A27 East of Lewes

One of a package of four schemes to reduce congestion on the A27.

Start date Spring 2020

End date 2023

Cost £75 million

Closures at a glance

Monday 15 August to Saturday 20 August 2022 at Bopeep Lane overnight (8pm to 6am) to lay a pipe to prevent risk of flooding and take rainwater away from the road. Access to residential properties will be maintained.
Temporary traffic lights may affect your journey between Polegate and Firle whilst we carry out overnight works on weekdays from Monday 15 to Friday 23 September 2022. Please follow our emails or visit our website nearer the time for more information.

Latest updates

08 August 2022

New footbridge

Our new footbridge over the River Cuckmere was installed ahead of schedule. Teams worked through the night to get the bridge in place which arrived in one piece.

The road between Drusillas Roundabout and Milton Street is now open, however please check updated road closures at the top of this page.
25 July 2022

Enhancing the environment

Did you know? We’ve created 3,550 metres of shallow drainage channels, known as swales, along most of our shared-use path.

Swales are used to direct water from the road where it collects into pools before soaking away. They also provide additional habitat corridors for species such as Great Crested Newts.

Drainage or retention ponds help protect the natural environment by managing levels of heavy rainfall and stormwater. Three new ponds have been created to help local wildlife flourish across the route – two of these have been specifically designed with Great Crested Newts in mind.
18 July 2022

Work in Wilmington – Update

Thank you to everyone for their patience during the night closures for our new path construction through Wilmington.

We were able to complete the path and the new road surfacing through Wilmington Junction as planned by Saturday 16 July.
16 June 2022

New path milestone reached

We've almost finished half of the new 13km pathway between Firle and Polegate and expect it to be fully open for use by the end of 2022.

3,025 new trees and 32,000 plants will be added along the route and three new ponds have been created to reduce flood risk and provide new habitats for wildlife.

Read more in our latest newsletter

We’re working to finish as soon as we can, however the path must remain closed for now to keep all road users and our team safe.

We’ll let you know as soon as we’re ready to open.

Subscribe to receive updates
31 May 2022

Protecting the local environment

We’re working closely with Natural England, local councils and the South Downs National Park to design the best route for our new path which runs next to the A27 from Firle to Polegate.

We’ve carried out ecological surveys to identify habitats and understand as much as we can about how to work around certain species. There are several European Protected Species in this area including bats, dormice and great crested newts. We apply for licences from Natural England which set out what we must do to protect wildlife when working close by.

Did you know?

The life cycle of a dormouse follows a yearly cycle. This means we can plan our work to match the pattern of these creatures and not disturb them.

Ecologists carried out surveys to determine if there are any suitable habitats nearby. Licensed ecologists search in vegetation by hand, looking for signs of wildlife, whenever work is taking place.

We make sure that we replant and provide suitable habitat where it was removed. There are several areas along the route, like Berwick, where new hedgerow planting will provide broadleaved woodland. We’re also building and improving ponds to improve habitats for protected species and other animals in the area.

Managing trees

We surveyed all trees along the route.

Trees that showed bat potential were individually inspected. If bats were found, we applied for a licence. If no bats were found, we continued with vegetation clearance.

All nesting birds are protected. No work can be done on trees that have bird nests, active nests or if the feedings have not left. Our team waited for nesting rooks to move on near Polegate at the end of September last year.

Ash dieback

Ash dieback is fungal disease that affects the common ash tree. While we don’t survey trees for this, we know it’s quite a problem and there are trees on the route that have it. Trees in woodlands with high proportions of ash are likely to decline more quickly.

This means that some trees must be cut down - so you when you see us taking trees down it may be because of this.

We’ve worked with local landowners to reduce the impact on local trees and woodlands. In some places, we removed trees infected with ash die back to stop the disease from spreading.

We’ve also removed trees where there is a danger of them falling on to the path to keep everyone safe.
29 April 2022

What's coming up

Berwick update

Our work at Station Road in Berwick is progressing well and we are on target with our timing. We should have all tasks done and the new surface laid in time to have the road fully open in time for the Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend.

