A22 road

Summary

The A22 is one of the two-digit major roads in the south east of England. Radial, it carries traffic from London to the Eastbourne area of the East Sussex coast, in which town it ends.

A22 shield
A22
A22 road, near Eastbourne.jpg
A22 near Eastbourne in East Sussex.
Route information
Length48.3 mi[1] (77.7 km)
Major junctions
South end A2280 / A2290 in Eastbourne
50°47′06″N 0°16′26″E / 50.785°N 0.274°E / 50.785; 0.274
Major intersections A27 near Polegate

A26 near Uckfield
A272 near Maresfield
A264 in East Grinstead

M25 in Godstone
North end A23 / A235 in London (Purley)
51°20′15″N 0°07′00″W / 51.3375°N 0.1166°W / 51.3375; -0.1166
Location
CountryUnited Kingdom
CountiesEast Sussex, West Sussex, Surrey, Greater London
Primary
destinations
Croydon
East Grinstead
Road network
A21 A23

History edit

Turnpikes edit

For part of its route the A22 utilises the turnpikes opened in the 18th century:

By 1820 the road ran for 34 miles (54 km) from Stones End Street, Borough, London to Wych Cross.

Extension to Westminster Bridge edit

The road was extended north to Westminster Bridge which was later renamed the A23.

Route edit

The A22 diverges from the A23 south of London at Purley Cross Junction (south of Purley). It runs over the North Downs into Surrey, crossing the M25 London Orbital Motorway just north of Godstone. This section incorporates the Caterham bypass, which opened in 1939 as one of the earliest such roads in the country, including the Wapses Lodge roundabout at the northern end.[2] It then travels along the route of an ancient Roman road.

To the south of the M25, the road briefly enters West Sussex at Felbridge, just to the north of East Grinstead, and the A264 between Crawley and Tunbridge Wells merges with the A22 for a short section. The A22 bypasses East Grinstead town centre, running along a disused railway cutting, part of a line which closed as a consequence of the Beeching Report, which cut large numbers of local rail services. Richard Beeching was a local resident, and as a result, some local residents wanted to call this section the "Beeching Cut".[3] Instead, it was named Beeching Way.

To the south of East Grinstead the A22 crosses into East Sussex, just north of Forest Row. Between Forest Row and Nutley the road crosses the ancient Ashdown Forest. The A22 is the only road through the forest not subject to 40 mph speed limits. The A275 branches south to Lewes at the Wych Cross junction. Both the A272 and the A26 cross the A22 between Nutley and Uckfield. The A26 merges with the A22 for the section round Uckfield. There are bypasses of East Hoathly and Hailsham. There is a junction with the A27, to the north of the end of the A22, in Eastbourne.

Junction list edit

A22 edit

CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
East SussexEastbourne0.00.0Lottbridge Drove (A2290 south-east) / Cross Levels Way (A2280 south-west) – Town centre, Hampden ParkSouthern terminus; north-western terminus of A2290; north-eastern terminus of A2280
PolegateWestham boundary2.13.4   A27 east to A259 – Hastings, BexhillSouthern terminus of A27 concurrency
Polegate3.86.1  A27 west (Polegate By-Pass) / Hailsham Road (B2247) – Brighton, Newhaven, Lewes, Polegate, Alfriston, WillingdonNorthern terminus of A27 concurrency
ArlingtonHailsham boundary5.69.0  A295 north-east (South Road) – HailshamSouth-western terminus of A295
Hellingly7.512.1   A267 north / A271 east – Heathfield, Bexhill, Hor-am, HorsebridgeSouthern terminus of A267; western terminus of A271
Little Horstead–Uckfield boundary16.025.7  A26 south-west / Lewes Road – Lewes, Brighton, NewhavenSouthern terminus of A26 concurrency
MaresfieldUckfield boundary18.930.4   A26 north-east / A272 east – Crowborough, Tunbridge Wells, Heathfield, Maresfield, BuxtedNorthern terminus of A26 concurrency; southern terminus of A272 concurrency
Maresfield19.631.5  A272 west / Batts Bridge Road – Haywards Heath, Maresfield, NewickNorthern terminus of A272 concurrency
Wych Cross25.741.4  A275 south (Lewes Road) – Lewes, Chelwood Gate, DanehillNorthern terminus of A275
West SussexEast Grinstead31.650.9  A264 east (Moat Road) – Tunbridge WellsSouthern terminus of A264 concurrency
SurreyFelbridge32.852.8    A264 west (Copthorne Road) to M23 – Crawley, Gatwick AirportNorthern terminus of A264 concurrency
Godstone40.965.8  A25 (Oxted Road) – Westerham, Redhill, Oxted, GodstoneGodstone signed northbound only
41.7–
41.9
67.1–
67.4
   M25 / B2235 (Godstone Hill) to M23 – Gatwick Airport, Reigate, Sevenoaks, Dartford, GodstoneM25 junction 6
Greater LondonPurley48.077.2  A2022 east (Downs Court Road) – Selsdon, SandersteadSouthern terminus of A2022 concurrency
48.377.7    A23 / A235 north to M25 – Brighton, Gatwick Airport, Central London, Croydon, South CroydonNorthern terminus; southern terminus of A235
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Gallery edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Eastbourne BN23 6PT, UK to Godstone, United Kingdom to Purley CR8 2HA, UK". Google Maps. Alphabet Inc. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Wapses Lodge Roundabout – A local history article by Ruth Sear". The Caterham and District Independent. 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  3. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/wear/content/articles/2008/10/24/wear_beeching_feature.shtml Beeching Cut