Scottish Roads Archive in an independent transport and social history archive. We share records and images from our collection to chronicle the planning and construction of Scotland's post-1945 roads, bridges and motorways.
Formerly Glasgow Motorway Archive.
Email us admin@scottishroadsarchive.org.uk for more information
Great podcast! The single carriageway motorways in England are... M58 (link road from Orrell interchange, M6 junction 26, to the A577) A38(M), the former A601(M) and the Walton Summit Motorway near Preston. There was once a A6144(M) in Manchester too which had its motorway regulations removed and is now a special road. Did Scotland ever have any single carriageway motorways or spur roads under motorway regulations? Motorways with roundabouts in the middle and under signal control are. M271 and the A627(M). Would love to hear a podcast about A(M) motorways from you guys in the future, keep up the good work!
I think I may have a copy of the engineer's Report on Brechn bypass somewhere on my shelves... From memory, the two overbridges were installed with an extra 100mm of clearance to allow for overlaying with a blacktop surface "in the future".
Dundee to Abrdeen was A929 (Bits of which still exist in Dundee), then A94 from the mddle of Forfar before the bypass was built - The junction picked up the A929/A94/A926 originally but there's been a lot of renumbering sice those days and since the Forfar bypass was built. interestingly, the comment from some minister about no dualling on the A94 - I wonder if that referred to the bit between Perth and Forfar as there are a lot of parts of that which were clearly the old three lane standard? Either way - very informative discussion lads - Keep up the good work.
Whatlings no longer exists, and Norwest Holst is part of French company Vinci group and a shadow of its former self. Why didn't they just tarmac the entire length? The concrete seems a bit of a faff!
The M6 has several single lane motorway spur roads around the Lancashire area. You mentioned the former A601(M) at Carnforth as an example. There is also one at junction 26 at the Orrell Interchange though Strictly that's officially signed as the M58 and also the other single lane motorway near Preston, the Walton Summit Motorway at junction 9 of the M61 which is signed as the M61 but has (M6,M65) in brackets.
Timing, I suppose, is everything, and when it was built one could still meaningfully speak of "Paisley shipyards". Now it is a pointlessly elevated white elephant, requiring all the maintenance such a structure requires. Here's a question: what was the tallest ship that ever passed under it, and what was the clearance?
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Been over this bridge a few times in the 90s - 00s and would have never known it was a swing bridge. Also Kincardine was my first ever experience as a child of seeing a motorway end with a roundabout. Sounds silly but I’d never seen that before! Lol (The old end of the M876)
The SRA is an invaluable resource. As a 55 year old edinburgh man who has lived in lanarkshire for the last 21 years, but who uses the edinburgh roads frequently, i feel qualified to comment. Immediate improvements to the roads system would include the following: (1) grade seperation at junction of the M8 where it meets the A720 City Bypass at hermiston gait to allow continuous running from the M8 onto the A720 either north or south. (2) complete grade seperation at sheriffhall to allow continuous running on A720 east to west and vice versa. (3) complete grade seperation of the A720 where it meets the A1 at old craighall to allow continuous running from A720 to A1.
We travelled that road when it was brand new - Summer of 1987 (just 14 then)! I used to really like the concrete roads as a child - would very much doubt it as a driver today... I like the black low noise surfaces - so smooth and easy for driving on. Also, why not 6 lanes? ...but I guess the older M74 towards Glasgow had just 4 lanes.
Edinburgh's 'whatever it is I'm against it' attitude has obviously saved us from terrible mistakes, as well as losing us opportunities. How even the unambitious tram line got built (12 years late) is a mystery.
It's amazing the precision with simple tools, man power and no health and safety. 1:14 Good shot of the PS Caledonia. The ship towing the box girder is the Rover. She was a Clyde Marine ship.
Happy Birthday Clydeside Expressway! Brilliant attention to details as always guys. And one of my favourite roads too, especially at sunrise and sunset. I just wish they could do something to relieve the congestion or stop the cars skipping the queue at Anderson end, onto the M8.
Engineering nightmare, I was part of a crew that had to resurface the largest of the bridges a the Lesmahagow junctions. Wasn't enough concrete coverage over the bars and caused bad corrosion which was hydro blasted out and re-concreted. Bridge joints failed as they were only 50mm deep. With the way 40 tonne lorries have been hitting it for 50 years it doesn't surprise me that there has been so much wear on the bridge deck. It was never designed to carry as much traffic as what we see now a days. Over 40k vehicles travel this section everyday. Not only that it has turned out to be one of the most dangerous sections as water likes to gather at the lowest point. Again we had to install drainage to cope with the volume of water that stands on the road.
