24-680: The Sheppey Crossing is a bridge which carries the A249 road across the Swale (a tidal strait of the Thames Estuary ), linking the Isle of Sheppey with the mainland of Kent . The four-lane crossing measures 21.5 m (71 feet) in width, at a height of 35 m (115 feet) over the water. The A249 links the M20 and M2 motorways to Sheppey. The bridge opened in 2006, and it provides an alternative highway to
48-411: A new fixed crossing over the Swale . The existing lifting Kingsferry Bridge was retained as an alternative route. On 5 September 2013, more than 100 vehicles were involved in an accident on the crossing. The A249 begins close to Maidstone town centre, heading eastwards from the southbound A229 Lower Stone Street along first Mote Road and then along Wat Tyler Way . Due to Maidstone's one-way system,
72-442: A prehistoric henge was discovered during the development of new homes. It is believed to date from around 6000BC and is 30 metres (98 ft) in diameter. Iwade has a village hall and a public house (The Woolpack). The village church is dedicated to All Saints and was established around the 13th century. It was restored in 1874, with a south porch being added in 1893. The church has been a Grade I listed building since 1967. It
96-479: A road accident in 2000 whilst attempting to cross the busy road in the absence of such a bridge. Immediately after the footbridge, the carriageways diverge, with the northbound carriageway taking a higher route up the hill and the southbound carriageway taking a separate lower route that includes a chicane at the bottom of the steep hill. After Detling Hill, the road becomes known as the Maidstone road and passes
120-462: Is a village and civil parish 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the town of Sittingbourne in the English county of Kent . Iwade was established in the late Medieval period, when it was a settlement linking Watling Street to the coast via Key Street (a street towards a Quay). A moated dwelling is believed to have existed here during the 13th to 15th centuries. According to Edward Hasted , in 1798
144-547: Is within the diocese of Canterbury , and deanery of Sittingbourne. The Sittingbourne Speedway track is close to Iwade. It offers speedway training facilities for riders, and has been the base of the speedway team Sittingbourne Crusaders who raced in the Conference League . To the north of the village is a Grade II listed Heavy Anti-aircraft gunsite used in World War II . It is one of only nine such sites in
168-560: The Kent County Showground (on the left) and White Horse Wood (on the right). Further on, the road passes a large lay-by on the northbound carriageway, which was closed in 2005 after local residents complained that it was a haunt of doggers . The road passes the village of Stockbury (on the left) and then arrives at a junction with the M2 . From there, the route used to carry on as a single carriageway towards Sheppey on
192-540: The Sittingbourne Road, which crosses over the railway line between Maidstone and Bearsted . After passing Vinters Park, it reaches the north end of the town at the Chiltern Hundreds roundabout (named after the adjacent pub ). This old route between Maidstone and Sittingbourne is broken, as the old Sittingbourne Road has become a park and ride facility. This break occurred during the 1990s, as
216-579: The A249 becomes the A250 on Bridge Road. In 2020, Kent County Council installed mobile CCTV cameras along the A249 in anticipation of HGV backlogs due to Brexit . From September 2021, National Highways are carrying out improvements to J5 of the M2 at Stockbury, which will involve the construction of a new flyover of the roundabout for A249 traffic heading through the junction, and new slip-road connections between
240-555: The A249 between the M2 and the port of Sheerness. The Kingsferry Bridge, which previously carried the A249, suffers from two major drawbacks: Before its opening, it was estimated that 26,000 vehicles a day would use the new crossing. A tunnel, as an alternative crossing, was advocated by the Council for the Protection of Rural England and others, on landscape and safety grounds. This was rejected primarily on environmental grounds,
264-554: The M2 and the A249. Works to realign the slip roads leading from the A249 to the eastbound carriageway of the M2 were completed in January 2023. New local road links are also being built as part of the scheme. The entire scheme is now scheduled for completion in early summer 2024. Download coordinates as: 51°20′33″N 0°41′13″E / 51.3426°N 0.6869°E / 51.3426; 0.6869 ( A249 road ) Iwade Iwade / ˈ aɪ ˌ w eɪ d /
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#1732775867845288-542: The Swale; non-motorised traffic still uses the old route and rejoins the A249 on the island. On the Isle of Sheppey, the road follows a new dual carriageway built in conjunction with the new bridge as far as Queenborough . Then it returns to a single carriageway along Brielle Way into Sheerness , past Blue Town (on the left), before ending at a roundabout near the seaport and former passenger ferry port in Sheerness. There,