Station Road diversion route

Night work

We are having to lay sections of the new path where it is next to the A27, using two way lights at night. From next Tuesday 2 May until Friday 13 May, we will be between Drusillas roundabout and Alciston. We are sorry for any inconvenience.

Wilmington – A reminder

We’re now able to complete the new path through Wilmington and we’ll be working next to the A27 from Monday 16 May until Friday 15 July 2022. We’re going to have to work at night here as daytime work would cause too much traffic disruption. We’ll be using temporary traffic lights and working for five weekday nights from Monday to Saturday morning. Between Monday 4 July and Friday 15 July 2022, we’ll be laying a new road surface. We will have to close the road overnight from Monday to Saturday morning and a diversion will be in place.

Diversion route
07 April 2022

Advanced warning! - Work in Wilmington

We're now able to complete the new path through Wilmington. We will be working next to the A27 from Monday 16 May until Friday 15 July 2022. We’re going to have to work at night here as daytime works would cause too much traffic disruption. We will be using two-way lights and working for five weekday nights from Monday to Saturday morning. Between Monday 4 July and Friday 15 July 2022, we will be laying a new road surface. We will have to close the road overnight from Monday to Saturday morning and a diversion will be in place. We will confirm the diversion route nearer the time so that we may coordinate our works with East Sussex County Council Highways.

Speed Limits on the A27 Firle and Polegate

The 40mph speed limit between Firle and Polegate is now in place. The exception is the site near Selmeston where the limit is reduced to 30mph. Unfortunately, road users are not sticking to the limits. To keep everyone safe, we’ve engaged a mobile speed van. This will be patrolling the speed restricted area. The first time, speeders will receive a warning letter, the second time will be reported to the police for enforcement action to be taken. This is to keep everyone safe.
18 March 2022

Night work starts 21 March

Speed Limits on the A27 between Firle and Polegate

We’re changing the speed limit through our work. Between Firle and Polegate it’ll be 40mph except at Polegate and at our site compound west of Selmeston where it’ll be 30mph.

Abnormal Loads on the A27

There will be a slow-moving, abnormal load on our roads in Sussex, including the A27, on Saturday 19 March 2022. Two large pieces of equipment will be taken 41 miles from Shoreham Port to National Grid’s substation near Ninfield, East Sussex. This is essential equipment to allow the National Grid to provide energy to homes and businesses. For more information please visit the webpage: www.nationalhighways.co.uk/A27-abnormal-load

Night Work

From Monday 21 March for four weeks, we will be building new field access points off the A27. Our hours will be between 8pm and 6am working five weekday nights starting on Monday and finishing on Saturday morning.
18 February 2022

Berwick – Closure of Station Road and Pound Lane

We’re hoping our special sleepy resident, the dormouse, will soon be awake and on his way to find a new home.

From 4 April 2022, full road closures of Station Road and Pound Lane will be in place until early June.

We'll also be finishing off the section of the path running from Berwick Station to Drusilla's roundabout and improving the drainage to help prevent flooding.

Firle Junction – closures cancelled

The road closures booked for Monday 21 February for five nights have been cancelled. Surfacing of the improved path will be carried out next week during our day shift instead.

Clearing trees

We're continuing with this until Friday 11 March and working during the day where possible because of the noise. However during the week commencing 21 February when we're working near Wilmington we'll have to work at night. Temporary traffic lights will be in place between 8pm and 6am.

A licensed ecologist will be supervising all our the tree work to check that the birds aren’t nesting already.

Temporary reduction of speed limits between Firle and Polegate

We’ve introduced temporary speed limits to keep everyone safe. There are big holes next to the road in some places and at others we’re using large vehicles and machines which don't move as quickly as cars and need extra time when they're turning in or out of our work area.

The speed limits will be in place throughout the construction phase of the new path.
09 February 2022
February’s work

You’ve seen us working on the stretch between Bostal Road and Wick Street already. These are the new features that’ll soon be finished:
- A new pedestrian crossing
- The existing traffic island will be removed
- A new non-slip surface on the routes to the crossing point
- A wider footway that drains better
- A new layby for streetlight maintenance
Night closures – be aware

Week nights (8pm - 6am) starting Monday 14 February until Saturday morning (19 February) and again from Monday night (21 February) until Saturday morning (26 February) the A27 at Firle will be closed for surfacing works.

