Business leaders will be out to stop traffic problems suffocating the West Sussex economy when they meet with Government officials next month.

The West Sussex Economic Partnership, based in Worthing, will get together with transport minister David Jamieson to argue the case for major road works along the A27 at Worthing, Arundel and Chichester.

Recommendations in the South Coast Multi-Modal Study could cost £1 billion and include a spruced up railway service with six new stations including Shoreham Airport, an Arundel bypass and a series of road tunnels to take the pressure off the A27, which is notorious for tailbacks at Worthing and Lancing.

Government consultants Halcrow suggested the tunnels would costs £275 million.

The partnership believes the county's time-consuming traffic problems are holding back investment.

Recommendations in the study, which is a 30-year blueprint for road improvements in the South-East, aim to solve the huge tailback problem.

The partnership said not all the improvements would go ahead because of the high cost nationwide but it wanted to ensure Sussex's road problems were solved for the sake of future investment.

Partnership chief executive Alistair Smith said it took months of requests before the minister agreed to meet the delegation.

Mr Smith said: "The importance of talking with the minister is to try and put forward the case for improvements based on coastal regeneration - relieving bottle-necks on the A27 at Arundel, Worthing and Chichester are important to that.

"The multi-modal study made three major recommendations to deal with those bottle-necks and made recommendations about improving the railway.

"We understand the Government is to make an announcement this summer about investment in these various transport corridors.

"We support a transport strategy that links our part of the economy to the rest of the region.

"We are focusing on supporting businesses along the coast and we believe road improvements will help the Government address deprivation and other social problems in these areas.

"There have been similar road improvement studies across the country and now the Government, in terms of capital investment, suggests it will need more than it thought - if it is having to share out, we're hoping to get our share."