Eastbourne road has most delays in England - data

Journeys on the strategic road network were delayed by an average of 10.6 seconds per vehicle per mile

Delays on England's motorways and major A roads have hit a record level, with the worst road being in East Sussex.

Journeys on the strategic road network (SRN) were delayed by an average of 10.6 seconds per vehicle per mile (spvpm) in the 12 months to the end of March, Department for Transport (DfT) data showed.

That is the longest in records dating to 2015 and is up from 9.5 spvpm in 2022/23.

The major road with the longest delays was the A2270, which runs between Eastbourne and Polegate, at 179.3 spvpm.

The M6 Toll road in the Midlands, which costs £9.70 for a car completing the full route, had the shortest average delay at 2.7 spvpm.

The figures are based on average delays compared with free-flow figures across all 24 hours in a day, so do not reflect the impact of congestion at peak periods.

RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said: "There could be a number of reasons for the increase, including higher traffic volumes - which are well on their way to returning to pre-Covid levels - and the impact of roadworks, including the rolling programme of adding new refuge areas to smart motorways.

"Delays are bad for drivers and bad for the economy."

National Highways, which is responsible for the SRN, was approached for a comment by PA Media.