This diversion route will be in place.

Tree Clearance

We’re getting ready to build the rest of the route for the new path between Firle and Polegate. Before we start, we need to remove vegetation and cut down trees before the birds start nesting in March.

We can’t put temporary traffic lights on the A27 during the day because it’s just too busy, so we’re clearing trees weekday nights between 8pm and 6am until Friday 11 March. We’re sorry about the noise - we have to chip the trees on site and the machine is quite loud.

Our licensed ecologist is supervising all the tree work to check that the birds aren’t nesting already.

Berwick

Our team is moving from Polegate to the compound at Berwick because that’s where we’re working on the new path for walkers, cyclists and horse riders.

We’re getting the roundabout ready for a new arrival – it’s a stunning new animal statue in honour of Drusilla’s. More news and photos on that shortly!
14 January 2022
We're back!

We started work at Firle last week. Working between Bostal Road and Wick Street, we will be:
- Installing a new pedestrian crossing
- Removing the current traffic island
- Adding new non-slip surface on the routes to the crossing point
- Widening the current footway and making sure it drains better
- Building a new layby for streetlight maintenance
Traffic lights are in place between 8pm and 6am on weekdays until Friday 21 January while we build a new island and lay ducts across the road.

From Monday 14 February until Friday 18 February and again from Monday 21 February until Friday 25 February between 8pm and 6am, the A27 at Firle will be closed for surfacing works. We will advise of the diversion in place nearer the time.

Between Monday 24 January and Friday 4 February, the eastern end of Wick Street at Firle will be completely closed past Dairy Farmhouse. Access to businesses and the Decoy Pond Fishing Car Park will remain open.

We will be installing streetlights at the junction, they’re a safety requirement. The lights will be a ‘warm’ white light and are within the limits of the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) Dark Skies policy. The SDNPA were consulted on our plans during the design stage.

Polegate

We’ve nearly finished at Polegate but we’ve some snagging items to sort out. There will be lane closures in place during the day on Polegate bypass on Thursday 27, Friday 28 and Monday 31 January 2022. We’re sorry in advance for any delays these cause your journeys.

Tree Clearance

We’re now preparing to start building the rest of the route for the new path between Firle and Polegate. Before we start, we need to remove vegetation and cut down trees along the route before the bird nesting season starts in March 2022. As we cannot put traffic lights on the A27 during the day because it is just too busy, we will have to work at night between 8pm and 6am on weekdays from Monday 24 January until Friday 11 March. The work is noisy as we have to chip the trees on site. We will contact those more directly affected before we start. A licensed ecologist will be supervising the tree work to check that the birds aren’t nesting already.

Berwick

Our team is in the process of moving from Polegate to the compound at Berwick to support the construction of the new path for walkers, cyclists and horse riders. We have more work to do on the roundabout in preparation for the exciting landscaping feature. We will let you know when this is happening
21 December 2021

What's happening this December

We were able to complete the surfacing at Wilmington during the week commencing 17 December. There'll be no more night closures this month, and in fact our site is now closed for Christmas. We'll be back on 4 January.

New path

We’re working on our plans for the second phase of our scheme to build a new path for walkers, cyclists and horse riders due for completion in Spring 2023. We’ll share more details when we are able.
19 November 2021
No more night work at Polegate for now

We’re pleased to tell you that we have finished the overnight surfacing works at Polegate. Thank you for your patience.

Road Closure

The A27 will be closed at Wilmington overnight from 8pm until 6am from Monday 22 November until Friday 26 November for final surfacing. The road will be closed at Berwick, at Folkington, at Thornwell Road and The Street. Signed diversions will be in place.

We have more work to do in Wilmington in 2022. Our works on the new path for walkers, cyclists and horse riders will start again in the Spring. We will need traffic management on the A27 to lay new kerbs and other drainage.

An update from the team on the potential Lewes to Polegate project

In our last newsletter of 5 November 2021, we introduced the A27 Lewes to Polegate team. Their project is one of a number of potential, future improvements to major roads being considered for the future.

