'Longest road tunnel in the country' could help Worthing solve A27 congestion woes

National Highways, formerly Highways England, is putting forward a number of options to improve the corridor in the shorter and medium term and is due to hold a consultation later this year.

But a new Strategic Investment Plan (SIP) for the South East suggests the potential long-term solution would be the construction of a new stretch of road, much of which would be within a four to five kilometre-long tunnel, potentially making it the longest road tunnel in the UK.

It could cost around £2billion and be delivered between 2045 and 2050 although this figure could vary depending on design.

The proposal is one of those in Transport for the South East’s draft SIP, which is intended to provide a framework for investment in the region up to 2050.

A consultation on the plan closes on Monday September 12.

Worthing Borough Council’s cabinet members are due to discuss the authority’s response to this consultation at a meeting this time next week (Tuesday September 6).

Officers recommend the council welcomes the SIP’s emphasis on transforming east – west connectivity and enhancing east – west corridors to the same level as radial links to and from London as well as the package of place based ‘Solent and the Sussex Coast’ interventions that would benefit Worthing.

The specific inclusion in the SIP of a long term highways proposal to resolve the challenges presented by the A27 in Worthing is also mentioned.

But officers also said that a long-term solution should not preclude other bodies such as National Highways making short and medium term interventions.

Their report said: “The inclusion in the SIP of a long term solution to the challenge presented by the A27 through Worthing is welcome; as is the explicit link to a package of other measures which mean that the A27 road infrastructure is not considered in isolation. The inclusion of a case study is also welcome to illustrate that a range of funding measures will need to be considered for a solution as significant and costly as tunnelling infrastructure.”

They also noted that a long-term option that does not commence until 2045 may seem ‘too distant a prospect’ for many.