WEST Sussex County Council has welcomed the proposal for two major transport schemes designed to ease congestion and pollution. Improvements to the A27 Chichester bypass and the development of a high quality bus network along the West Sussex coast from Portsmouth to Brighton have been included in the Government's programme of transport improvements for 2011 -2016. The decision follows years of behind the scenes work to develop the two schemes by West Sussex County Council working with partners ranging from the Highways Agency – which is responsible for the A27 – to district and borough councils and bus operators. A package of improvements for the A27 at Chichester was unveiled more than two years ago and was the subject of a widespread public consultation. Bus network – known as 'Coastal Expressway' – will include faster and more frequent services through the coastal towns of West Sussex. Features will include bus priority schemes at major junctions and traffic lights, plus electronic information for passengers. Lieutenant Colonel Tex Pemberton, West Sussex Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said: "A great deal of hard work and lobbying has gone into getting these two badly needed schemes on the national agenda. "The aim now is to proceed with detailed design and consultation work as we would like them to start as early as possible in the 2011-2016 period. "The package we are putting together will greatly ease congestion and pollution not only on the A27 at Chichester, but in many rural areas which suffer from rat running by drivers anxious to avoid the trunk road. "The Coastal Expressway will make the bus a real alternative to the car for commuting and leisure journeys." Cllr Pemberton said the County Council was still pressing hard for the Government to approve an A27 bypass for Arundel and was making a new case for improvements between Worthing and Lancing. "If there are national schemes listed between 2011 and 2016 in other parts of the country that cannot go ahead for some reason, we will be pressing for further A27 improvements to be brought forward."
