modes of travel and behaviours which minimise traffic and congestion
• provide safer roads
• connect communities currently separated by the route
• improve accessibility for all users into the South Downs National Park
• minimise impact on natural environment

Roadworks and Events for England

The latest incident information for England's motorway and trunk routes provided by Highways England