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The council has spoken out following criticism of a new two-lane bridge on the A259. Earlier this week, East Sussex County Council agreed to “re-direct” more than £11 million towards plans to replace the single-lane Exceat Bridge – which forms part of the A259 between Seaford and Eastbourne — with a new two-lane, two-way bridge. The additional funding for the project is to be drawn from money tied to the council’s Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP).
The council has already spent £5million on the plan before work has even begun - and said the total cost could rack up to over £21 million, should there be no further delays. The decision has since faced backlash from the Liberal Democrat councillors who labelled the project as “nonsensical" and shared their fears about "spiralling" costs. However, the council has said that the bridge "needs" to be replaced.
Cllr Claire Dowling, the county council’s lead member for transport and environment, said: “This section of the A259 between Seaford and Eastbourne is an extremely important part of our road network. “More than 11,000 vehicles use the route per day on average, with as many as 1,000 an hour in peak times. As well as being a major pinch point the bridge is ageing and needs to be replaced.
" READ MORE: Fears over 'spiralling cost' of A259 Exceat Bridge plan She addressed the increase in cost, saying this is due to inflation and the increase in construction costs. “The increased costs and affordability of the offline two-lane replacement bridge should have come as no surprise to councillors as the information was shared with them at the beginning of March when Cabinet papers were published. “At the time, concerns centred around the move away from the preferred two-lane option and the extensive length of time, 22 weeks, the road would need to be closed for to construct the replacement one-lane bridge.
“The cost of the two-lane bridge has risen by more than £10million due the significant increases in construction costs and inflation exacerbated by the time taken to secure planning permission, lengthy land negotiations and the costs associated with Compulsory Purchase Orders, and the cost of meeting design requirements in a national park. "A public inquiry related to the CPOs is due to start on May 13th." Before making the decision regarding the bridge’s future, cabinet members heard at the meeting on April 22 how the reallocation will result in some disruption to other projects within the BSIP.
These include bus priority schemes — which involve the creation of new bus lanes among other measures — in Newhaven and Peacehaven. The council says it still hopes to move ahead with these schemes should further funding be made available in the future. It specifically intends to use 2025/26 BSIP funding to continue with the Newhaven scheme, but officers have said the scheme “may need to be descoped" to ensure it can be delivered within the available funding.
Cllr Claire said: With more than five million passengers each year using the route, Brighton and Hove Bus Company made it clear to the council that the two-lane bridge was higher priority for them than some of the measures proposed in the county’s Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) for which we received Government funding. “In response to a request from the bus company, East Sussex County Council successfully requested a reallocation of BSIP funds to pay for the two-lane bridge. She added: “As councillors are aware, the BSIP money can only be spent on schemes that improve the efficiency of bus travel and increase bus usage.
“It cannot be spent on active travel, cycling and walking as has been suggested. However, the new bridge does include a new footway and crossing points, viewing platforms and bus stop improvements. “The traffic issues in Newhaven raised by some councillors cannot be fully addressed with bus service improvements.
“An outline business case for significant active travel and traffic management improvements to the A259 South Coast Corridor has been submitted to the DfT and, once we receive approval, we will develop schemes to help ease congestion and support the economy.”.
