A recent report outlines West Sussex County Council’s continued commitment and investment in the county’s highways along with detailing its preventative approach to highways maintenance.
The report, which has been published on the council’s website, has been produced in response to the requirement from the Department for Transport (DfT) for all local highways authorities to publish information about their highways maintenance activities to help local taxpayers see the difference that funding is making in their areas.
The DfT set out that the report should present local level information about the overall state of the county’s road network, including what percentage of roads are in what condition, and how this has changed in recent years.
West Sussex’s 2,500mile highway network plays a vital role in connecting people and places across the county. It supports the wellbeing of our residents, enables our communities to thrive and provides our residents with access to jobs, learning and business opportunities.
Unfortunately, roads are not permanent structures and deteriorate over time and the network has been experiencing a notable, year-on-year increase in the number of safety defects, reaching the highest level on record in 2024/25.
The periods of extreme fluctuations in weather across the seasons that have been experienced in recent years has only served to accelerate the decline in the condition of our roads.
In response, the council has allocated additional funding in the current and past two financial years, to support a more proactive maintenance approach.
This proactive approach provides additional resource to fix potholes and increased capacity for drainage works including jetting, gully repairs and digging of grips and roadside ditches.
The additional funding has also allowed for an increase in the Highways, Transport and Planning Delivery Programme which delivers highway infrastructure maintenance schemes. The programme focusses on improving carriageway and footway surfaces as well as maintaining of highways infrastructure such as bridges and traffic signals.
Each of these measures aim to strengthen the resilience of the highway network and reduce the impact of extreme weather events, particularly during the winter period.
Cllr Joy Dennis, WSCC Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said: “I hope that this report will help our residents to understand that the scale of the county’s highway assets is substantial and managing them effectively, so that residents and businesses can go about their daily lives with minimal disruption, is no small task. When factoring in both operational and financial constraints, the complexity of this responsibility becomes even more apparent.
“Council officers work diligently to ensure that the highway network remains safe, functional, and cost-effective. Their efforts are guided by a commitment to delivering services that meet both local needs and national standards.
“As is the case across much of the country, maintaining road conditions in West Sussex presents ongoing challenges. Not only do we have the impact of severe weather events, but we must also factor in the increase in the volume of traffic using our network on a daily basis, along with the ever-growing requirement from utility companies to carry out works within the carriageway to install and update their own infrastructure in order to support the demand for their services.
“This report demonstrates that, despite the difficulties faced by the Highways team, the Council’s performance - aligned with the Council Plan and national best practices - is commendable.”
