The A27 is a major

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It runs from its junction with the A36 at

Whiteparish Whiteparish is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the A27 road, A27 about southeast of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. The village is about from the county boundary with Hampshire. The parish includes the hamlets of Co ...

(near

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

) in the county of

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, follows the south coast of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

and

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, and terminates at

Pevensey Pevensey ( ) is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Wealden District, Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The main village is located north-east of Eastbourne, one mile (1.6 km) inland from Pevensey Bay. The ...

(near

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

and Bexhill) in

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

. It is the westernmost road in Zone 2 in the UK road numbering system. Between

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

and

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...

, it is one of the busiest

trunk road A trunk road is a major highway with a specific legal classification in some jurisdictions, notably the United Kingdom, Sweden and formerly Ireland. Trunk roads are planned and managed at the national-level, distinguishing them from non-trunk ro ...

s in the UK.

History

Historically, for longer distance movement along the south coast, the M25 in combination with the M2, M20, M23 / A23, A3 / A3(M) and M3 has provided an attractive alternative to the actual south coast route of A259, A27 and M27. In 2002 an offpeak journey between

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...

and

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

via the M25 took 2 hours 30 minutes, and via the coastal route using the A259, A27 and M27 took 3 hours 50 minutes. The reason the coastal route is so much slower than the M25 alternative is largely due to a series of bottlenecks on the A27. These include

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

, Arundel,

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

and Polegate. The British government announced, in its 2013 spending review, that it would go ahead with improvements to the Chichester bypass. The Highways Agency said that the proposals would be subject to public consultation in July 2015. The preferred route would then be announced in September 2015 and the plan would be to start construction in February 2018 with a completion date of December 2019. However the timescales were then revised. There was a six-week public consultation period during Spring 2016. The proposed construction would then commence in March 2019 with a completion date of March 2021. After five options were published and two dropped the government cancelled the whole project on 28 February 2017, citing lack of support from local authorities as the main reason. Chichester Bypass is now scheduled to be included in "RIS3". A proposed scheme to bypass Lancing and Sompting (as well as other sections) was dropped in 1988. A proposed scheme to bypass Arundel was dropped in 2003, although the junction at the end of the dual carriageway has been partly made into an underpass. However, the scheme was relaunched in Spring 2018 when Highways England announced their preferred route, choosing a "a modified version of Option 5A". Although the document claims 48% of respondents support this option, there are worries that the new road may damage ancient woodland in the

South Downs National Park The South Downs National Park is England's newest national parks of England and Wales, national park, designated on 31 March 2010. The park, covering an area of in southern England, stretches for from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in t ...

. With protests about the western end destroying an ancient woodland, Highways England consulted further in October 2019 and in October 2020 announced a new preferred route that is long and avoids the South Downs National Park and ancient woodland entirely. Plans were deferred until 2025-2030, before being dropped in 2025. At

, where the possibility of a bypass has often been discussed since 1967, even getting as far as passing the inspector's report at a public inquiry, the plan was dropped in 1996 following rising costs. Arundel and Worthing are both areas of known

traffic congestion Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s, resulting in m ...

during times of peak usage. The proposed improvements for Worthing would have begun in 2025 and be completed by 2027, but the scheme has been dropped. A bridge over the level crossing at Beddingham was completed on 22 August 2008. The original proposal called for a dual carriageway standard link with a bridge over the crossing. However, the actual project involved improving the original single carriageway road by providing two lanes westbound and one lane eastbound between the Southerham and Beddingham roundabouts. Despite the limited improvements to the A27, it is still substantially quicker (usually more than an hour difference) to travel from Southampton to Margate via the M25 route compared to the coast route of A259, A27 and M27. Because of all the delays along its route, according to West Sussex County Council, the A27 is the most unreliable all-purpose trunk road in England. Further, it is widely considered by businesses on the coast to cost money and inhibit economic performance due to its unreliability and frequent congestion. Highways England commissioned a report by " Transport Focus" to undertake road user priorities. The South Central route, that is largely the A27, was one of the lower rated routes with 50% of users experiencing problems. Out of a list of strategic routes across the whole of England only two were rated worse than the South Central route: the M25 to Solent route (61%) and the London Orbital and M23 to Gatwick (58%). Further Highways England identified the A27 between Lancing and the A24; between Arundel and the A284; between the A23 and Polegate; also around Chichester as being some of worst performing links in the country for safety issues. One accident victim was Actor Desmond Llewelyn, who portrayed Q in a large portion of the

James Bond film series James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

and was fatally injured in a car accident on the A27 in 1999, at Firle, on the A23 to Polegate section. There are several sections of the A27 that fall inside the Highways Agency nationwide top 250 collision rankings: * A27 between Shoreham-by-Sea and Southwick – ranking 123 * A27/A23 junction Brighton – ranking 158 * A27 near the junction with the A2025 near Lancing – ranking 158 * A27 Chichester By-Pass east of the city – ranking 202

Serious incidents

Shoreham Airshow crash

At the Shoreham Airshow on 22 August 2015, a

Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet propulsion, jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly dev ...

crashed into the A27 at Lancing, striking several vehicles and killing eleven people. The road was completely closed for eight days and did not fully reopen until 16 September 2015.

