Hundreds back calls for traffic lights on bridge

The new petition, which was launched by hairdresser Dale Francis earlier this week, has already amassed more than 650 supporters.

Mr Francis said: “I’ve been thinking about taking some sort of action for a while now as I travel from Eastbourne to Seaford five days a week as I have a business in the town.

“As it stands, the way the bridge is set up is not fair for the traffic trying to get into Seaford. Rush hour is an absolute nightmare with tailbacks backing up to the top of the hill and sometimes further. This often creates a 20 minute delay just to cross the bridge, while traffic from the other side never have to wait and get very cross even if you are already halfway across the bridge. Something needs to be done before there is some sort of serious incident or accident.

“I was brought up in Seaford and have been living in Eastbourne for the last two years and have always known this bridge to be a problem, especially now with a greater volume of traffic on the roads.

“My first step was to create this petition and publicise it as much as I could. My next step would be to talk to local councillors about the problem and see if they have any influence with the local authorities.

“What we actually need are intelligent traffic lights so they automatically change if there is nothing waiting the other side.”

In September last year, a budget of £500,000 was set aside by East Sussex County Council for essential maintenance repairs to the bridge at Exceat.

The money was earmarked for repairs to the bridge’s foundations and abutments.

At the time, Rupert Clubb, director for communities, economy and transport, said: “There are opportunities to improve capacity but I would say it’s a long way off. The key thing is for us is ensuring the Exceat Bridge stays up.”

Other possibilities previously mentioned to address the issue of traffic build up on the A259 involves widening the bridge.

An East Sussex County council spokesman said: “We appreciate the concerns about congestion on the A259 at Exceat, and will respond to the petition when it is received.

Visit www.change.org/p/ihttps-new-eastsussex-gov-uk-cuckmere-bridge-traffic-lights to view the petition.

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