Council launches £2.4million safety scheme for 'dangerous' A285

West Sussex County Council have launched a £2.4million safety improvement scheme for a road between Halnaker and Petworth
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West Sussex Highways successfully bid for £2.4million from the Department for Transport's Safer Road Fund so the scheme can go ahead.

Works to the road, once named 'Britain's most dangerous', include a hard strip safety edge to the side of the road, and 'ribbed edge line' ,which the council has said is similar to ones found on motorways and dual carriage ways, and making lane widths more consistent.

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Roger Elkins, county council cabinet member for highways and infrastructure, said: "Over half of the serious accidents on the A285 involve drivers leaving the road: the ribbed edge line will introduce an audible and tactile warning to drivers if they leave their lane.

"The new hard strip will allow them time to recover and steer back to the road before they run onto the verge, from where it is far more difficult to regain control."

Set to begin on October 8, the work is expected to take about six months and will be completed in sections, focusing on 300m at a time.

The county council has said working times will be 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and traffic lights will be manually controlled during peak periods.

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Contractor for the project will be Balfour Beatty Living Places.

Steve Phillips, contract director for Balfour Beatty Living Places, said: "We are please to be implementing a number of highways improvements to the A285 between Halnaker and Petworth.

"The A285 is a critical road for West Sussex and these measures will give drivers using the road more space and lane boundary warning to help improve road safety."

West Sussex Highways received £1million from the government last year.

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Speaking at the time a spokesman for the county council said the money would be used to widen the road from Halnake to Upwaltham by half a metre on either side.

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