The M2 is a 26-mile (42 km)[1] long motorway in Kent, England, and was built to bypass a section of the A2 road in Kent, which goes through the Medway Towns, Sittingbourne, and Faversham. It provides an alternative route to the Port of Dover, which supplements the M20 motorway located further to the south. The terminal junctions of the M2 intersect with the A2, which come together to form a 62-mile (100 km) long trunk road from London to Dover.[2]
Route
The M2 starts west of Strood, diverging towards the southeast away from the A2 road. Between J1 and J2, the M2 is four lanes in width, and slopes down into the Medway Valley south of Rochester. J2 is located to the northwest of the left bank of the River Medway, linking the A228 road to the M2, which runs between Strood and West Malling. The junction is in a dumbbell configuration, with a short spur of the A228 providing access to the junction. The M2 drops to three lanes throughout the junction, but returns to a width of four lanes after the junction.
After J2, the motorway passes over the wide Medway Valley via the Medway Viaducts alongside HS1, with the North Downs Way running alongside the eastbound carriageway of the M2 here. It passes over the Medway Valley railway and the aforementioned river. After the viaduct, the M2 runs past the Wouldham marshes and the suburbs of the Medway Towns, which include Borstal, which is well renowned for being the village where HM Prison Rochester is located, and which lends its generic name to institutions for young offenders.
Prior to J3, the M2 ascends a steep valley up to Blue Bell Hill, with the two carriageways on different levels. At J3, the carriageways of the M2 return to the same level and the motorway meets the A229 road, which serves Maidstone) and Walderslade. The junction is in a unique configuration, whereby the M2 and A229 are linked by two grade-separated roundabouts, with the M2 reducing to a width of three lanes after the junction.
As the M2 continues to pass the Medway Towns, it runs along the northern escarpment of the North Downs, and goes past Lidsing and Bredhurst towards J4, where it meets the A278 road at a more conventional grade-separated roundabout junction, reducing to a width of two lanes afterwards.
After J4, traffic on the M2 is able to access a motorway service area named the Medway services, which leads up to J5 a few miles east of the services, where the M2 intersects with the A249 road, which serves Sittingbourne, Sheerness and Maidstone. The junction is in an unconventional grade-separated roundabout configuration, where the slip roads which lead to and from the M2 and roundabout are looped due to the considerable height of the viaduct which the M2 passes over the junction on. Since 2022 the Department of Transport has been undertaking a major reconstruction of the junction due for completion by Winter 2024.
After J5, the M2 runs for ten miles along the gentle lower slopes of the North Downs as it nears the coast. At J6, the M2 intersects with the A251 road, which serves Faversham one mile to the north and the town of Ashford 13 miles south. The junction is in a parclo configuration. After J6, the M2 ends at J7, which is another conventional grade-separated roundabout. The M2 splits into two lanes prior to ending at J7, with lane 1 heading onto the main roundabout rejoining the A2, which continues onwards to Canterbury (8 miles; 13 km) and Dover (23 miles; 37 km), and lane 2 feeding onto the A299 road, commonly known as the Thanet Way, which continues onwards to Whitstable (6 miles; 10 km), Herne Bay (10 miles; 16 km), Margate (23 miles; 37 km) and Ramsgate (27 miles; 43 km).
History
Original construction
Junction 2 of the M2, the roundabout on the A228, showing the motorway crossing the Medway and climbing up the Nashenden Valley. Alongside is High Speed 1.Junction 5 of the M2The widened section approaching the lane drop at junction 4
The initial section of the M2 between J2 and J5 was opened by the then Transport Minister Ernest Marples on 29 May 1963,[3] and the remainder of the M2 (J1–J2 and J5–J7) was opened in 1965.[4] It was initially referred to as the Medway Towns Motor Road[5] when it was opened, but has been referred to by different names in some official sources.[6]
Planned extension
It was planned to extend the M2 to London and Dover, which would have made it the main route between London and the Channel Ports, but this extension never materialised due to a lack of traffic demand.[7] Instead, the A2 was mostly dualled and improved from Brenley Corner to Dover, with separate improvements being carried out on the A2 between London and Strood.[8][9]
Numbering
During planning, the number assigned for the route was the A2(M). However, a Daily Telegraph article published on 15 December 1959 erroneously referred to the route as the M2 rather than the A2(M), a number that had been reserved for a route between London and the Channel Ports. After the article was published, the Ministry of Transport assigned the M2 number to the route, while a new number, the M20 was reserved for a route between London and the Channel Ports.[10][11]
J1 improvements
Aside from retrofitting the central crash barriers along the M2, as happened with all early motorways in the UK, the M2 did not change significantly until the 1990s, when the construction of the A289 road to the north of J1 resulted in J1 being reconfigured from a fork configuration to a fork-trumpet hybrid.[12]
Service area
The M2 opened with a single service area between junctions 4 and 5, named Farthing Corner services and operated by Top Rank.[13] Today the services are known as Medway services and are operated under the Moto brand with a Travelodge hotel.[14]
The services have an access road to the local network for service and delivery vehicles that is not, as with some motorway service areas, restricted with a gate or barrier.[15] This has led to local businesses using the services as an unofficial exit from the motorway.[16]
Widening
While traffic using the M2 decreased when the M20 motorway was completed from London to Folkestone in May 1991,[17] traffic heading into North Kent remained, and congestion along the route was increasing, primarily due to heavy goods vehicles blocking the outside lane.[18] This led to work beginning in 2000 on widening the M2 from two lanes to four lanes between J1 and J3, and three lanes between J3 and J4. A joint venture between Costain, Skanska and Mowlem (CSM) created the company which would complete the project, which required the redesign of J2 and J3, and the construction of a new viaduct next to the existing one over the Medway Valley. The existing viaduct was converted to the four-lane eastbound carriageway of the M2 seen today, with the new viaduct forming the westbound carriageway. High-pressure-water cutting equipment being used to cut concrete into manageable sections for disposal where necessary. The entire stretch was lit with streetlights in contrast to the previously unlit M2. Spoil from the North Downs Tunnel was used to form the new embankment for the westbound carriageway between J2 and the Nashenden Valley. The project was completed in July 2003.[19]
J5 improvements
From September 2021, National Highways are carrying out improvements to J5 of the M2, which will involve the construction of a new flyover for A249 traffic heading through the junction and new slip-road connections between the M2 and the A249.[20] Works to realign the slip roads leading from the A249 to the eastbound carriageway were completed in January 2023.[21] New local road links are also being built as part of the scheme. The entire scheme is scheduled for completion in winter 2024.[22]
Distances in kilometres and carriageway identifiers are obtained from driver location signs/location marker posts. Where a junction spans several hundred metres and the data is available, both the start and finish values for the junction are shown.
M2 highlighted in blue_map.svg)
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