COODEN Sea Road will remain closed beyond this evening (Thursday) after further excavation work uncovered another problem beneath the carriageway.
East Sussex Highways had hoped to reopen both lanes of the road by tonight following months of disruption caused by a sinkhole.
However, further investigation work on Wednesday, August 19, uncovered an additional issue involving Southern Water wastewater infrastructure.
A blockage involving a waste pipe entering the affected area forced Highways to temporarily stop work while Southern Water attended the site.
The blockage has since been cleared and Highways has resumed work, but further excavation is now required before the road can reopen.
It means the Thursday evening reopening target, which had been given by the project team earlier this week, can no longer be achieved.
No revised reopening date has yet been confirmed.
Cooden Sea Road has been affected for several months after a void developed beneath the carriageway, initially resulting in restrictions to one lane.
The situation became more serious on Tuesday, August 4, when further investigation work revealed the void was considerably more extensive than previously understood and had extended towards the centre of the carriageway.
The remaining open lane was subsequently closed for safety reasons, resulting in the complete closure of the road and significant disruption for residents, businesses and motorists in Little Common and Cooden.
Earlier investigations had also looked at whether South East Water infrastructure beneath the highway could have been involved. South East Water subsequently confirmed there was no fault with its infrastructure, allowing further excavation work to take place.
It is during the latest phase of those investigations that the additional issue involving Southern Water wastewater infrastructure has now been discovered.
St Marks ward councillor Connor Winter said he had spoken again with the project lead on Wednesday evening to establish the latest position.
He said: “The information I shared yesterday was the position and commitment given to me directly by those managing the works at that time. As further excavation has progressed, the situation beneath the carriageway has unfortunately changed.”
The continuing closure has also raised concerns about motorists using surrounding residential roads to avoid the disruption.
Cllr Winter said he had raised the diversion arrangements with Highways and that “Not Suitable for Diversion” signs were being placed at both ends of Church Hill Avenue in an attempt to discourage motorists from using the residential road as an alternative route.
Highways has also confirmed that a new official signed diversion is being introduced, taking motorists back along Cooden Sea Road towards the Cooden Beach Hotel and around an alternative route.
Cllr Winter said he had spoken to local traders, businesses and residents about the impact of the continuing closure, while Highways staff had also been communicating with affected businesses.
He said that while the continued disruption was frustrating, the priority should be ensuring the underlying problem was properly repaired rather than rushing to meet the previously announced reopening date.
He added: “For the whole of Little Common, this needs to be repaired properly, not hurried simply to meet a timetable that was given before the full extent of the problem was known.
“The priority must be getting underneath the road, dealing with everything that is found and making sure we don’t find ourselves facing the same problem again.”
A revised timetable for the reopening of Cooden Sea Road is expected to be announced once the extent of the latest problem and the work required have been established.
