A278 road
Encyclopedia
The A278 is a road running north-south in north Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, England. The whole length of the road is dual carriageway
Dual carriageway
A dual carriageway is a class of highway with two carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation...

, within Medway Council but is a non-primary route.

History

The A278 was formerly used as the number for the Felbridge - Horsham road, which is now part of the A264
A264 road
The A264 is an east-west road in southern England that runs from Pembury in west Kent to Five Oaks in West Sussex.There have been a number of notable changes in this important east-west route which follows the north Sussex border with Kent and Surrey....

. However, the A278 is now used for the 3 miles (4.8 km) long dual carriageway that links the M2 to the A2
A2 road (Great Britain)
The A2 is a major road in southern England, connecting London with the English Channel port of Dover in Kent. This route has always been of importance as a connection between the British capital of London and sea trade routes to Continental Europe...

.

The route

The road begins at Junction 4 of the recently widened M2 where it travels in a northerly direction towards Gillingham
Gillingham, Kent
Gillingham is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in South East England. It is part of the ceremonial county of Kent. The town includes the settlements of Brompton, Hempstead, Rainham, Rainham Mark and Twydall....

. About 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) along the route there is a roundabout, with road links to Hempstead
Hempstead, Kent
Hempstead is a settlement near Gillingham, Kent, part of the urban area of the Medway Towns.-Location and geography:It is located on the southern edge of the borough of Medway adjacent to Wigmore and Lordswood and linked to Gillingham and the M2 by the A278 trunk road.Most of Hempstead is in a...

 and Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre on the left, and Wigmore
Wigmore, Kent
Wigmore is a suburb/village in the Unitary Authority of Medway, in Kent, England.The placename is attested in 1275 as Wydemere, from an Old English *wīd-mere "broad pool"....

 on the right. The A278 continues as a dual carriageway travelling northwards.
The route is generally surrounded by trees for much of its length.

The second roundabout hosts another exit for Wigmore on the right and Gillingham Business Park on the left. The road terminates 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) further north at another larger roundabout with the A2
A2 road (Great Britain)
The A2 is a major road in southern England, connecting London with the English Channel port of Dover in Kent. This route has always been of importance as a connection between the British capital of London and sea trade routes to Continental Europe...

, with links to Gillingham, Gillingham Business Park, Sittingbourne
Sittingbourne
Sittingbourne is an industrial town about eight miles east of Gillingham in England, beside the Roman Watling Street off a creek in the Swale, a channel separating the Isle of Sheppey from mainland Kent...

 and the Medway Tunnel
Medway Tunnel
The Medway Tunnel is a tunnel under the River Medway linking Strood with Chatham in Kent, England. It forms part of the Medway Towns Northern Relief Road...

.
The road itself provides a vital link between the eastern side of the Medway towns and the M2 motorway.

External links

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