The A256 is a major road running along the east coast of Kent between the Isle of Thanet and Dover. It is operated by Kent County Council as a primary route, and has seen investment in the past to connect traffic to the Port of Ramsgate, and to the Pfizer research centre in Sandwich. [1]
The A256 begins on the edge of Broadstairs with the A255. Within Thanet, it runs through the Westwood retail park, Westwood Cross, and Haine Road. It meets the A299 Thanet Way from Faversham at the Lord of the Manor junction, where it becomes a major road. From here, it heads south towards the former Richborough Power Station, Sandwich and Dover as a high quality road. [2]
A Roman road ran from Dover to Woodnesborough, in roughly the same direction as the modern A256, though on a different route. [3] It is not mentioned in the second century Antonine Itinerary , but this may simply have been as it was not an important route. The basic route of the modern road was recognised as a turnpike by the start of the 19th century. [4]
The Sandwich bypass opened in 1981; prior to this, the A256 ran over the Sandwich Toll Bridge and was a major source of local congestion. [5] A further upgrade from Whitfield to Eastry was completed in the 1990s, bypassing those villages and Tilmanstone to the east. [6] [7]
The A256 was outlined as a strategic corridor by Kent County Council in 1999. [8] At a board meeting the following year, two proposals ("East Kent Access" phases 1 and 2) were announced. [9] The first phase, implemented between 2003 and 2005, contained various junction improvements and upgrading single carriageway sections around Sandwich to dual carriageway. [8] [10] Phase 2 was a major upgrade of the approach to Thanet and the largest highway project constructed by the council. It included a new A299 dual carriageway bypassing Cliffsend and a new bridge over the Ashford to Ramsgate line. [11]
In 2015, dual carriageway sections of the A256 were identified as a possible relief for Operation Stack, which would queue Dover-bound freight vehicles along the road. [12]
Sandwich is a town and civil parish in the Dover District of Kent, south-east England. It lies on the River Stour and has a population of 4,985. Sandwich was one of the Cinque Ports and still has many original medieval buildings, including several listed public houses and gates in the old town walls, churches, almshouses and the White Mill. While once a major port, it is now two miles from the sea due to the disappearance of the Wantsum Channel. Its historic centre has been preserved. Sandwich Bay is home to nature reserves and two world-class golf courses, Royal St George's and Prince's. The town is also home to many educational and cultural events. Sandwich also gave its name to the food by way of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, and the word sandwich is now found in several languages.
Medway is a unitary authority district and conurbation in Kent, South East England. It had a population of 278,016 in 2019. The unitary authority was formed in 1998 when Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with the Borough of Gillingham to form Medway Towns. It is now a unitary authority area run by Medway Council, independent of Kent County Council but still part of the ceremonial county of Kent.
Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to the Census, there was a population of 40,408. Ramsgate's main attraction is its coastline, and its main industries are tourism and fishing. The town has one of the largest marinas on the English south coast, and the Port of Ramsgate provided cross-channel ferries for many years.
The M2 is a 26 mile 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 long trunk road from London to Dover.
The A2 is a major road in south-east England, connecting London with the English Channel port of Dover in Kent. This route has always been of importance as a connection between London and sea trade routes to Continental Europe. It was originally known as the Dover Road. The M2 motorway has replaced part of the A2 as the strategic route.
For other roads with the same name see List of A21 roads.
The A259 is a road on the south coast of England passing through Hampshire, West Sussex, East Sussex, and Kent, and is the longest Zone 2 A road in Great Britain. The main part of the road connects Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings, Rye, and Folkestone.
The Kent Coast Line is the railway line that runs from Minster East Jn to Buckland Jn connecting Ramsgate and Dover Priory in the English county of Kent.
The N25 road is a national primary road in Ireland, forming the route from Cork to Rosslare Europort via Waterford City. The road is part of the E30 European route and a short section is also part of the E01 European route. It forms part of the proposed Atlantic Corridor route.
The A299, better known as the Thanet Way, is a major road of 22 miles (35 km) in the county of Kent, England, and runs from Brenley Corner near Faversham to Ramsgate via Whitstable and Herne Bay.
Stagecoach South East is the trading name of East Kent Road Car Company Limited, a bus operator based in Canterbury providing services in Kent and East Sussex in the south east of England. It is a subsidiary of Stagecoach Group.
The A254 is a short road running northwest–southeast on the Isle of Thanet in East Kent. The whole length of the road is within Thanet District Council and is a non-primary route.
Transportation needs within the county of Kent in South East England has been served by both historical and current transport systems.
Cliffsend is a village and civil parish situated almost 2 miles (3 km) west of Ramsgate, Kent, United Kingdom, in the Thanet local government district.
Ramsgate Harbour railway station was a railway station in Ramsgate, in the Thanet district of Kent, England. Opened in 1863 as part of the Kent Coast Railway company's extension of its line from Herne Bay, it was conveniently situated for the seaside resort's beach, but it closed in 1926 after a reorganisation of railway lines in the Thanet area.
The Viking Coastal Trail is a 25-mile multi-user route around the Isle of Thanet, keeping as close as is possible to the coast. It is also Regional Route 15 of the National Cycle Network. From Reculver, the trail passes through Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate to reach Pegwell Bay, where Vikings first landed in Kent. The Trail then, uses an inland route on quiet lanes, passing through a couple of villages with ancient churches including Minster-in-Thanet Abbey and St Nicholas at Wade, to return to Reculver.
Sandwich Toll Bridge is a Grade II listed road swing bridge over the River Stour in Sandwich, Kent. It opened in 1755 on a site that had been a crossing for centuries, and has had several iterations; the current is a swing bridge that opened in 1892. Tolls were abolished in 1977.
The Lord of the Manor is a former pub and road junction near Cliffsend on the Isle of Thanet in Kent. Two main roads, the A299 and A256 meet here and connect Thanet to the rest of the country.
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