The new northern section of the bypass will link up with the recently-constructed southern section of the bypass to complete a new 1.1-mile carriageway running to the east of Lyminster and Wick villages, providing north-south access from the A27.
It also opens up the way for more housing development in the area.
The proposed bypass will be a 7.3-metre wide single dual carriageway with verge on one side and a shared footway/cycleway facility on the other. The footway/cycleway will connect to existing and proposed facilities along the southern half of the bypass and A259.
The existing public bridleway will be maintained, with a Pegasus Crossing installed to help protect equestrians, cyclists and pedestrians.
Jackson Civil Engineering’s scope of work includes the construction of a new viaduct over Black Ditch and its associated flood plain to ensure that there is no increase in flood risk. An existing culvert will be extended at Brookfield Stream.
Joy Dennis, West Sussex County Council cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “Initial, enabling works, such as vegetation clearance, had already been completed, but now the main construction phase started on Monday. This is very positive news.
“Helping to provide a sustainable and prosperous economy is one of the priorities in Our Council Plan and, by providing this new highway infrastructure, we will be supporting the provision of 1,260 new homes and 700 new jobs in the region.”
There has been some slippage in the programme and some cost escalation. In June 2021, when the Department for Transport approved the release of £11.8m central government money to help fund the project, the cost estimate as £21.6m; and the start date at that time was expected to be in ‘early’ 2022.
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