Closed
Water run off from farmland
Sent to National Highways less than a minute later. FixMyStreet ref: 5218227.
I reported by telephone on 14/11/23 my observations of the road condition when driving south yesterday on the A 26 at approximately midday.
There had been no physical rain for many hours and the roads were generally dry but after leaving the A27 at the Beddingham roundabout on to the A 26 towards Newhaven soon after the St Andrews Church turn off, the road was awash with water across both carriageways from what appeared to be run off from the land on the left hand side.
I also saw what appeared to be a deep hole in the southern carriageway approximately 300mm in diameter and a quarter to one third in from the verge. It was not possible to determine the actual depth of this hole as it contained water but would surely be a considerable danger to any motor cycle and potentially very damaging to any vehicle wheels unfortunate enough to run over it.
I believe the water run off has been in existence for a number of years and can be a hazard at any time of the year but as we approach winter the opportunity for this section of road to freeze into a lake of ice when the surrounding road surfaces are clear must constitute very real life threatening conditions to even the most careful of drivers.
Please advise on the actual state of the hole and whether it has been needed repair.
Also please advise on what actions have been taken to stop the water run off across the road from the adjoining farmland.
Shall we wait until someone is killed before some drainage is put in place?
I look forward to receiving your observations and actions for this section of the A26.
Updates
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Thank you for taking the time to report your concerns about the presence of water remaining on carriageway following the recent heavy persistent rain in the south east.
We're aware of this issue caused by overland flows/ground water coming from the surrounding land as there is no cut off drainage such as ditch to intercept this flow of water. When there had been a long spell of rain the water table rises and the A26 at this location only has gullies to capture water on the carriageway, when water comes from the fields this overwhelms the drainage system resulting in water flowing across the carriageway.
Long term there is a requirement for us to hold conversations with the adjacent land owners to carry out measures on their land so not to allow water to discharge onto the public highway and cause a nuisance or safety risk and this will be undertaken.
The carriageway deterioration caused by the water has been mitigated. We attended overnight on 25 November to carry out approx 40m of resurfacing in the area, utilising the works area to sweep the road between Beddingham and Cobbe Place. 22 gullies and a catchpit were also cleared. From Monday 4 December were will be carrying out 3 nights of cyclic maintenance works along the A26 which will include further drainage maintenance.
As we move into winter maintenance and the potential for cold weather looming we will be closely monitoring this location for any third party run off when additional gritting treatments will be applied.
Kind regards
National Highways
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