The stretch of the A27 between Lewes to Polegate is one of 32 stretches of road being considered for improvements. It is important to note that while none of these stretches are definitely going ahead, there are teams doing development work on them which will culminate in the best options eventually being presented to the public for feedback.

As part of this early work, on 23 and 24 November 2021, the project team will be doing ecology surveys in the area.

These surveys help us understand the local environment, including wildlife habitats. These surveys will be carried over a large area to help inform our design.

The purpose of these surveys is to:
- observe and record local wildlife and habitats
- perform assessments of seasonal ecology
- identify notable landscape and archaeological features
- analyse drainage systems
- monitor sound and vibrations, and
- form part of our study looking at traffic volumes and movements
How to get in touch

The webpage for our East of Lewes project (which is the one we’re currently building) is www.highwaysengland.co.uk/our-work/south-east/a27-east-of-lewes.

You can also contact us on a27eastoflewes@highwaysengland.co.uk or by calling the Customer Contact Centre on 0300 123 5000.

More information about the A27 Lewes to Polegate scheme (the potential, future project) and all improvements under consideration for the future can be found at: https://highwaysengland.co.uk/our-work/pipeline-of-possible-future-schemes/

You may also contact the National Highways project team directly at: a27lewestopolegate@highwaysengland.co.uk
10 November 2021

Dormice and more

Berwick – let sleepy mice sleep

We’ve been waiting for an update from Natural England regarding the dormouse licence we require to work near the dormouse we found recently. Unfortunately, the winter hibernation season has now started for our special resident. Instead of waking him up, we will be working to complete our other works on Station Road over the next few weeks. Both Station Road and Pound Lane will be reopened for all traffic by Monday 13 December. We will return to build the new path between Drusillas roundabout and Berwick Station next spring. We’ll have to close Station Road and Pound Lane again to do this.

Polegate

We’re sorry that we’ve not finished the resurfacing yet. The weather has been wet and this has caused delays as surfaces have to be dry to bond together well. We’ve booked in two more night closures on Monday 15 November and Tuesday 16 November between 8pm and 6am just in case we’re further delayed next week.

Wilmington

We’re making great progress at Wilmington and are now aiming to reopen the junction of the A27 with The Street by Friday 19 November 2021, with a temporary surface. We’ve booked five nights of overnight works from 8pm until 6am from Monday 22 November to Friday 26 November to complete the final resurfacing. We may be able to do the surfacing sooner and will update you. The road will be closed at Berwick, at Folkington, at Thornwell Road and The Street. Signed diversions will be in place.

We’ve received feedback that the diversion route is prone to flooding. We’re aware of this and are completing patrols of the route to keep an eye on the water levels. We’re able to clear the flooding if necessary and in the event of an absolute emergency would be able to enable access through our working area under a traffic management safety escort.

An update on the proposal to further improve the A27 between Lewes and Polegate

National Highways has begun the early work to identify the best ways to improve safety and traffic flow on the A27 between Lewes and Polegate.

This scheme is one of 32 that Government has asked National Highways to develop as part of the Third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3) for the period between 2025 and 2030.

The results of this work will be presented to Government for consideration for delivery from 2025 onwards. Only those schemes that best meet the objectives to improve safety, improve traffic flow, minimise environmental impact and demonstrate consideration of the views and experiences of people living and working in the area will be taken forward. All options must also show that they are economically viable.

We understand how vital it is that we get as much feedback as possible and as the work progresses, we will be offering a comprehensive programme of consultation events and opportunities to make sure we hear from local people, businesses and relevant organisations.

Even at this early stage in our planning, it’s essential we understand the areas that may be near any potential project. At the end of October, we sought to contact local landowners to ask for permission to access their land to conduct environmental surveys. These surveys record local wildlife, local habitat and assess seasonal ecology. The information collected helps the team identify notable landscape and archaeological features, analyse drainage systems, monitor for sound and vibration, as well as study traffic volumes and movements. At this stage, National Highways have not identified any land that may be affected by the scheme.

We'll be keeping local communities up to date on the progress of how we develop this improvement work. We will also continue working increasingly closely with residents and local businesses as different options are identified.

