VOTE: Long wait is over as road finally gets new surface

County highways contractors have replaced the previous pitted, cracked and uneven top of Greenwood Avenue with a smooth finish in a unique process in this area.

The result along the road of some 800m is the best ride for motorists, probably since the road was built in the mid-20th century, in work which cost about 6,000.

A county council spokeswoman said: "This was the first time we have used a process called micro asphalt surfacing in the western area of the county.

"The road was very uneven and so the process works by using a material to fill the gaps and then another substance over the top with stone chippings in it which seals the road."

Victor Herrington, 79, has lived on Greenwood Avenue for the past 13 years. He said: "The road has never been repaired in all that time.

"It was just concrete slabs. As you came round the corner at the Orchard Way end, you sometimes slid because there was no grip.

"A car went into a tree a few years ago because of that. It's got a bit of grip now and it's a great improvement on what it is."

The extensive work was carried out earlier this month after a lengthy struggle by local councillors Francis Oppler and David Biss.

Cllr Oppler, the county councillor for the area, said: "The road was dreadful. The concrete slabs were exposed all along the road where the surfacing had worn away over the years. There were potholes all over the place and patched-up repairs".

Cllr Biss, a district councillor for the road, said: "There was so much concrete it looked like a bumpy runway rather than a road."

Both councillors used their membership of the Joint Western Arun Area Committee of parish, district and county councils to press for Greenwood Avenue to be tackled.

They won support from other councillors, but the work failed to make progress among the list of other repairs which needed to be done.

However, an appeal to one of the county council's directors, Kieran Stignant, proved successful. Bad weather during the winter meant the works were postponed from the scheduled date in late March.

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