Release date: 13 February 2026
West Sussex County Council Highways Teams are making progress responding to the impact of the severe weather on our roads.
Since the start of February, crews have cleared more than 3,000 drains and repaired more than 1,800 potholes.
This builds on their work unblocking gullies and repairing defects throughout the year, including work this January to prepare as much as possible for this recent period of rain.
High levels of standing water are having a detrimental effect on road surfaces and we’re seeing a sharp increase in pothole reports coming through.
We have increased resources to respond to safety defects throughout the week, evenings and weekends and brought in an additional drainage jetter to clear blocked drains and remove standing water.
We are managing to keep the vast majority of our road network open and moving and we will continue this work with more rain and colder weather predicted.
Longer term, we are reviewing our resurfacing works programme to ensure roads impacted by the weather get additional focus.
A29 Shripney Road
The road will re-open by 5pm on Friday 13 February.
Works to reduce flood water on the A29 Shripney Road have continued, with over 12 million litres of water (the equivalent of 5 Olympic swimming pools) being pumped from the highway into a nearby ditch following agreement with the landowner.
Now the standing water on the carriageway has been significantly reduced, we will monitor the site and continue to pump as and when required.
There is a risk of the temperature dropping below freezing in the coming days so a reduced speed limit of 20mph will be in place through the area to ensure safety.
While the pumping appears to have had a positive impact on the carriageway flooding, there is a risk that, should the area receive another period of heavy or sustained rainfall, the outlets we are using will be full and we will be unable to pump the water anywhere. Should this be the case, and the level of standing water rises again, we will unfortunately need to re-shut the road.
At a meeting today with agencies including Arun District Council and the Environment Agency, we are putting forward proposals to lead on and fund investigative works with support from our partners to identify long-term solutions to this recurring and complex issue.
This will build on previous investigations into the causes of flooding and the challenges of responding that we undertook following similar incidents in the winter of 2023 to 2024.
We propose to commission a detailed review of the reasons for flooding in the area and establish the opportunities for reducing the extent and risk of further flooding and improve the resilience of the roads.
Sack Lane, Shripney
Our contractors have installed a temporary ramp over the flooding at Sack Lane to enable vehicle access for all residents.
This will remain in place until the weather conditions improve, and the road is clear of flood water.
B2141 Chilgrove Road
The road is closed from the junction with the A286 through to Binderton Lane due to groundwater flooding.
Lower Bognor Road, Lagness
The road is closed from Chalcraft lane to Pagham Road due to flooding.
Sidlesham
Highleigh Road, Sidlesham is now clear of flood water and has reopened. Nearby Keynor Lane is also open although some flooding remains, we advise drivers to pass through with caution.
We have identified that the main cause of the flooding in this area is the overflow of the neighbouring rife, and we continue to work closely with the Environment Agency to find a resolution.
We are aware that roads in the area have been damaged by the high levels of water. Our teams will repair the potholes caused once the weather has improved enough to allow us to do so.
Further information on the council's work responding to the severe weather