More information about the A27 Lewes to Polegate scheme and all 32 RIS3 schemes can be found at: https://highwaysengland.co.uk/our-work/pipeline-of-possible-future-schemes/.

You may also contact the National Highways project team directly at: a27lewestopolegate@highwaysengland.co.uk
25 October 2021
End in sight at Polegate Junction

After an unplanned closure of the stretch between Beddingham and Polegate last Friday afternoon where there was a serious car accident, we’re still due to finish our work at Polegate by the end of November.

Unfortunately, we’re doing surfacing work which is entirely weather dependent, so if it rains we can’t lay tarmac because it won’t take, so we may have to add additional night closures to catch up on nights when we can’t work. We’ll keep you updated.

We’re planning the following overnight (8pm and 6am) closures up until mid-November:
- Monday 25 October and Tuesday 26 October Polegate Bypass – both directions
- Wednesday 27 to Friday 29 October Gainsborough Lane junction towards Polegate junction
- Monday 1 November until Thursday 4 November Gainsborough Lane and National Highways Polegate yard to Polegate junction Grand Parade affecting Stud Farm
- Monday 8 November until Friday 12 November Railway bridge towards the Wannock crossroads.
Access to the Stud Farm Estate while we’re working

Between 25 October and 26 October, access to the Stud Farm estate will be from the Harvester and Folkington directions. Between Wednesday 27 October and Friday 29 October and then 1 November to 4 November, access will be from either direction under escort only. Please put your hazard lights on and follow the escort. Between 8 November and 12 November, access to the Stud Farm estate will be from Harvester and Folkington directions only.

If you have any questions about the scheme or the closures, please ring the National Highways Customer Call Centre on 0300 123 5000 or email the project team on a27eastoflewes@highwaysengland.co.uk.
15 October 2021
Mid October update

By Monday 18 October, we will have finished the surfacing and removed the traffic management. The closure of Station Road and Pound Lane will remain in place while we build the new path between Berwick roundabout and the station. We’ve found a dormouse there for the first time, they’re protected and so we can’t carry on until we have a special licence to work near them. We’ve already applied for it and we’re waiting for Natural England’s response.

We’re nearly there – the final stages of the Polegate Junction work

We will be working to finish the Polegate improvements between Monday 18 October and Friday 4 November. Unfortunately, the surfacing is weather dependent as if it rains, the tarmac does not take, and we may have to add an extra week of night closures. We’ll keep you updated.

The sections will be completed using overnight closures in place between 8pm and 6am as follows:
- Monday 18 October to Friday 22 October from the Polegate Junction bridge towards the Harvester
- Monday 25 October and Tuesday 26 October Polegate Bypass
- Wednesday 27 October and Thursday 28 October Gainsborough Lane and Lewes Road affecting Stud Farm
- Friday 29 October National Highways Polegate yard to Polegate junction Grand Parade affecting Stud Farm
- Monday 1 November to Wednesday 3 November Polegate Junction to past the Gainsborough Lane junction affecting Grand Parade, Stud Farm and Gainsborough Lane
- Thursday 4 November Polegate Junction island affecting Grand Parade
Access to the Stud Farm Estate during the three weeks of closures from 18 October

Between 18 October and 26 October, access to the Stud Farm estate will be from the West (Berwick) direction only. From 27 October to 4 November, access to the Stud Farm estate will be from the East (Polegate) direction only. Please put your hazard lights on and follow the escort. To keep everyone safe, please don’t overtake the escort.
05 October 2021

What’s happening at…..

Polegate Bypass

You can’t see us working on the stretch between Cophall and Polegate at the moment – but we are! The road is made up of three layers - a concrete base, a surface layer and a binder course and we’ve found a problem with the some of the joints that keep the layers together. We’re testing the joints and waiting for a specialist contractor to confirm whether or not they’re strong enough for us to lay a new surface. So the new bypass can’t open fully quite yet.

Berwick

There'll be more night closures between the Berwick roundabout and Polegate from Monday 4 October until Saturday 16 October between 8pm and 6am. The first week is so that we can carry out a camera survey of the drainage system, the second is so we can complete the final resurfacing of the roundabout. Please note, the road will be open on Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 October overnight.

