A2 Old Dover Road Traffic: Live Cameras & South-East London Guide | JamCams
Live cameras, peak hour guide, congestion hotspots and route planning tips — updated 2026-03-02.
The A2 is the main road from central London to Dover, the Channel Tunnel and Kent. Within Greater London, it runs from Borough High Street in Southwark through New Cross, Kidbrooke, Eltham and Bexley as the Old Dover Road and then Rochester Way. It carries a significant mix of lorries heading to or from the Channel ports, commuters from South-East London and Kent, and local traffic. The A2 is also notable for its tunnel connections — the Blackwall Tunnel lies just to the north, and A2 traffic frequently diverts via the tunnel during incidents on the M25 Dartford Crossing.
The A2's worst bottleneck in London is the New Cross/Deptford area, where the road narrows and passes through a dense urban environment with numerous junctions and pedestrian crossings. This section backs up from around 07:30 on weekdays. The approach to Blackwall Tunnel from the A2 side is also a consistent congestion point during incidents or tunnel closures — diversions from the Dartford Crossing or M20 can flood the A2 with HGV traffic. The Eltham and Kidbrooke sections are generally freer but still experience regular rush-hour delays.
Morning peak: 07:30–09:30 · Evening peak: 16:30–19:00
Outside these windows, the A2 typically flows much more freely. Saturdays can be busy between 11:00–15:00.
These TfL JamCam feeds cover the A2 across London. Each image updates every 5 minutes — click any camera to see the full live feed and nearby cameras.
Showing 8 of 22 A2 cameras. Browse all cameras →
Typical congestion levels on the A2 by hour. Green = free-flowing, red/orange = heavy delays.
| 00–05 | 05–07 | 07–08 | 08–09 | 09–10 | 10–12 | 12–14 | 14–16 | 16–17 | 17–18 | 18–19 | 19–21 | 21–24 | |
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| Mon–Thu | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ |
| Friday | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ |
| Saturday | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ |
| Sunday | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ |
The New Cross gate area is the worst pinch point — plan arrivals before 07:15 or after 10:00 on weekdays.
A2 traffic multiplies when the Dartford Crossing is congested or closed. Always check NHIS traffic updates before heading to Kent.
The A20 through Sidcup is a viable parallel route to Kent, avoiding the worst of the A2 New Cross section.
Blackwall Tunnel incidents send diversionary traffic onto the A2. Check the tunnel cameras before committing to this route.
If the A2 is heavily congested, these alternatives are worth considering:
The entire A2 within Greater London is inside the ULEZ. There is no Congestion Charge on the A2. The ULEZ operates 24 hours a day, every day. Non-compliant vehicles pay £12.50 per day. Check your vehicle at tfl.gov.uk/ulez.
The A2 is the main surface road route towards Dover and the Channel Tunnel terminal at Folkestone. From London, the A2 leads to the M2 motorway, which continues to Dover and then to the A20 which connects to the Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone. For the Channel Tunnel, most sat-navs will route via the M25/M20 combination.
New Cross is a dense urban area with significant pedestrian activity, multiple bus routes, and a complex junction layout around New Cross Gate station. The road narrows compared to the wider dual-carriageway sections further south-east, and the concentration of bus stops and pedestrian crossings gives general traffic relatively short green phases.
Yes — the entire A2 within Greater London falls within the ULEZ boundary. There is no Congestion Charge on the A2. Non-compliant petrol cars (pre-2006) and diesel cars (pre-2015) pay £12.50 per day. Check your vehicle at tfl.gov.uk/ulez.
The Rochester Way Relief Road is a 1990s-built dual carriageway running parallel to the A2 through Kidbrooke and Eltham, designed to reduce congestion on the older A2 road. It is toll-free and provides a faster route through this section, but it rejoins the A2 before the Blackwall Tunnel approach.