Seafront road to reopen this afternoon

The seafront road is to reopen in both directions this afternoon after engineers confirmed the Royal Albion hotel is safe to drive past again.

The A259 has been fully or partially closed for more than a week after inspectors said part of the fire-ravaged was in danger of collapsing.

Owner Britannia Hotels have now demolished the dangerous sections, and structural engineers today said it no longer posed a danger.

Two lanes of the eastbound carriageway will reopen at 3pm. However, part of the left turn filter lane will remain closed in front of the Royal Albion Hotel for the time being to allow room for some further demolition by Britannia Hotels and their contractors

Vehicles will still be able to safely turn left towards the OId Steine.

National Express coaches will continue to stop at the southwestern corner of the Old Steine while the contractors use Pool Valley.

The road may need to be closed again at a later date to allow further demolition work, however the council will make sure the contractors provide plenty of notice and that disruption is kept to a minimum.

Councillor Trevor Muten, Cabinet member for Transport, Parking and Public Realm, said: “Since this work started, we’ve stressed the urgency for action and the importance to Britannia Hotels and their contractors to get the road reopened as quickly as possible.

“We’re satisfied the area is now safe, machinery has been moved, and two eastbound lanes can be reopened on Thursday afternoon, getting vehicles moving through this busy area once again.

“We understand the last couple of weeks have been very disruptive and I again apologise for the inconvenience, but the safety of the public had to be our number one priority.”