M2 motorway

M2 sign

The M2 is a motorway in Kent. It is 25.7 miles long and acts as a bypass of the section of the A2 which runs through the Medway Towns, Sittingbourne and Faversham. It is the only motorway in England that does not meet any other motorway at a junction.

Route

The M2 starts to the west of Strood at Three Crutches, diverging southeastwards from the A2 road that heads eastwards from London. It begins at Junction 1 with four lanes and descends towards the Medway Valley to the south of Rochester. Running parallel to High Speed 1, it crosses the River Medway on the Medway Viaduct. On the west bank, Junction 2, the A228, is a complex junction where the exit roundabouts had to be built round the railink track and still maintain, by footbridge and tunnel, a public footpath. On the east bank is the village of Borstal.

The M2 then diverges from the High Speed 1 route and climbs up the north side of Nashenden Valley to Blue Bell Hill and on to the North Downs on a split-level carriageway and meets Junction 3 at Walderslade, south of Chatham. Here the road narrows to three lanes, and runs northeast across Cossington Fields, Westfield Sole, Lidsing, and Bredhurst towards Junction 4, where it becomes two lanes.

Continuing east, passing Medway Service Station, it crosses the A249 over the Stockbury Viaduct at Junction 5. It then continues along the rural North Downs, with a connection to the old A2 at Faversham. Shortly after this, it terminates at Junction 7, allowing traffic to continue on either the A299 towards Thanet which joins a dual carriage way or the A2 towards Canterbury and Dover which has been improved due to bypasses and other improvements as far as Lydden.

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 M2

The widened section approaching the lane drop at Junction 4

The initial section of the motorway (junctions 2 to 5) was opened by the then Transport Minister Ernest Marples on 29 May 1963, with the remainder being constructed in 1965. It was opened in three stages:

• Junctions 1 to 2 in 1965
• Junctions 2 to 5 in 1963
• Junctions 5 to 7 in 1965

It was planned to extend the M2 to London and Dover, making it the main route between London and the channel ports, but this extension never materialised due to a lack of traffic demand. Instead the A2 was dualled and improved from Brenley Corner to Dover.

The M2 was originally to be designated as the A2(M), but as a result of the Daily Telegraph reporting it as the M2, the Ministry of Transport adopted this, and later decided upon the M20 designation for the main London-Channel Ports link.

Junction amendments

Aside from retrofitting central crash barriers, like all early motorways, the alignment of the M2 did not significantly change until the late 1990s. Traffic using it decreased when the M20 was completed from London to Folkestone in May 1991, while the M2 continued to Canterbury and the North Kent ports of Sheerness and Ramsgate. Junction 1 was altered when the A289 Wainscott Northern bypass was built in the late 1990s.

Widening

The M2 was still busy between Junctions 1 and 4, and suffered from HGVs blocking the outside lane. In 2000 work began on widening the M2 from two lanes to four lanes. A joint venture between Costain, Skanska and Mowlem (CSM) created the company that would undertake the project. The project required the redesign of Junction 2 and Junction 3, and a second Medway Bridge. The existing bridge was converted to a four lane eastbound carriageway (including a hard shoulder). The new bridge formed the westbound carriageway. The entire stretch was lit with streetlights (the old section was not lit). The old Medway Bridge was physically narrowed by removing part of the footpath. High-pressure water cutting equipment was used to cut the concrete into manageable sections for disposal. There is only one path open to the public now.

Spoil from the North Downs Tunnel was used to form the new embankment for the London bound traffic between Junction 2 and the Nashenden Valley.

The widening was completed in July 2003.

Service area

The M2 opened with a single service area between Junctions 4 and 5, named Farthing Corner Services and operated by Top Rank. Today the services are known as Medway services and are operated under the Moto brand with a Travelodge hotel.

The services have an access road to the local network for service and delivery vehicles that is not, like some motorway service areas, restricted with a gate or barrier. This has led to local businesses using the services as an unofficial exit from the motorway.

Junctions

M2 motorway
Junction	miles	Northbound exits (A Carriageway)	Southbound exits (B Carriageway)
J1 M2 - Northern terminus	27 27½	Road continues as A2 to London	Rochester A2 Gillingham, Grain A289 Non-motorway traffic
		Grain, Rochester A289	Start of motorway
J2	29	Strood/Rochester, West Malling A228	Strood/Rochester, West Malling A228
J3	33	Maidstone, Chatham, Rochester A229	Maidstone, Chatham A229 Channel Tunnel (M20)
J4	36½	Gillingham A278	Gillingham A278
Services		Medway Services	Medway Services
J5	40	Maidstone, Sheerness A249 The WEST (M20, Gatwick Airport)	Maidstone, Sittingbourne, Sheerness A249
J6	51	Faversham, Ashford A251	Faversham, Ashford A251
J7 M2 - Southern terminus	52½	Start of motorway	Canterbury, Dover, Channel Tunnel A2
		Canterbury, Channel Tunnel, Dover, Faversham A2 Non-motorway traffic	Road continues as A299 (Thanet Way) to Ramsgate

Outside links

• CBRD
  • Motorway Database – M2
  • Media – Photos Of the Medway Viaduct Under Construction
  • Histories – Opening Booklets, including M2
• The M2 on SABRE
• Photographs of the Medway Viaduct From Its Public Footpath
• Photographs of the M2 between Junctions 5 and 7
• The Motorway Archive – M2