A2 Wincheap Junction

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roadtester
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A2 Wincheap Junction

Post by roadtester »

I see from the "Road Schemes" section of CBRD that this is planned to get a fourth sliproad at last. Apparently it was originally built so that traffic could enter the A2 going north/westbound or enter it going south/eastbound, with a third sliproad being built later (opening 2011 according to CBRD). The final planned fourth sliproad will allow south/eastbound traffic to leave the A2.

http://www.cbrd.co.uk/index.php/road-sc ... p-junction

I only encountered the limitations of this junction for the first time earlier this year - I was doing a short trip to the continent via Dover and I was looking for the cheapest place along the A2/M2 route to put in a bit of fuel just to be on the safe side. According to petrolprices.com this was the Morrisons next to Wincheap Junction. I stuck the postcode into my satnav and I was slightly puzzled to see that this came up with what looked like a very indirect routing that involved leaving the A2 much further back, going into Canterbury, following the ring road and then out again towards the A2. I put this down to some sort of prat-nav gremlin and assumed I could turn off at Wincheap, so just carried on on the A2 instead. Of course, I never got my cheap Morrisons diesel because of that missing fourth sliproad.

Interesting to see from CBRD that the slip is being funded by a housing developer, which strikes me as a much better use of developer funds than that at-grade roundabout nonsense on the A40 near Witney!

Does anyone know why it was only built with two slips in the first place?
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Re: A2 Wincheap Junction

Post by Peter Freeman »

I suppose the reason's right there, in the 'Wincheap' name … :wink:
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Re: A2 Wincheap Junction

Post by roadtester »

It's certainly cheap, but not necessarily a win!

I'm going to call it Losecheap Junction from now on after the absence of the fourth slip deprived me of my cheap Morrisons diesel.
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Re: A2 Wincheap Junction

Post by Brenley Corner »

I live a few miles from that junction.

It was only built with Dover facing slip roads for one reason and one reason only- money. There was not enough funds in the budget to build a full junction on the Canterbury Bypass; it was the last bypass to designed and built along the A2 in the late 70s (opened in 1980) when the country was fairly broke. It was built with three limited junctions all of which cause issues around the city.

The city council has long term aspirations to provide full movements at all three junctions. The Wincheap junction didn’t gain the London facing on-slip until 2011 and that only happened because Kent County Council stumped up the £1m funds when Highways Agency refused. The new off-slip is rumoured to cost around £8m and will require relocation of the busy Park and Ride.

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Re: A2 Wincheap Junction

Post by roadtester »

Thanks - interesting to hear the background. I'm guessing it would have been cheaper to do it right in the first place, but as you say, the country was on its uppers back then.
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Re: A2 Wincheap Junction

Post by jackal »

The plan is a bit unusual, with the new slip essentially heading into a retail park, requiring a U-turn to get back. This is presumably to avoid overloading the signalized junction with another right turn.

https://cantlibdem.org.uk/en/image/5T1r ... d-plan.png
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Re: A2 Wincheap Junction

Post by Herned »

!

Jammed from the minute it opens?
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Re: A2 Wincheap Junction

Post by roadtester »

jackal wrote: Mon Jun 04, 2018 09:29 The plan is a bit unusual, with the new slip essentially heading into a retail park, requiring a U-turn to get back. This is presumably to avoid overloading the signalized junction with another right turn.

https://cantlibdem.org.uk/en/image/5T1r ... d-plan.png

On the other hand, it does deliver traffic almost directly to the cheap Morrisons filling station I mentioned up-thread!
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Re: A2 Wincheap Junction

Post by frediculous_biggs »

Herned wrote: Mon Jun 04, 2018 10:34 !

Jammed from the minute it opens?
Wincheap is already congested 24/7 so, yes!
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Re: A2 Wincheap Junction

Post by jackal »

frediculous_biggs wrote: Mon Jun 04, 2018 10:42 Wincheap is already congested 24/7 so, yes!
Which is why it's madness to plug in an extra slip IMHO.
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Re: A2 Wincheap Junction

Post by Scratchwood »

The Canterbury bypass, in terms of its junctions is really cheap and nasty, it's as if they want as many people as possible to actually drive through the centre, rather than use the bypass to go to the part of town they're after, then go in...
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Re: A2 Wincheap Junction