312-665: The east. Past the A2, the route continues across the flat plains of Swale , past Bobbing (to the west), Kemsley and Milton Regis (to the east). As it approaches Swale railway station on the southern banks of the Swale , the road becomes the Sheppey Way, which crosses the Swale via the Sheppey Crossing , opened in 2006, having previously used the Kingsferry Bridge , which lifts to allow ships to pass along
336-612: The exit of the motorway roundabout. From this point onwards, the route becomes primary . The road then climbs up onto the North Downs via Detling Hill , past the village of Detling and crossing the Pilgrim's Way and North Downs Way (between Boxley and Thurnham ). Just after the M20 junction, where it meets Pilgrim's Way, there is a footbridge called Jade's Crossing , named after a schoolgirl who died along with her grandmother in
360-418: The manor of Warde (Iwade) was within the hundred of Teynham . It had sixteen houses, and about 60 or 70 inhabitants. The village lies on the former route of the A249 road , a major road from Maidstone to the Isle of Sheppey . A bypass was constructed in 1992, and improved again in 2006 during construction of the Sheppey Crossing . Iwade is the nearest settlement to Swale railway station . In 2014,
384-401: The morning of 5 September 2013, more than 130 vehicles were involved in a series of shunt crashes on the southbound carriageway of the crossing, which at the time was covered in heavy fog. Emergency services were called to the crossing at around 07:15 BST according to Kent Police , and the bridge was subsequently closed for nine hours. Inappropriate driving in conditions of very poor visibility
408-410: The neighbouring Kingsferry Bridge that was completed in 1959. The Sheppey Crossing is not open to pedestrians, bicycles, or horses, and these continue to use the older bridge, as does the railway line to Sheerness . Both bridges are monitored by an automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system to detect lawbreaking vehicles. The bridge was constructed as part of a £100 million plan to improve
432-460: The old Maidstone Road. However, in the mid-1990s, a new, dualled Maidstone Road running parallel but slightly to the west was completed, running under the M2 viaduct. The route then passes the hamlets of Danaway and Chestnut Street . The next junction on the A249 comes where it goes under the A2 , with exits to a roundabout above that leads to Newington and Rainham to the west or to Sittingbourne to
456-544: The result of works to widen and upgrade the former A20(M) Maidstone Bypass section of the M20 to remove a bottleneck on the newly completed motorway. Instead of that old course, the route now turns east onto the Bearsted Road towards Grove Green , becoming a dual carriageway, before turning north again just before Newnham Court Farm. There, the route crosses the M20, rejoining the Sittingbourne Road at
480-445: The site being within and near Special Protection Areas . The bridge was designed by Cass Hayward and Capita Symonds , and won the 2007 IStructE Award for Transportation Structures. Around 10,000 tonnes of steel was used in construction, which was carried out by Carillion under a private finance initiative contract. Construction was difficult because many of the bridge's piers had to be built on marshland . A jacking mechanism
504-583: The westbound carriageway extends for a short way along Knightrider Street (towards the Archbishop's Palace, Maidstone ) but then ends where it meets the northbound carriageway of the A229. At the top of Wat Tyler Way, where that road meets King Street, the A249 occupies a small gyratory system that joins the A20 (heading east to Ashford ). From there, the A249 heads north on Albion Place. This very quickly becomes
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#1732775867845528-545: Was airlifted to King's College Hospital , London. The crossing was closed on 9 February 2020 over safety concerns during Storm Ciara . A249 road The A249 is a road in Kent , England, running from Maidstone to Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey . It mainly functions as a link between the M2 and M20 motorways, and for goods vehicle traffic to the port at Sheerness. In 2006, an upgraded dual carriageway section opened between Iwade and Queenborough , including
552-504: Was employed to move the sections of roadway into position from each end of the bridge, with the final two sections of deck lifted into place during November 2005. The bridge was opened on 3 July 2006, by the Minister of Transport , Stephen Ladyman . A competition held to name the new bridge was won by lifelong Sheppey resident Reginald Grimwade, who was then invited to attend the opening ceremony and presented with an award by Ladyman. On
576-484: Was suggested as the cause. There were eight serious injuries and 60 minor injuries, but no life-threatening injuries or deaths. Following the incident, questions were raised over the safety of the unlit bridge, with calls for speed restrictions and overhead lights. The AA suggested matrix warning signs "as a minimum". The crossing was closed both ways on 1 July 2014 following the first fatal accident. A mother and her 8-year-old son died. Her 7-year-old son survived, but
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