Roads '˜appalling'

I read with amazement your front page article on the state of West Sussex roads .

The article belongs not on the front page of your newsletter, but in the library in the fairy stories or fiction sections! You say, and I quote: “The county’s A and B roads and minor C roads continued to be maintained above national standards, the network of unclassified roads has slipped.”

One night recently I drove along the A27 from Littlehampton to Chichester.

This is a road I am fairly familiar with, although it was the first time I had used it for some time, and a long time since I drove it in the dark.

It was a very dark, foggy evening and I was appalled by the condition of the road.

On many sections, in particular the whole stretch between the Tangmere and Stockbridge roundabouts, the cats’ eyes are missing or broken, making the road very hard to follow in the fog.

At a rough estimate, only about five per cent of the cats’ eyes are functioning!

However, it was the state of the road surface that caused me most concern, the top layers of many sections of the road having completely worn away leaving a surface more like a cart track than what could reasonably be expected on THE major A road along this area of the south coast!

Even more amazing, however, was, having told a friend of mine, who lives in Hunston, about the state of the A27, they told me the roads around Chichester have been in this dreadful state for at least two years, contrary to claims in the media that it was only the recent wet weather that had caused the disintegration of the Tarmac.

Also, I live on a C road in Littlehampton.

This was originally concrete and then was covered in Tarmac.

The Tarmac has worn away, the concrete has broken up and now you have to drive through the pot holes or on the pavement to avoid the holes.

Some of the residents have tried to fill the holes themselves, as it is not maintained at all.

If this is above the national standards of roads i hate to think what other roads around the country must be like!

The road from Littlehampton to the A27 at the Crossbush traffic lights has had concrete bollards closing one lane for the last eight months due to a landslide, and I have yet to meet anybody that has seen any work taking place there! This causes long traffic jams. The Highways Agency say it is the council’s fault, the council says it is the Highways Agency’s fault. Perhaps you can say who has put them there and why, and when this (long standing) problem is likely to be resolved.

Karen Baker

Beaconsfield Road

Littlehampton