M20 motorway
Length	50.6 miles 81.4 km
Direction	Northwest - Southeast
Start	Swanley
Primary destinations	Maidstone Ashford Channel Tunnel
End	Folkestone
Construction dates	1960 - 1991
Motorways joined	1 - M25 motorway 3 - M26 motorway

The M20 motorway is a major road in England. The motorway runs from London to Folkestone in Kent and is 52 miles long. Image File history File links UK_motorway_M20. ... Swanley is two separate places - a town and a village. ... The colour scheme used to denote a primary route. ... Maidstone is the county town of Kent, in southeast England, about 30 miles from London. ... Ashford is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, United Kingdom. ... Channel Tunnel. ... Map sources for Folkestone at grid reference TR2236 Folkestone is a coastal resort town in the Shepway district of Kent, England. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1991 (MCMXCI in Roman) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links UK_motorway_M25. ... The M25 motorway looking south between junctions 14 and 15, near Heathrow Airport. ... Image File history File links UK_motorway_M26. ... The M26 motorway is a motorway in Kent, England. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK... Motorway mark in Europe. ... For other uses, see London (disambiguation). ... Map sources for Folkestone at grid reference TR2236 Folkestone is a coastal resort town in the Shepway district of Kent, England. ... Kent is a county in England, south-east of London. ...

Route of the M20

The road starts at its junction with the M25 motorway and A20 road just east of Swanley, then continues south east, past Maidstone and Ashford on its way to Folkestone. The Channel Tunnel terminal is connected to junctions 11a and 12 of the motorway. Access is given to roads leading to the Medway Towns, Canterbury and Tonbridge. The M25 motorway looking south between junctions 14 and 15, near Heathrow Airport. ... The A20 is a two-digit major road in south-east England, carrying traffic from London to Dover in Kent. ... Swanley is two separate places - a town and a village. ... Maidstone is the county town of Kent, in southeast England, about 30 miles from London. ... Ashford is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, United Kingdom. ... Channel Tunnel. ...

List of Junctions

The A20 is a two-digit major road in south-east England, carrying traffic from London to Dover in Kent. ... For other uses, see London (disambiguation). ... The Dartford Crossing joins Dartford and Thurrock across the River Thames. ... The M25 motorway looking south between junctions 14 and 15, near Heathrow Airport. ... The M25 motorway looking south between junctions 14 and 15, near Heathrow Airport. ... Paddock Wood is a large village in Kent, England, about eight miles SE of Maidstone. ... Wrotham is a village situated on the Pilgrims Way in Kent, at the foot of the North Downs. ... The A20 is a two-digit major road in south-east England, carrying traffic from London to Dover in Kent. ... Gravesend is a town in North-West Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. ... Tonbridge is a market town in the English county of Kent, with a population of 31,600 in 2001. ... Gatwick Airport (IATA Airport Code: LGW, ICAO Airport Code: EGKK) is Londons second airport and the second largest airport in the UK after Heathrow. ... The M23 motorway is a major road in England. ... London Heathrow Airport (IATA airport code: LHR, ICAO airport code: EGLL, and often simply Heathrow) is the United Kingdoms busiest and best-connected airport. ... The M4 motorway is a motorway in the UK, which links London and west Wales via Bristol. ... The M26 motorway is a motorway in Kent, England. ... The M25 motorway looking south between junctions 14 and 15, near Heathrow Airport. ... West Malling is an historic village in Kent, England. ... Rochester is a small town in Kent, at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway about 30 miles (50 km) from London. ... The A20 is a two-digit major road in south-east England, carrying traffic from London to Dover in Kent. ... Maidstone is the county town of Kent, in southeast England, about 30 miles from London. ... The A20 is a two-digit major road in south-east England, carrying traffic from London to Dover in Kent. ... Chatham is an English town that developed around an important naval dockyard on the east bank of the River Medway in the county of Kent. ... The A229 is a major road running through the centre of Kent. ... The A229 is a major road running through the centre of Kent. ... Sittingbourne is an industrial town about eight miles (12. ... Map sources for Sheerness at grid reference TQ919749 Sheerness is a town on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, England. ... Ramsgate is an English seaside town on the Isle of Thanet in East Kent. ... The A20 is a two-digit major road in south-east England, carrying traffic from London to Dover in Kent. ... The A20 is a two-digit major road in south-east England, carrying traffic from London to Dover in Kent. ... There are several places named Ashford: In Australia: Ashford, a place in the state of New South Wales. ... The A20 is a two-digit major road in south-east England, carrying traffic from London to Dover in Kent. ... Tenterden is a small town in the Weald of Kent, England. ... Canterbury is a cathedral city in the City of Canterbury district of Kent in South East England. ... The A28 is a major road in England. ... Faversham is a town in Kent, England, in the district of Swale, roughly halfway between Sittingbourne and Canterbury. ... The A20 is a two-digit major road in south-east England, carrying traffic from London to Dover in Kent. ... The A28 is a major road in England. ... For other uses, see Hastings (disambiguation). ... Channel Tunnel. ... The A20 is a two-digit major road in south-east England, carrying traffic from London to Dover in Kent. ... The A20 is a two-digit major road in south-east England, carrying traffic from London to Dover in Kent. ... Map sources for Folkestone at grid reference TR2236 Folkestone is a coastal resort town in the Shepway district of Kent, England. ... The A20 is a two-digit major road in south-east England, carrying traffic from London to Dover in Kent. ... The A20 is a two-digit major road in south-east England, carrying traffic from London to Dover in Kent. ... The A20 is a two-digit major road in south-east England, carrying traffic from London to Dover in Kent. ... Map sources for Dover at grid reference TR315415 Arms of Dover Borough Council This article is about the English port town. ...