Flooding

In November 2022, during the outbreak of flooding, the road near Chichester, Emsworth and Havant was extensively covered with floodwater. 20 cars were trapped on this section of the road.

Description

The road starts at its junction with the A36 at Whiteparish. It runs through Romsey, Chilworth, at which point it follows a Roman Road, Swaythling, West End and Bursledon. It then closely parallels the south coast and travels on via

Fareham Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufac ...

, Cosham,

Havant Havant ( ) is a town in the south-east corner of Hampshire, England. Nearby places include Portsmouth to the south-west, Southampton to the west, Waterlooville to north, Chichester to the east and Hayling Island to the south. The wider borough ...

, Arundel,

, Lancing,

Shoreham-by-Sea Shoreham-by-Sea (often shortened to Shoreham) is a coastal town and port in the Adur District, Adur district, in the county of West Sussex, England. In 2011 it had a population of 20,547. The town is bordered to its north by the South Downs, to ...

Hove Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, Falmer,

and Polegate where it then terminates at

. A section of the A27 running from the eastern end of the M27 to the end of the road at Pevensey forms part of, what was known as, the ''South Coast Trunk Road''. Much of the road has been improved to dual carriageway standard, with the westernmost section of the trunk portion even having as much as four lanes plus a hard shoulder in each direction, and on a

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

alignment with grade-separated junctions. This is perhaps a reflection that the M27 was once proposed to run as far as Chichester. The road runs east from Portsmouth to

then on to the Warblington/ Emsworth exit. Beyond Warblington the dual carriageway east has no junctions in it until it reaches Chichester, where the by-pass has five roundabouts and one traffic signal controlled junction, that disrupt the mainline flow of the road. The Chichester by-pass is regularly subject to congestion and although a public inquiry has proposed improvements, those improvements are currently on hold. East of Chichester the road largely retains a two-lane dual-carriageway standard. There are, however a couple of sections of single-carriageway; at Arundel and at

. These are both areas of known

during times of peak usage. At the junction of the A27 and the A24, the A27 has a brief section where the road is designated 'A27' and 'A24' before continuing from the 'Grove Lodge' roundabout where the road is named "Upper Brighton Road". After

, the A27 passes Sompting on the Sompting Bypass before passing through Lancing where there are traffic lights and a roundabout which disrupt traffic flow. Just before the road crosses the River Adur near Shoreham via the 'Shoreham flyover' (constructed 1968-70), there is a traffic light-controlled intersection close to

Lancing College Lancing College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school) for pupils aged 13–18 in southern England, UK. The school is located in West S ...

and the headquarters of Ricardo plc which was the scene of the multiple-fatality

Shoreham Airshow crash On 22 August 2015, a warbird, former military aircraft crashed onto a main road during an aerial display at the Shoreham Airshow at Brighton City Airport, Shoreham Airport, England, killing 11 people and injuring 16 others. It was the deadlies ...

in 2015. After the 'flyover' over the Adur, the A27 then runs past the Holmbush interchange (Shoreham-by-Sea) and on through the Southwick Hill Tunnel, at that point entering the City of

Brighton and Hove Brighton and Hove ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority area, ceremonially in East Sussex, England. There are multiple villages alongside the seaside resorts of Brighton and Hove in the district. It is administe ...

, traditionally (though no longer administratively) part of

. Later, it passes

— where it is known as the Brighton Bypass — and around the

South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills in the south-eastern coastal counties of England that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the ...

. The junction of the A23 and the A27 is often slow in the morning rush hour. It then passes around Falmer with this section of road having three lanes in each direction but loses the third lane later. When Brighton and Hove Albion play at home this section can become congested due to its proximity to

Falmer Stadium Falmer Stadium, currently known as the American Express Stadium for sponsorship reasons and more commonly referred to as the Amex, is a association football, football stadium in Falmer, Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. With a capacity o ...

. The road passes into

proper just to the west of the Falmer junction. Afterwards, it passes south of

where it meets the A26 road to Newhaven. Here, the road becomes a

single carriageway A single carriageway (British English) is a road with one, two or more lanes arranged within a one carriageway with no central reservation, central reservation/median strip to separate opposing flows of traffic. A single-track road is a type of ...

standard and formerly crossed a level crossing until it was bypassed by a bridge which opened in 2008. The South Coast Multi-Modal Study (SoCoMMS) recommended a dual carriageway, but the Highways Agency built it to a cheaper single-carriageway standard. Plans are still proposed for upgrading this later. The road afterwards reverts to a dual carriageway with access to the A22, which provides links to

and Hailsham. The road then once again becomes a single carriageway near Pevensey, where the road ends, and the South Coast Trunk Road transfers over to the A259; this coast road starts in Emsworth and shadows the route of the A27.

Bexhill to Hastings link road

Work on the contentious Bexhill to Hastings link road commenced in early 2013 and was completed in late 2015. The road provides a more direct link from the A27 to the A28 road via the A259 road.

