A20 road (England)

Coordinates: 51°28′23″N 0°01′59″W / 51.473°N 0.033°W / 51.473; -0.033
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A20 shield
A20
Location
Country
Primary
destinations
Swanley
Maidstone
Ashford
Folkestone
Road network
←
A21

The A20 is a major road in south-east England, carrying traffic from London to Dover in Kent. Parts of the route date back to turnpikes established in the early part of the 18th century. The line of the road throughout Kent runs closely in parallel with the M20 motorway.

Route

From London to the M25

Traffic leaving London at first takes the

Frognal Corner and the A224 at Crittall's Corner. Entering Kent, it widens from two lanes to three lanes near Swanley and continues onto the M20 motorway
.

Junctions

The main junctions on the London to M25 section are:

  • New Cross one-way system (the road starts here and branches from the A2)
  • Lewisham Gateway (with the A21, A2210 and A2211)
  • Sutcliffe Park (with the A210 to Eltham) – the road becomes a dual carriageway east of this junction
  • Clifton's Roundabout (with the A205 South Circular)
  • Fiveways, New Eltham (with the B263); this is the last at-grade junction heading out of London
  • Frognal Corner (with the A222)
  • Crittall's Corner (with the A223 and A224)
  • Swanley Interchange (M25 Junction 3 / M20 Junction 1)

The M25 to Dover

The A20 then passes the racing circuit at Brands Hatch before descending steeply from the North Downs escarpment past Wrotham then West Malling and on to the county town of Maidstone. The route beyond Maidstone travels East, through the villages of Bearsted, Harrietsham, Lenham and Charing to Ashford.

The

docks in Dover, where it meets the A2 again coming down from Canterbury
.

History

Part of the route now followed by the modern road, particularly the western section, was opened as various turnpikes in the 18th century in an effort to improve coaching links between London and the Kent towns.[3]

In the early days of the

A211 roads following the original route. The nearby town of Swanley was bypassed in 1968, and the short link between the two bypasses was constructed in 1988 (to the south of the Ruxley Corner roundabout).[4]

The western portals of the Roundhill Tunnel

A section of the A20 in Ashford formed part of the Ashford By-Pass, a dual carriageway opened in 1957,[5] which used to run from what is now the roundabout with Simone Weil Avenue to the Willesborough roundabout. Simone Weil Avenue is the original A20 bypass, but has been diverted to curtail at Canterbury Road. The eastern end of the old by-pass is now the M20.

The section between Maidstone and Ashford was the only link between the two separate sections of the M20 for 10 years during the 1980s, until the 14-mile (23 km) missing link of the motorway was completed in May 1991.[6]

North of Folkestone the M20 becomes a dual carriageway and enters the Roundhill Tunnel before crossing over and dropping down into Dover. This part of the A20 was completed in 1993 as a project included in the Parliamentary Bill for the Channel Tunnel.[6] During 2011, structural failures in and around the Roundhill Tunnel have caused the A20 to be closed in this area numerous times.[7]