History

The first section of the M20 opened in 1960 when the Maidstone by-pass (the stretch between present day J5-J8) was opened. This road was then known as the A20(M) as it bypassed the stretch of A20 through Maidstone which was renumbered A2020. When the motorway was extended westwards towards London in the 1970s, it was renamed M20 and the A2020 reverted back to A20. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ...

In the 1980s the motorway between Ashford and Folkestone (J9-13) was built, but by 1981 the M20 was in 2 pieces separated by a 14 mile gap between Junctions 8 and 9. Motorists had to use the A20 for this part of their journey. Filling in the gap, known locally as "The Missing Link" took another 10 years - it was only when the Channel Tunnel was given the go-ahead that it was decided to complete the M20 allowing motorists to drive from London directly into the terminal. A new junction, 11a, was added to allow access to the Tunnel. The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ... Channel Tunnel. ...

In the early 1990s the stretch of M20 around Maidstone and the junctions there were revamped to allow for more traffic and to ease congestion, as this was a busy stretch of road. The motorway's first (and currently only) service station is at J8 outside Maidstone. The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive. ...

There are currently plans to alter the layout of Junction 10, as it has become a serious bottleneck at peak times. The junction will either be heavily redesigned, or a second junction (10a) will be constructed a short distance southbound to cope with the expected traffic that the continued house building in Ashford will generate.

Since the opening of the Channel Tunnel the road between junctions 11 and 12 are occasionally used for the implementation of Operation Stack, should the ferries or Channel Tunnel stop running. This closes the motorway between the two junctions and uses the area as a lorry park until the ferries and Channel Tunnel are fully running again. This system is controversial and is currently under scrutiny, with plans to use contraflow systems being looked at. Operation Stack also recently resulted in Junctions 8 - 9 being used, and the speed limit being reduced to 40mph. This was seen by many motorists as an excuse to use speed cameras as a revenue collecting device. Operation Stack is the codename used by Kent Police to refer to the method of using sections of the M20 motorway to park lorries when the channel ports are blocked by bad weather or strike action (usually by militant French port workers). ... Contraflow lane reversal is a program designed for quick evacuation. ...

See also: List of motorways in the United Kingdom A complete listing of motorways in the United Kingdom. ...

External link

CBRD Motorway Database - M20

	Motorways of the United Kingdom	edit
Great Britain: M1 - M10 - M11 - M18 - M180 - M181 - M2 - M20 - M23 - M25 - M26 - M27 - M271 - M275 - M3 - M32 - M4 - M40 - M42 - M45 - M48 - M49 - M5 - M50 - M53 - M54 - M55 - M56 - M57 - M58 - M6 - M6 Toll - M60 - M61 - M62 - M65 - M66 - M67 - M69 - M602 - M606 - M621 - M73 - M74 - M77 - M8 - M80 - M876 - M898 - M9 - M90
Northern Ireland: M1 - M2 - M3 - M5 - M12 - M22
A-roads with motorway restrictions
Great Britain: A1(M) - A167(M) - A194(M) - A3(M) - A38(M) - A308(M) - A329(M) - A48(M) - A404(M) - A57(M) - A58(M) - A64(M) - A66(M) - A601(M) - A627(M) - A6144(M) - A74(M) - A823(M)
Northern Ireland: A8(M)
List of motorways in the United Kingdom