Queensway Gateway to temporarily link to A21

The work will see the Queensway Gateway extended 60 metres further east to join the old Whitworth Road and Junction Road, running through to Sedlescombe Road North. It will then join via a T-junction controlled by traffic lights.

The road, which is being developed by Sea Change Sussex, has been beset by a number of delays throughout its development.

The Queensway Gateway is designed to provide a direct route between Queensway (the A290) and Sedlescombe Road North (the A21) in northern Hastings.

Sea Change Sussex said it is intended to improve local traffic flows – especially between the A21 and Combe Valley Way (the Link Road) — as well as to boost road safety and reduce congestion on The Ridge.

While the first two phases of the Queensway Gateway Road project were completed last year, the final phase of the project has been delayed as a result of ongoing land and business relocation issues.

This temporary road connection to the A21 was first discussed earlier this year as a stop gap measure until a permanent route can be agreed upon.

At a meeting of East Sussex County Council's cabinet in June, Hastings councillor Godfrey Daniel called for a ‘definite timeline’ on completing the project.

He called the Queensway Gateway project the 'longest saga' and 'ongoing uncompleted road in the world', and said plans for a temporary route was not satisfactory 'without actually sorting out the land issues in the first instance'.

Sea Change Sussex has appointed Breheny Civil Engineering to create the temporary connection, with Breheny moving on-site on Monday (September 21) to begin the work. Sea Change Sussex aims to complete the link by early 2021.

A roundabout connecting the new road at its western end to Queensway has been completed and the road has been built 250 metres eastwards from there. This includes another roundabout part-way along, street lighting and a spur road to provide access to three businesses along its route.

In the process, the remaining businesses along the Queensway Gateway route will be connected to the new road and Junction Road will be closed to traffic at two points – where it meets The Ridge and where it joins Whitworth Road.

The final phase of works to follow to complete the Queensway Gateway will involve replacing the temporary connection with a permanent roundabout joining the Queensway Gateway to the A21. To enable this to happen, Sea Change Sussex is working to acquire land at the eastern end of the Queensway Gateway route, with the support of a compulsory purchase order. The temporary connection will enable the permanent roundabout to be built largely ‘offline’ – with two-way traffic on the A21 and the Queensway Gateway continuing to flow.

Sea Change Sussex is being supported in this project by East Sussex County Council, which has given approval for the road development and is promoting temporary traffic regulation orders to enable the road closures.