A2 road (Great Britain)

A2
A2 heading west towards the M25/A282
Route information
Length:	71.95 mi (115.79 km)
Major junctions
North west end:	Southwark 51°30′04″N 0°05′35″W / 51.5012°N 0.0931°W / 51.5012; -0.0931 (A2 road (western end))
	A3 road A100 road A201 road A2208 road A202 road A20 road A2209 road A2210 road A206 road A2211 road A102 road A207 road A2213 road A205 road A221 road A220 road A223 road A2018 road A282 road M25 motorway A296 road A2260 road A227 road M2 motorway A289 road A228 road A229 road A230 road A231 road A289 road A278 road A249 road A251 road M2 motorway A299 road A2050 road A28 road A2050 road A260 road A256 road A258 road A20 road
South east end:	Dover 51°07′35″N 1°19′38″E / 51.1263°N 1.3271°E / 51.1263; 1.3271 (A2 road (eastern end))
Location
Primary destinations:	Dartford, Rochester, Faversham, Canterbury
Road network
Roads in the United Kingdom Motorways A and B road zones

The A2 is a major road in southern England, connecting London with the English Channel port of Dover in Kent. This route has always been of importance as a connection between the British capital of London and sea trade routes to Continental Europe. It was formerly known as the Dover Road.

Unlike the other single digit A-roads in Great Britain, the A2 does not form a zone boundary (in this case between Zone 1 and Zone 2). The Zone 1/2 boundary is the River Thames.

The route of the current A2 follows a similar route to that of a Romano-British ancient trackway. It was an important route for the Romans linking London with Canterbury and the three Channel ports of Rutupiae (now Richborough), Dubris (now Dover) and Portus Lemanis (in modern Lympne). It had river crossings at Rochester over the River Medway; Dartford (River Darent) and Crayford (River Cray). The Romans paved the road and constructed the first Rochester Bridge across the Medway. Access to London was via London Bridge which was first constructed by the Romans in AD 50. The road was known as 'Item a Londinio ad portum Dubris' and appeared in the Antonine Itinerary, a contemporary map of Roman roads in Britain.