Junction list

A20

CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
A202 – Central London, Dover, Peckham
Western terminus
1.1–
1.2		1.8–
1.9
A2210 north (Jerrard Street) – Deptford
Southern terminus of A2210
1.32.1
A21 south-east – Bromley, Catford
North-western terminus of A21
1.42.3
A2211 north – Greenwich
Southern terminus of A2211
A2212 south (Burnt Ash Road) / B212 (Lee High Road) – Grove Park, Blackheath
B212 and Blackheath signed westbound only; northern terminus of A2212
A102 – Eltham, Kidbrooke, Docklands, Woolwich
To A205, A102, Docklands, and Woolwich signed eastbound only; western terminus of A210; southern terminus of A2213
3.55.6
A2
To A102, A2, and Docklands signed westbound only
4.87.7
A208 (Court Road) – Mottingham, Eltham
A222 – Bromley, Chislehurst, Sidcup
Grade–separated junction
7.9–
8.5		12.7–
13.7
A223 north-east to B2173 – Orpington, Foots Cray, Bexley, Swanley
To B2173 and Swanley signed eastbound only; grade-separated junction; south-western terminus of A223
Gatwick Airport, Maidstone
Dover signed eastbound only; western terminus of M20; M25 junction 3; M20 junction 1
A225 north / Dartford Road – Dartford, Farningham, Sutton-at-Hone
Sutton-at-Hone signed westbound only; western terminus of A225 concurrency
14.323.0
A225 south (Eynsford Road) – Eynsford, Otford, Sevenoaks
A225 and Sevenoaks signed westbound only; eastern terminus of A225 concurrency
A227 north (Gravesend Road) / Pilgrims Way – Gravesend, Meopham, Vigo
Western terminus of A227 concurrency
20.933.6
A227 south to M25 – London, Swanley, Tonbridge, Borough Green
Eastern terminus of A227 concurrency
21.835.1
Gatwick Airport, Redhill
M26 junction 2a
A25 west (Maidstone Road) – Sevenoaks, Platt, Borough Green
Eastern terminus of A25
A26 – Rochester, Tonbridge, Kings Hill, Leybourne
A229 – Chatham
To A229 and Chatham signed eastbound only
A26 south-west (Tonbridge Road) – Tonbridge, Barming
North-eastern terminus of A26
30.9–
31.0		49.7–
49.9
A229 north to M20 – Chatham
Western terminus of A229 concurrency
31.550.7
A229 south (Upper Stone Street) – Hastings, Shepway, Loose, Tovil
Shepway and Loose signed eastbound only, Tovil westbound only; eastern terminus of A229 concurrency; western terminus of A249 concurrency; southern terminus of A249
31.851.2
A229 – Sheerness, Chatham
Eastern terminus of A249 concurrency
Hollingbourne35.657.3 M20 – London, AshfordDestinations signed westbound only; M20 junction 8
A28 – Canterbury, Chilham, Challock
Challock signed eastbound only; western terminus of A252
A292 (Maidstone Road) – Canterbury, Tenterden, Ashford, Great Chart
North-western terminus of A292
49.8–
50.2		80.1–
80.8
A251 north – London, Maidstone, Faversham, Kennington
Kennington signed eastbound only; western terminus of M20 concurrency; southern terminus of A251; M20 junction 9
Folkstone, Ashford, Hastings, Canterbury
Eastern terminus of M20 concurrency; south-eastern terminus of A292; M20 junctions 10-10A
A259 – Hythe, Hastings
North-western terminus of A261
Postling60.597.4 M20 / B2068 – Ashford, London, Folkestone, Dover, Canterbury, Stanford (north)Direct access eastbound only; M20 junction 11
Newington63.2101.7Channel TunnelNo access eastbound
Folkestone64.7104.1 M20 west / Cheriton High Street – Ashford, London, Cheriton, FolkestoneFolkestone signed westbound only; western terminus of M20 concurrency; M20 junction 12
65.5–
66.1		105.4–
106.4		FolkestoneEastern terminus of M20 concurrency; eastern terminus of M20; M20 junction 13
66.4106.9Roundhill Tunnel
A260 – Canterbury, Folkestone
Grade–separated junction; Folkestone signed westbound only
Hougham Without69.8–
70.4		112.3–
113.3		B2011 – Capel-le-Ferne, West HoughamGrade–separated junction
A256 north (York Street) – Town centre
A256 signed westbound only, Town centre eastbound only; southern terminus of A256
74.4119.7
A2 west / Port of Dover – Canterbury, Deal, Ramsgate, Sandwich
Eastern terminus; eastern terminus of A2
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ^ a b "10 Amersham Rd, London SE14 6QE, UK to 151-183 A20, Maidstone, UK to Medvale House, Mote Rd, Maidstone ME15 6AH, UK to M20, Willesborough, Ashford, UK to Ashford Rd, Lympne, Hythe CT21 4JD, UK to M20, Folkestone, UK to Dover sadam, Dover CT16 1LT, United Kingdom". Google Maps. Alphabet Inc. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  2. ^ yellow box junction dimensions – a Freedom of Information request to Transport for London – WhatDoTheyKnow
  3. ^ "Transport and communications". Kent County Council. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  4. ^ "A20 history". The Society for All British and Irish Road Enthusiasts. 20 December 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  5. ^ ROADS PROGRAMME (Hansard, 22 July 1957)
  6. ^ a b "Remaining sections". Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
  7. ^ "Highways Agency – A20 Roundhill Tunnel Closures 2012". Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2011.

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