The A2 highway widening project in Kent, UK, has improved road safety, reduced congestion, boosted the regional economy and mitigated the potential impacts on sensitive species.

Project Introduction
The A2 highway between the Pepperhill and Cobham junctions in Kent, UK, has been partially relocated and widened. The section of highway is 7km long and carries over 110,000 vehicles per day. The old stretch of highway was severely congested during peak hours, suffered frequent accidents and ran close to the town of Gravesend, significantly disrupting local residents. Congestion was forecast to worsen as traffic volumes continue to increase and as the Kent Thameside regeneration project progresses.

Skanska is carrying out the US$ 242 million project for the Highways Agency, and is scheduled for completion in early spring 2009. The project was implemented as a Highways Agency Early Contractor Involvement initiative. Skanska was involved in the planning, design and management of the entire project, which has involved widening the highway from three to four lanes in both directions as part of a strategy to provide a consistent standard of highway from the M25 to the M2 in Kent. The existing A2 route between Pepperhill and Marling Cross has been relocated south away from Gravesend, adjacent to the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, and the stretch between Marling Cross and Cobham has been widened. The redundant stretch of highway close to Gravesend has been landscaped to provide a green corridor.

The area is of archaeological interest and the adjacent Shorne and Ashenbank Woods, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, is home to protected and endangered species, such as badgers and great crested newts. As a major transport route linking London with Dover and Continental Europe, the project could have had serious economic consequences if not properly managed.

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