Wilmington

We’ll be closing the A27 here on Friday 22 October between 8pm and 6am the following morning. The existing traffic management set up will be removed and reinstalled on the south side of the A27 to allow us to work on that side. Thornwell Road will reopen and The Street will close.

Polegate Junction

We will be completing the final resurfacing works at Polegate Junction from Monday 18 October until Thursday 4 November. We can’t close the A27 during the day and so we have to work at night between 8pm and 6am. We will provide more details about where we are working when in due course.
31 August 2021

Polegate update

The northbound side of the Polegate bypass was open over the Bank Holiday weekend along with part of the southbound side. We did this as we knew the road would be busy and it would help ease congestion.

We now need to reinstate the lane closures on both sides so we can finish the remaining work. It means there might be more congestion again until we can open both sides fully, which we hope to do this weekend (4 September). At the same time we also hope to have the junction at Gainsborough Lane open.

Why not keep up to date on the project by signing up to our bulletin? To subscribe simply email: A27EastofLewes@highwaysengland.co.uk
06 August 2021

Polegate - Overnight closures on the A27 – a reminder

The A27 will be closed between Polegate Junction and the Cophall roundabout for ten nights from Monday 9 August until Friday 20 August. Our working hours will be between 8.00pm and 6.00am from Monday to Friday. A signed diversion will be in place. This is to complete the final resurfacing and line marking. We would like to apologise for any nuisance these works will cause.

From Monday 9 August until Friday 20 August, Gainsborough Lane will be closed at the junction with the A27 while work to install the new traffic lights is started. This will involve ducting and laying new cables. We are unable to do this safely and keep the junction open. Access to and from the Stud Farm Estate will be from Brown Jack Avenue while the closure is in place.

Wilmington – delayed work

There have been delays to some of the environmental licences we need before we can start work in Wilmington. The closure, which was due to start on Monday 9 August, has been delayed until further notice. We will give at least one week’s notice of the new date before starting. Please note that when the road closure of Thornwell Road is in place, access for walkers, cyclists and horse riders will be maintained. All business will be open as usual.

Please let us know if you’d like to be removed from the distribution list by emailing A27eastoflewes@highwaysengland.co.uk or by calling our Customer Contact Centre on 0300 123 5000

Confirmed orders published

Confirmed orders are now available to view. Please go the the Highways Act 1980 folder in the Documents sections below.
30 July 2021

Progress update

We’re progressing well with our first phase of work which includes widening Polegate junction, adding an extra lane between the Polegate and Cophall roundabouts and doubling the size of Drusillas roundabout.

We’ll start work on our second phase, which will be a new 12km long path for walkers, cyclists and horse riders, later this year. Once complete the A27 East of Lewes scheme will open access to the South Downs National Park, reduce customer journey time and increase local biodiversity by 15%.

Surveys

In the last few months, we have been carrying out archaeological investigations along the A27 East of Lewes scheme. Following our surveys in January that came up with evidence of some medieval field boundaries, we have carried out work in trial trenches at 17 separate locations along the route. Following our investigations, we haven’t come across any historic items but we have logged our general findings for future use.

We will be carrying out our next phase of archaeological works later in the year in an area where there may be early and pre-human finds. This work will involve sinking boreholes to take samples, which we will then analyse to determine what is there.

These archaeological works are just a small part of what we are doing to ensure we protect the surrounding environment from the work we are carrying out. We have also carried out a number of geological and geophysical surveys to get a better understanding of the area.

We value your feedback

Visit our A27 East of Lewes interactive feed back tool to have your say. The tool includes an interactive map. You can click on a location to make a specific comment, or give us your general feedback. This is a one-way feedback tool so if you would like a response to your feedback please email the project team at: A27EastofLewes@highwaysengland.co.uk

See more updates

Project information

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.

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

Consultation 2016

Visit our A27 East of Lewes feedback tool to have your say. The tool includes an interactive map. You can click on a location to make a specific comment, or give us your general feedback.

ECHO is a one-way feedback tool, so if you’d like a response to your feedback you can email the project team at: A27eastoflewes@nationalhighways.co.uk