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 The A23 near Patcham, East Sussex. | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Length | 51.2 mi[1] (82.4 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  A259 inBrighton50°49′48″N0°08′17″W / 50.830°N 0.138°W /50.830; -0.138 | |||
| Major intersections |  A27 inBrighton
 A202 inKennington | |||
| North end |  A3 inLondon (Waterloo)51°29′53″N0°06′43″W / 51.498°N 0.112°W /51.498; -0.112 | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United Kingdom | |||
| Counties | East Sussex,West Sussex,Surrey,Greater London | |||
| Primary destinations | Croydon Redhill Reigate Gatwick Airport Crawley | |||
| Road network | ||||
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TheA23 road is a majorroad in theUnited Kingdom betweenLondon andBrighton,East Sussex, England. It is managed byTransport for London for the section inside theGreater London boundary,Surrey County Council andWest Sussex County Council for the section shadowed by theM23 motorway,National Highways (as atrunk road) between the M23 andPatcham, and byBrighton and Hove Council from theA27 road to the centre of Brighton.
The road has been a major route for centuries, seeing numerous upgrades, bypasses and diversions.
The A23 begins nearLambeth North tube station. Formerly, it started asWestminster Bridge Road nearWaterloo station, but this is now part of the A302. Almost immediately it turns south; the straightness of much of the heading south shows its Roman origins.
The road becomes:
What is now the A23 became an arterial route following the construction ofWestminster Bridge in 1750 and the consequent improvement of roads leading to the bridge south of the river by theturnpike trusts. The increase in population of Brighton in the late eighteenth century, which transformed it from asmall fishing village to a large seaside resort, enhanced the importance of this road, as did the residence there ofGeorge IV, as Prince of Wales, who made Brighton a place of fashion.
When roads were originally classified in 1923, the northern terminus of the A23 was at Purley.[3] The road north of this section, includingPurley Way, which opened to traffic in April 1925,[4] was part of theA22 (which ran from central London to Eastbourne).[3] The current route north to Westminster Bridge dates from April 1935.[5]
The A23 in London has frequently been one of the city's most congested roads.[6][7] TheM23 motorway was originally proposed to run as far north asStreatham, relieving congestion on the route, but the section north of Hooley was never built. At junction 7 of theM23 motorway, signs for the northbound M23 (which terminates a few miles to the north) simply read "Croydon" with no other London destinations marked.
In July 2000, control of the section of road inside theGreater London boundary was transferred from theHighways Agency toTransport for London.[8] This caused delays to a planned relief road ofCoulsdon, which had been announced in 1998. The then mayor,Ken Livingstone apologised in 2002 that TfL was unable to construct the relief road due to a lack of funds.[9] The road was eventually completed in 2007, and which under TfL's ownership had acquired a bus lane that suffered ridicule for not having any buses actually running on it.[10]
On 18 March 2010, plans to widen the section between Handcross and Warninglid in West Sussex to three lanes, removing an accident prone bend, were given the go ahead. Work started in autumn 2011[11][12] and the scheme was completed and opened in October 2014, with a better-than-expected improvement to safety.[13]
The 53-mile (85 km) road from London to Brighton forms the basis of the route of the annualLondon to Brighton Veteran Car Run. This is featured in the filmGenevieve, although most of the rural motoring scenes were shot inBuckinghamshire. The A23 is also used for various otherLondon to Brighton events, although in many cases part of the route diverges to parallel roads to reduce congestion or add variety.
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Sussex | Brighton | 0.0 | 0.0 | A259 (Marine Parade / Grand Junction Road) / Maderia Drive –Rottingdean | Southern terminus |
| 0.7 | 1.1 | Lewes Road (A270 east) toA27 –Lewes | Western terminus of A270 | ||
| 0.8 | 1.3 |  A270 west (Fleet Street) –Hove | Information signed northbound only; northern terminus of A270 concurrency | ||
| 1.1 | 1.8 | A270 west (Old Shoreham Road) –Hove | |||
| 3.8– 4.2 | 6.1– 6.8 | A27 –Worthing,Lewes | |||
| West Sussex | Pyecombe | 5.5 | 8.9 | Begin freeway | |
| 5.5– 6.3 | 8.9– 10.1 |   A273 north toA281 –Hassocks,Pyecombe,Henfield,Newtimber | To A281, Henfield, and Newtimber signed southbound only; southern terminus of A273 | ||
| 6.7 | 10.8 | A281 north-west –Henfield | No southbound exit; south-eastern terminus of A281 | ||
| Newtimber | 7.1– 7.3 | 11.4– 11.7 | Private access | ||
| 7.6 | 12.2 | Private access | Southbound exit and entrance only | ||
| Newtimber–Hurstpierpoint and Sayers Common boundary | 8.0– 8.2 | 12.9– 13.2 | B2117 to B2118 –Hurstpierpoint,Albourne,Sayers Common,Hickstead | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | |
| Hurstpierpoint and Sayers Common | 10.8 | 17.4 | B2118 –Hurstpierpoint,Albourne,Henfield,Sayers Common | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | |
