A278
A278 | ||||
Location Map ( geo) | ||||
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From: | Rainham (TQ796664) | |||
To: | Bredhurst (TQ801628) | |||
Distance: | 2.5 miles (4 km) | |||
Meets: | A2, M2 | |||
Highway Authorities | ||||
Traditional Counties | ||||
Route outline (key) | ||||
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For the original A278, which ran between East Grinstead and Horsham,, see A278 (East Grinstead - Horsham).
The A278 number is used for the A2-M2 link east of the Medway towns, and was built in conjunction with the M2 project, though it opened some years after the motorway. It used to be marked as a trunk road on 1970s maps, but that is not the case nowadays: it's non-primary all the way, albeit a dual-carriageway.
Rainham - Bedhurst
There's very little to say about this road, except to say that it is often choc-a-bloc with folk making use of the Hempstead Valley shopping centre; oh, and it does lead to Gillingham ice rink. It leaves the A2 at a roundabout by the business park, and runs for 3 miles or so to the motorway, bisecting the villages of Hempstead and Wigmore on the way. It ends at M2 J4, a roundabout interchange with only the three roads (A278 and both directions of the motorway) leading off it. And that's about it – though it does share with its close neighbour, the A289, the distinction of being a dual-carriageway throughout its entire length. Not even the A1 can boast that!