Release date: 30 January 2026
The West Sussex County Council Highways team have been working hard to respond to issues on the county’s road network that have occurred as a result of the recent extreme weather including flooding, fallen trees and potholes.
This winter has seen a return to freezing temperatures and heavy rain with recent storms causing significant disruption across the county’s roads. Since September we have experienced above average rainfall levels, with January to date providing double the monthly average in some areas of the county.
During storm events our teams are deployed around the clock to manage safety risks and keep the roads clear and moving. The most recent storm brought 81 emergency callouts with incidents ranging from fallen trees and debris hazards to damaged infrastructure and impassable routes. 31 of these callouts were directly related to flooding.
When we receive reports of significant flooding, our teams work hard to assess and manage risks at each affected site.
Our safety response service and reactive drainage jetting crews will clear flooding where they are able to do so. If there are underlying issues that need to be investigated, we prioritise key roads that are being impacted or where there is an immediate risk to property.
We also have proactive crews who are focussed on checking for drainage grid obstructions, replacing or resetting damaged drainage grids and clearing channels for water to flow from the carriageway to ditches or water courses to remove flooding. Since the start of April 2025, we have cleared over 75,000 drainage channels as part of our proactive maintenance programme.
It’s important to note 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 for highway water is over capacity and the water in our system simply can’t go anywhere. There are also some instances where it is not possible for us to clear the flood water as it has been caused by run-off from neighbouring land or overflow from flooded water courses such a rivers.
Where it is safe to do so, roads will be kept open with appropriate flood warning signage in place. However, where there is a risk to safety, full closures will be put in place with signposted diversions. Residents are urged to:
- Avoid driving through floodwater
- Report significant hazards via the usual emergency channels
- Follow updates issued through official communication channels
Flooding isn’t the only issue being caused by the weather. The pro-longed period of cold then wet weather has meant we are seeing a spike in the number of potholes on the network.
So far in January we have logged 3,725 pothole repair jobs with our contractor. This is around 1,000 more than this time in 2025, when we had a mild winter, but is still significantly less than the previous two years. January 2023 saw us raise over 7,000 pothole repair jobs with our contractor.
We repair potholes based on their severity. Our target for the least severe defects is to complete repairs within 28 days, however we always work to deliver them sooner where possible. For example, in December these repairs were completed in an average of just 12 days.
This month we have increased the number of crews we have operating to respond to the uptick in defects. We are also running ‘twilight crews’ to extend the working day and have crews working on Saturdays to keep on top of the work.
Despite the increased volume of work in January, this additional resource means we are still completing these repairs in an average of 15 days.
Councillor Joy Dennis, cabinet member for Highways and Transport said: “We appreciate that disruption on the roads is never welcome. We are doing all we can to keep the roads open and repair any damage caused by the extreme weather.
“Please bear with us as, although we have crews operating in all weathers, there will be times where we can’t rectify every situation straight away. As soon as the weather improves we will be working to resolve all issues caused as well as investigating longer term solutions where needed.”