Landmarks on the route

Adur flyover road junction aerial photo Aug2009

* Spinnaker Tower * Chichester Cathedral * Arundel Cathedral *

Arundel Castle Arundel Castle is a restored and remodelled medieval castle in Arundel, West Sussex, England. It was established by Roger de Montgomery in the 11th century. The castle was damaged in the English Civil War and then restored in the 18th and earl ...

* The

Shoreham Airport Brighton City Airport , also commonly known as Shoreham Airport, is located in Lancing, West Sussex, Lancing near Shoreham by Sea in West Sussex, England. It has a Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom), CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence tha ...

* River Adur *

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

* Lewes Castle * Mount Caburn * Firle Beacon *

Long Man of Wilmington The Long Man of Wilmington or Wilmington Giant is a hill figure on the steep slopes of Windover Hill near Wilmington, East Sussex, Wilmington, East Sussex, England. It is northwest of Eastbourne and south of Wilmington. Locally, the figure w ...

Proposed developments

The National Highways Agency state on their website that the A27 is the only east–west trunk road south of the M25 and it serves a population of more than 750,000 people along the south coast. They also say that safety is a problem along the A27 with many accidents and incidents along its length. To improve its safety and serviceability they intend to make improvements to the road. This includes: *Arundel Bypass (RIS3)Plans were originally deferred until 2025-2030, but have now been cancelled. *Worthing & Lancing ImprovementsImprovements to junctions in the urban areas of Worthing and Lancing to increase capacity and improve safety. Proposed improvements would have begun in 2025 and be completed by 2027, but have been cancelled by the government. *Chichester Bypass (RIS3)The National Highways Agency intend to hold a comprehensive public engagement programme in 2023, where people will be encouraged to have their say.

Junctions

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, , - , rowspan="20",

, rowspan="2", Romsey , 8.5 , 13.7 , , -

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

, Ringwood,

Ower Ower is a hamlet in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. Its nearest towns are Totton – approximately to the southeast, and Romsey – around to the north-east. Ower lies on the A36 road northwest of Totton. It lies most ...

, Cadnam, Romsey,

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

, , - , 9.3 , 15.0 , , -

, Stockbridge , , - , — , 10.3 , 16.6 , , -

, Nursling, Rownhams, Lordshill , , - , rowspan="4" ,

, 15.1 , 24.3 , , -

M3 -

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Eastleigh,

, , - , 16.6 , 26.7 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , , bgcolor="ffdddd" , - Eastleigh, Southampton Center , bgcolor="ffdddd" , Detour along Stoneham lane and the A335 is required to continue along the A27 , - , 19.9 , 32.1 , , -

, Bitterne, Botley, Hedge End , , - , 21.2 , 34.2 , , -

, Bitterne
- Woolston , , - , rowspan="5" , Park Gate , 24.5 , 39.4 , , - Botley , , - , 24.8 , 39.9 , , -

Titchfield Titchfield is a village and former civil parish in the Borough of Fareham, Fareham district, in southern Hampshire, England, by the River Meon. The village has a history stretching back to the 6th century. During the medieval period, the villa ...

, Warsash , Road splits into two branches , - , colspan="5" bgcolor="d3d3d3" align="center", ''North branch'' , - , 25.2 , 40.6 , , -

, , - , colspan="5" bgcolor="d3d3d3" align="center", ''South branch'' , - , rowspan="5" ,

, 29.1 , 46.8 , , -

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hampshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 70,131 and the district had a pop ...

, , - , 29.7 , 47.3 , , - Alton, Wickham , Road splits into two branches , - , colspan="5" bgcolor="d3d3d3" align="center", ''North branch'' , - , 30.3 , 48.3 , , -

, Alton, Portsmouth, Brighton , , - , colspan="5" bgcolor="d3d3d3" align="center", ''East branch'' , - , rowspan="3" ,

, 33.3 , 53.1 , , -

- Cosham, Paulsgrove,

Waterlooville Waterlooville is a town in the Borough of Havant in Hampshire, England, approximately north northeast of Portsmouth. It is the largest town in the borough. The town had a population of 64,350 in the 2011 Census. It is surrounded by Purbrook, ...

, , - , 34.3 , 54.6 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , , bgcolor="ffdddd" , -

- Hilsea
- Cosham,

, bgcolor="ffdddd" , no access from M27 to A27 going west and vice versa , - , 35.6 , 57.3 , , - Farlington, Drayton,

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea began as a f ...

, Fratton, Hilsea , , - *Ceremonial Counties ;Coordinate list

Notes

External links

Society for All British Road Enthusiasts Route Description - A27

TAB-MSAS: Roads Photos: A27

BBC News article on new subway at Falmer

BBC News article on speed trap at Falmer

Traffic delays on the A27

Highways Agency A27 projects page

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2-0027 Roads in East Sussex Roads in Hampshire Roads in West Sussex Roads in Wiltshire Roads in England Roads in Brighton and Hove