Road closure as A23 improvement work continues

Work will start in July on the final section of the northbound carriageway between Warninglid and Slaugham.

For this to happen out both carriageways will be closed overnight on Saturday 6 July for the road layout to be changed so northbound traffic can be moved over on to the southbound carriageway, where it will run in contraflow with southbound traffic. Clearly signed diversions will be in place during the closure.

Work to improve the Handcross junction will also start in early July to rebuild the northbound slip roads to provide better and safer access to and from the A23. As the road layout will be modified, the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) weighbridge site within the junction will be rebuilt. The existing northbound exit and entry slip roads will be closed for the junction improvements to be carried out with clearly signed diversions in place.

Chris Bacon, Highways Agency Project Manager said: “Work on this major improvement is now progressing well following weather delays last year and we will start work on the final section of the northbound carriageway once traffic has been fully switched onto the temporarily widened southbound carriageway. This will allow us to work safely on the northbound carriageway free of traffic while keeping two lanes in each direction open to traffic on the southbound carriageway.”

“We have planned the change in the road layout to be carried out overnight on a Saturday night, when we know that traffic flows are lowest, to reduce disruption to road users. I would advise anyone driving through the work area from Sunday to take extra care as they get use to the new layout.”

Both carriageways will be closed between Bolney (A272) and Pease Pottage (A23) overnight on Saturday 6 July between 8pm and 6am. Road users will be directed to follow a fully signed diversion route via the A272, A24 and A264.

Access for residents and businesses which used to access the A23 directly between Warninglid and Slaugham will be maintained using the newly constructed Warninglid junction.

The first task to improve Handcross junction will be to start the reconstruction of the VOSA weighbridge station on the site of the existing northbound exit slip road which will close during the night of Sunday 7 July; the diversion will be via the M23/A264 Pease Pottage junction. The northbound entry slip road will close later this year, in November, with a diversion via the B2110 and B2114. Both slip roads will re-open in February 2014.