LETTER: Modified plan for new bypass

I had also sent it to Highways England.

I have now sent a modified scheme to Highways England which eliminates the need to carry the A27 over the Portfield roundabout and a change at Fishbourne, both of which would be cheaper.

The basic proposal is still to provide link lanes either side of the bypass (separated from the bypass only by painted lines) to act as entries to and exits from the A27 and also link the three existing roundabouts in the scheme, which allow traffic to cross the bypass and also enter the bypass in the opposite direction.

With the elimination of bypass traffic, the next roundabout should be reached within the normal queuing time to enter present roundabouts thus reducing pollution levels.

Apart from the provision of link lanes, parts of which already exist to provide access to and exit from the present A27, there are minor changes at Stockbridge and Whyke Road plus the provision of a roundabout over the A27 east of Portfield to eliminate the need for carrying the A27 over the Portfield roundabout.

At Fishbourne roundabout, the scheme proposed in option 1 of the Highways England document has been simplified and cheapened by the retention of the Terminus Road access and exit and the elimination of the new roundabout and link to Terminus Road at the Clay Lane junction with Cathedral Way. At Stockbridge and Whyke it is only necessary to cut out the bits of roundabout crossing the bypass and carry the bypass across the roundabout.

The proposal for the Bognor junction in option 1 of the published report is to be kept.

The crossing at Oving junction can be eliminated as the Bognor and Portfield proposals provide for all necessary routes.

The A27 can be diverted slightly to south east of the Portfield roundabout, at ground level, to join the bypass, while a flyover roundabout east of Portfield can allow westbound traffic to enter Chichester and local traffic from Portfield roundabout to join the A27.

Parts of the link lanes already exist as slip roads to and from the bypass, so it should not be very expensive to join those up.

Kenneth Newby

Elm Park

Bosham