| Twineham–Bolney boundary | 11.3– 12.3 | 18.2– 19.8 |  A2300 east –Burgess Hill,Goddards Green,Twineham,Hickstead Village | Goddards Green signed northbound only; western terminus of A2300 | |
| Bolney | 12.7– 13.2 | 20.4– 21.2 |  A272 toA2300 –Petersfield,Haywards Heath,Cuckfield,Burgess Hill,Bolney,Ansty,Cowfold | To A2300, Cuckfield, Burgess Hill, and Bolney signed northbound only | |
| 14.0 | 22.5 | Bolney | Southbound exit only | ||
| 14.1– 14.8 | 22.7– 23.8 | Services | Northbound exit and entrance | ||
| Ansty and Staplefield | 15.1– 15.4 | 24.3– 24.8 | B2115 to B2114 –Warninglid,Slaugham,Cuckfield,Staplefield | ||
| Slaugham | 17.2– 17.5 | 27.7– 28.2 | B2110 –Handcross,Lower Beeding | No southbound exit | |
| 18.9 | 30.4 | B2114 to B2110 –Handcross | Southbound exit only | ||
| Crawley | 19.7– 20.0 | 31.7– 32.2 |    M23 north /A264 / B2114 toM25 –Horsham,Broadfield,Pease Pottage,London | To M25, London, Gatwick, and East Grinstead signed southbound only; southern terminus of M23 | |
| 20.0 | 32.2 | End freeway | |||
| 20.9 | 33.6 |  A2004 north-east (Southgate Avenue) –Town centre,Southgate,Tilgate | South-western terminus of A2004 | ||
| 21.5 | 34.6 |  A2220 (Horsham Road) toA264 –Town centre,Horsham,Southgate,West Green,Broadfield,Bewbush,Faygate | |||
| 23.4 | 37.7 |   A2011 east /A2219 south / Langley Drive toA264 /M23 –Town centre,East Grinstead,London,Langley Green,Northgate,Pound Hill,Three Bridges | Western terminus of A2011; northern terminus of A2219 | ||
| 26.8 | 43.1 | M23 –East Grinstead | Southbound exit only | ||
| 26.9– 27.1 | 43.3– 43.6 | Gatwick Airport toM23 | Northbound exit and entrance | ||
| Surrey | Charlwood | 27.4 | 44.1 |  A217 north / Povey Cross Road –London,Reigate,Charlwood | Southern terminus of A217 |
| Salfords and Sidlow | 30.5 | 49.1 |  A2044 north-west (Woodhatch Road) toA217 –Woodhatch,Reigate | Information signed northbound only; south-eastern terminus of A2044 | |
| Redhill | 32.6– 33.0 | 52.5– 53.1 |  A25 west –Reigate | Part of A25 concurrency | |
| 32.8 | 52.8 | A25 east (Station Road) –Godstone | Part of A25 concurrency | ||
| 33.8 | 54.4 |  A242 south-west (Gatton Park Road) toA25 –Reigate,Dorking | North-eastern terminus of A242 | ||
| Reigate and Banstead | 36.1 | 58.1 |  M23 south toM25 –Gatwick Airport,Brighton,Heathrow Airport,Dartford | Southbound exit and northbound entrance; northern terminus of M23 | |
| Greater London | Croydon | 38.3 | 61.6 |  A237 north (Brighton Road) to B2030 –Sutton,Coulsdon,Old Coulsdon,Caterham | Only A237 and Coulsdon signed southbound; southern terminus of A237 |
| 38.9 | 62.6 | Caterham,Old Coulsdon | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
| 40.5 | 65.2 |    A22 south (Godstone Road) /A235 north (Brighton Road) /A2022 east –East Grinstead,Kenley,Sanderstead,South Croydon | Direct access to A235 and South Croydon northbound only; southern terminus of A2022 concurrency; northern terminus of A22; southern terminus of A235 | ||
| 40.6 | 65.3 | A2022 west (Foxley Lane) –Banstead,Woodcote | Northbound access only; northern terminus of A2022 concurrency | ||
| 42.5– 42.7 | 68.4– 68.7 |  A232 east / B271 (Stafford Road) / B275 (Denning Avenue) –Croydon,Wallington,South Croydon | A232 and Croydon signed northbound only; southern terminus of A232 concurrency | ||
| 42.7 | 68.7 | A232 west (Croydon Road) –Sutton,Wallington | Information signed northbound only; northern terminus of A232 concurrency | ||
| 44.0 | 70.8 |  A236 (Mitcham Road) / Canterbury Road –Croydon,Wimbledon,Mitcham | |||
| 44.7 | 71.9 | A235 south (London Road) to B266 –Croydon,Selhurst,Thornton Heath | Northern terminus of A235 | ||
| Lambeth | 46.9 | 75.5 |  A214 east (Streatham Common North) –Crystal Palace, Norwood | Southern terminus of A214 concurrency | |
| 47.2 | 76.0 | A214 west / B242 south-west –Clapham Junction,Wimbledon,Tooting,Balham | Northern terminus of A214; information signed northbound only | ||
| 47.3 | 76.1 |  A216 south-west toA214 –Mitcham,Wimbledon,Sutton | Information signed southbound only; north-eastern terminus of A216 | ||
| 48.5 | 78.1 |      A205 (South Circular) /A24 /A3 /A21 /A20 /A2 –Clapham Junction,Lewisham,Bromley,Tulse Hill | |||
| 49.5– 49.7 | 79.7– 80.0 |  A204 south (Effra Road) –Herne Hill | No access from A23 north to A204 south; northern terminus of A204 | ||
| 49.7 | 80.0 |  A2217 (Acre Lane / Coldharbour Lane) –Camberwell Green | No access from A23 south to A2217 | ||
| 49.9 | 80.3 |  A203 north-west –West End of London,Vauxhall,Stockwell | No access from A23 south to A203; south-eastern terminus of A203 | ||
| 51.1 | 82.2 | A202 west –West End of LondonA202 east toA2 /A20 –Peckham,Camberwell Green | No access from A23 north to A202 east, or from A23 south to A202 west | ||
| 51.2 | 82.4 | A3 north –City of London | Northern terminus; no access from A23 north to A3 south | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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That monitoring exercise was carried out in the very heart of Streatham, at St. Leonard's junction, on the A23 London to Brighton road, one of London's busiest and most congested thoroughfares
A roads in Zone 2 of theGreat Britain road numbering scheme | ||
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