This article is about the current A280, a road in the Worthing area that runs between Findon and West Preston. For the original, a tiny road in Lower Beeding near Horsham, see A280 (Lower Beeding).
The A280 is a fairly short but important road in west Sussex.
Route
A280, Water Lane, looking towards the A27
The A280 begins on the A24 at Findon Roundabout and heads along Long Furlong. Owing to the hilly terrain here in the South Downs National Park, the road twists to follow the contours. It gradually rises and a sharp left-hand bend and shallow cutting takes it through the pass between Crown Hill and the hill on which lies Worthing Crematorium. On the other side of the pass, Long Furlong gradually descends down a broad valley with a sweeping right-hand bend. At the bottom of the valley a former toll gate is evidence of the road's history. The valley narrows and then there's a sharp bend to the left, the road climbing briefly and falling as it climbs briefly to cut the corner.
On entering Clapham, the road leaves the valley floor to pass nearer to the centre of the village. On the far side we meet the A27 at a dumbbell. From the southern roundabout of the dumbbell, the Class III Titnore Lane (which was for a while the A2700, and is still sometimes referred to as such in traffic reports) runs to Goring-by-Sea, allowing West Worthing residents to bypass the busy A24/A27 merger in north Worthing.
From here on, the A280 is non-primary and heads towards Angmering, bypassing the village. Despite being less important, this section of the road is of a higher standard than the northern part of the route: wider and with better horizontal alignment, thanks to flatter land and a newer build. At Roundstone Roundabout the A280 ends at a roundabout junction with the A259.
History
At classification in 1922 the A280 number was allocated elsewhere and the present route was numbered B2140, not being reclassified as the A280 until 1935. The line south-west of Clapham was significantly altered with the opening on 28 February 2003 of the £4m Angmering bypass, which carries the route today. Before that date the A280 went through the centre of village and ended on the A259 near Angmering station at Station Road Roundabout,some way west of its present terminus.