The main road with the longest delays in England is in Sussex, new figures show. 

Motorists on the A2270 between Eastbourne and Polegate were delayed for an average of nearly three minutes per mile in 2023.

It comes as new figures show delays on England’s motorways and major A roads have reached record levels. 

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, according to Department for Transport data.

That is the longest in records dating to 2015 and is up from 9.5 spvpm in 2022/23, which was the same amount as the year to the end of February 2020, just before coronavirus travel restrictions began.

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.

READ MORE: Slowest roads in Brighton and Hove revealed

In the year that the A2270 had the longest delays 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.

Rod Dennis, senior policy officer at RAC, said: “It’s concerning to see annual delays on motorways and major A-roads appear to have hit an all-time high, but this is perhaps a further sign of just how important vehicles are to people’s lives.

“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.”

A spokesman for National Highways, which is responsible for the SRN, said: “We know delays are frustrating, but a number of factors contribute to slower-moving traffic.

“The make-up of vehicles on the road is changing, with more HGVs and larger vehicles together with less cars. This brings average speeds down.

“Roadworks are only in place where it is absolutely necessary. Our programme of improvements will result in long-term benefits for motorists – shorter and more reliable journeys as well as safer and smoother roads.”