B2005

The B2005 is a local road in and around Sittingbourne.

Route

The B2005, Saffron Way, Sittingbourne

It currently starts on the B2006 north of the town centre and heads north to bypass Milton Regis. It crosses the Sittingbourne - Sheerness branch line at Kemsley Station and then ends at a GSJ with the A249.

History

The original line of the B2005 started on the A2 west of Sittingbourne and ran on Chalkwell Road and Church Road through the centre of Milton Regis, then followed the current route into Iwade, ending on the original A249 in the village.

It was re-routed along Swale Way (Sittingbourne Northern Relief Road) after its completion in 2011. The final 0.9 mile single carriageway section from Ridham Avenue (Kemsley Paper Mill) to Castle Road was to open to traffic on 19 December 2011 to complete the project. The official opening by Ben Stokes and Sylvia Bennett, Mayor and Mayoress of Swale, was reported by the 15 December 2011 Commercial Motor. Contractor was Jackson Civil Engineering, forecast cost £35.5 million. The extension to A2 at Bapchild had been put on hold.

Future

When the Sittingbourne Northern Relief Road is completed round to the A2 (as of 2011 it ran from the A249 to East Hall), it is expected that the B2005 will run on this road instead. Some maps show it already follows part of this road and then returns to the B2006 through Murston; other maps give the road both routes.