Post by Bryn666 »

jackal wrote: Mon Jun 04, 2018 09:29 The plan is a bit unusual, with the new slip essentially heading into a retail park, requiring a U-turn to get back. This is presumably to avoid overloading the signalized junction with another right turn.

https://cantlibdem.org.uk/en/image/5T1r ... d-plan.png
Arguably it is laid out like that so it gets people into the park and ride, rather than driving into the city centre.
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Re: A2 Wincheap Junction

Post by Brenley Corner »

jackal wrote: Mon Jun 04, 2018 09:29 The plan is a bit unusual, with the new slip essentially heading into a retail park, requiring a U-turn to get back. This is presumably to avoid overloading the signalized junction with another right turn.

https://cantlibdem.org.uk/en/image/5T1r ... d-plan.png
Its also to avoid having to widen the river bridge - especially given height difference between the A2 in cutting and the A28 above plus the narrow site.
Scratchwood wrote:The Canterbury bypass, in terms of its junctions is really cheap and nasty, it's as if they want as many people as possible to actually drive through the centre, rather than use the bypass to go to the part of town they're after, then go in...
It the bypass that the Department of Transport (as was) landed us with in 1978-1980; sadly money was tight and the country was broke at the time so I suppose we were lucky to get one at all. Canterbury already had an inner bypass and half ring road so we were bottom of the list anyway. The County and City Council have been lobbying for improvements ever since; even spending their money on the third slip road to get it done.
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Re: A2 Wincheap Junction

Post by Bryn666 »

The funny thing is Canterbury is exactly what a bypass should be - it takes through traffic past with limited junctions.

Access control seems to freak this country out. :lol:
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Re: A2 Wincheap Junction

Post by Brenley Corner »

Bryn666 wrote: Mon Jun 04, 2018 20:40 The funny thing is Canterbury is exactly what a bypass should be - it takes through traffic past with limited junctions.

Access control seems to freak this country out. :lol:
I would normally agree with you but since the bypass came into being the traffic flows have changed. Since the M20 now takes the vast majority of port traffic, the traffic flows south of the northern A2050 exit are low with a significant majority of traffic leaving for Canterbury, likewise there is a flow of traffic commuting into Canterbury from the Channel ports. What there isn't is a heavy flow past the town on the A2; in absolute contrast the city is choked with traffic all day every day - some of which needn't be there (e.g A2 SE to A28 W) or ratruns through inappropriate country lanes due to the missing turns. What the local authorities want to do is to put traffic onto the bypass and out of the city and off the country lanes; in this case it seems a reasonable proposition.

The City and County Council are now also in very early joint exploration of an A28 bypass - from A2 Bridge to the A28 at Sturry - having said for many years there was no need. Local News Article
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Re: A2 Wincheap Junction

Post by jackal »

Bryn666 wrote: Mon Jun 04, 2018 20:40 The funny thing is Canterbury is exactly what a bypass should be - it takes through traffic past with limited junctions.

Access control seems to freak this country out. :lol:
I quite agree. Four sliproads invariably means more traffic and a lot more conflicts than two. Yet for some reason it is the relatively free flowing limited access junctions that are seen as aberrant.
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Re: A2 Wincheap Junction

Post by Ritchie333 »

I've been frequenting this junction quite a bit recently for one reason or another, and it's got semi-permanent roadworks along it. However, these are due to structural failures and the desire to put development access along the A2 W / A28 S arm. The missing sliproad was cancelled in 2019.
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Re: A2 Wincheap Junction

Post by c2R »

Instead of that, though, how about detrunking one of the other sliproads and providing a LILO on it to facilitate development? what could possibly be bad about that:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/202 ... ction/made
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Re: A2 Wincheap Junction

Post by Bryn666 »

c2R wrote: Wed Jun 22, 2022 19:35 Instead of that, though, how about detrunking one of the other sliproads and providing a LILO on it to facilitate development? what could possibly be bad about that:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/202 ... ction/made
NH still thinking their job is to bend over and be a toast rack for developers I see.
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Re: A2 Wincheap Junction

Post by Brenley Corner »

Except that slip road will not just be a LILO. It is being widened and made two way as far as a set of traffic lights about half way down it so that traffic can drive down from the A28 and then do a compulsory right turn into the new estate.
The exit from the A2 has been moved slightly further east to accommodate this change.
The traffic lights on the A28 have also been reconfigured and replaced to accommodate the new entry onto the slip road.

Can’t see any wrong way entries on the A2 at night or when it’s quiet, can you??
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