MOTORISTS are being warned to expect continuing delays after damage was caused to traffic lights at a busy crossroads in Polegate following a road traffic collision.

The crash on the A2270 Eastbourne Road at its junction with Wannock Road and High Street on Tuesday (15) seriously damaged the traffic light controller – the equipment which controls the phasing of the lights.

East Sussex Highways has installed temporary lights but is warning of delays at the busy junction until the equipment can be replaced – which is not expected to happen until later this month.

An East Sussex Highways spokesman said: “This is a major road junction which carries a lot of traffic so unfortunately we are seeing disruption in this area and on surrounding roads.

“The temporary lights are not as sophisticated as permanent ones and don’t link with the nearby signals at the junction of the A27 and A22, so traffic is flowing less smoothly than normal.

“The controller that was damaged was obsolete technology that is no longer available and our contractor will need to build a new one using modern technology that will also require replacing the traffic light heads themselves and some of the sensors to integrate with the new controller.

“We appreciate that this may cause disruption to motorists and we’d like to reassure residents that we’ve asked our contractor to put all other works on hold and focus on getting the lights up and running as quickly as possible.

“In the meantime, we’d ask drivers to take into account potential delays when planning their journey, and to consider using alternative routes where possible.”

While the temporary lights are in place, Highways staff will be monitoring traffic levels both on site and remotely from their base in Ringmer.

More information on current and forthcoming roadworks is available on the East Sussex Highways website at www.eastsussexhighways.com or on Twitter @esccroads