As we enter the winter months and the weather starts to turn, I want to take this opportunity to reassure the residents of West Sussex that I, and my colleagues at the county council, remain committed to improving our county’s roads and keeping West Sussex moving.
The last two winters have been ones of extremes here in West Sussex, with freezing temperatures and record rainfall. This February alone was the wettest on record while the first week of March saw a month’s worth of rain falling across the county.
These extremes not only had a significant impact on communities across West Sussex, they also had a substantial impact on our road network which suffered large levels of flooding resulting in damage to the road surface.
Over the past six months, our highways teams have been working hard to repair this damage, and I believe that their efforts are paying off. Almost 40,000 safety defects were repaired in the first half of this financial year, and we will continue to respond to reports as the weather allows.
To ensure that this hard work isn’t undone and that we are prepared for the impact of extreme weather this year, we have invested a further £1.5million for much-needed resources to continue maintenance work and provide resilience in responding to emergencies.
Alongside our repairs programme, we have also increased work to clear drainage systems so that water can run off the roads as effectively as possible if we get more heavy rain. So far this year, we have carried out more than 43,000 drainage gully cleanses, brought in extra CCTV to monitor and identify issues, and added an extra jetting unit to clear flooded roads and get them moving as soon as possible.
However, it must be said, that when we’ve had prolonged periods of heavy rain, the sheer volume of water means that no highway drainage can work effectively, as the outlet is over capacity and the water in our system simply can’t go anywhere. This results in carriageway flooding and there is little we can do until water levels fall.
You’ll see our teams out on the network in all weathers throughout winter responding to issues and continuing to proactively monitor and maintain our roads. Sadly, a minority think they have the right to abuse our staff and contractors. In recent months there has been an escalation of both verbal and physical abuse aimed at those who are carrying out vital work maintaining the county’s highways.
I appreciate that it can be frustrating when you encounter a safety defect on the road, or are held up in roadworks, but remember that these are people who, like you, have the right to work without fear of intimidation. We will not hesitate to take action to protect both employees of the County Council and those from 3rd party contractors carrying out work on our behalf when they encounter abusive behaviour from members of the public.
I hope that you will have noticed the results of our hard work whilst you are travelling around the county. Whilst unfortunately we can’t bring all 2,500 miles of the county’s roads to perfect condition, we are committed to providing improvements. Thank you for your ongoing patience.
Finally, I would like to wish all residents of West Sussex a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