An interesting podcast - I can (vaguely) remember travelling on the older sections of the A74 in the early 80s (mainly 80/81) & also remember driving South a few times in the 1990s when the motorway upgrade was being carried out. Interesting what you said about the work being progressively moved onto the new road - I can remember the traffic flowing pretty well, despite the roadworks. I certainly never decided to go down the East side on the A1 - dreadful road, only been on it 2 or 3 times! I've often thought the older 2 lane section from Hamilton to Millbank is a bottleneck - sadly, as you said, it's probably never going to be widened now. I normally stop at Cairn Lodge after using it (great service area, by the way - now owned by the same folk that run Tebay services) & go straight onto the 3 lane section, which is a lovely drive (if a bit boring further South). The last section built (the 18 mile stretch from Paddy's Rickle over Beattock) has a viaduct that reminds me a bit of the A9 viaduct over Killiecrankie, impressive structure. Can also remember the M74 extension being opened in 2011 - the same year I started working in Glasgow! Was very useful to me, driving from Inverness to Shawlands, even today (not in Glasgow now) I'll often take the M73/M74 to access Glasgow, rather than the M80/M8 - it's a hugely important road
I enjoyed that podcast, it's hard to imagine Inverness & the Black Isle without it - it had (& still does) a profound effect on the area. I can remember it opening (just). I was under the impression that the 50mph speed limit was imposed due to the higher barriers between the road & the walkway installed during the 2013/14 resurfacing work? Could very well just be Govt policy also. The amount of traffic on the bridge was illustrated recently by several closures - sadly, like the Erskine Bridge, it's become a bit of a suicide hotspot. I would love to see some of the alternative designs that were talked about, have to have a look at that
Living in Inverness & having relatives in Caithness, the A9 has played a huge part in my life! I can remember, in my childhood, switching between the "old" and "new" sections - particularly remember heading on a trip to Belfast the roofrack falling off the roof, smashing the back window & throwing the suitcases into a field! This was in 1981. I regularly drive the A9 (mainly down to Dunblane) to access the M74/A74(M) & would totally agree with the comments you all made - it's the drivers, not the road. The newest sections of dual carriageway have made a huge difference - the continuous dual carriageway from Inveralmond to Birnam greatly improves traffic flow. The Dalraddy to Kincraig section broke up a very long single carriageway stretch & the Crubenmore extension got rid of a dangerously short length of dual carriageway (as did the Luncarty to Birnam section). Next stretch will join up the Moy to Tomatin stretch, giving continuous dual carriageway from Tore roundabout to Slochd summit. The Underpass at Milton of Leys (beside Bogbain farm) was added in 1989 (or thereabouts) - seem to remember that this was financed by Samir Mattar, who was developing the land for housing on the opposite side of the A9 to Bogbain - eventually developed into the sizeable Milton of Leys development after Mattar Homes went bust (sometime in the late 1990s or early 2000s, I think). Incidentally, there's a lovely cafe on the Northbound carriageway just before Bogbain - it was the former site of a tourist information centre with a viewing point. The centre closed a long time ago & the viewing point is completely obscured now. The cafe opened last year & is superb! There's also a bakery/cafe stop in the layby at North Kessock (immediately after the Kessock bridge). It should also be mentioned that the stretch of the A9 between Tore and the Dornoch Bridge has been upgraded also. Ñot quite to the standard of the single carriageway sections between Perth & Inverness, but it's relatively straight & wide. It used to be fairly twisty in places.
Interesting historical film there - ironic that that section of the M74 has become a bottleneck! I wonder how long that concrete surface lasted? I think I can vaguely remember it being like that in the early 90s, but glad to see the back of it, it's horrible to drive on, asphalt is far quieter & smoother! Incidentally, I got caught in a huge tailback near Draffan back in October - it was either major resurfacing work or a new/reconstructed junction? Couldn't make it out, it was dark & I was in the middle of a near 500 mile journey.... Funnily enough, I was looking at an AA road atlas (just to relate the video to the location) & couldn't find Millbank, Poniel or any of the other places mentioned (other than Draffan & Douglas).
I've never heard of this proposal before - it might have been useful, even as an alternative route south from Perth, Dundee, etc (via the M90/M8). As someone who travels "down South" a few times per year from Inverness, I might have used that route instead of A9/M9/M80/M73, etc. Agree that this road is gone, never to be seen. I suppose the upgraded A725 & Raith interchange help, but (as was said), the 2 lane sections of the M74 are often a huge bottleneck - it's noticeable how the road goes from busy to very quiet almost in an instant when you reach the 3 lane section after Happendon!
Pretty interesting podcast, thanks for sharing it. I drive along the A96 almost every day at the Inverness end. I think that Tesco financed part of the dualling from Stoneyfield roundabout to the retail park (I worked at the Tesco at Inverness retail park in 1997 when it opened)? I also have a vague memory of the level crossing at Gollanfield (although suprised that bridge is as early as 1974). You can still clearly see the site of the level crossing from the train. The roundabout at Stratton (for Culloden/Smithton/Balloch) was a huge improvement over the previous junction - the traffic flowed much better after it opened. Nairn badly needs a bypass- if I'm heading that way during the day, I normally take the B9006 to Croy, then the back roads through Cawdor to Auldearn to access the A96 there. Further East, I well remember how bad the stretch from Blackburn to Dyce was - I used to give my dad a lift to Aberdeen Airport in the early/mid 1990s & the traffic used to be queuing through Blackburn itself (this was peak time in the morning, to be fair). What a huge difference the newer seciof dual carriageway made here! As someone who occasionally does drive the complete route from Inverness (to access the A90 South), the AWPR has made an absolutely massive difference here - having to go through Haudigain Roundabout & North Anderson Drive (former A90, now A92) was torture - it was often quicker to take the A9 south & head across from Dunkeld through Blairgowrie & Kirriemuir (dreadful road in places). The AWPR (especially in the evening) is a better way to Inverness from town such as Brechin & Montrose. Incidentally, my Wife detests the A96! She would drive to Perth on the A9 & take the A90 through Dundee, rather than the A96 (even though it's a lot longer)!
My dad lives in Dunbar so I've been commuting from Derby up the A1 for years. The single section south of Berwick can be frustrating when stuck behind slow vehicles. However Improvements from the M18 up to Newcastle over the last 15 years have brought the journey time from around 4 hours 45 to around the 4 hour mark.
The gantries located on the non-trunk roads: Clydeside Expressway, The A737 and the southern approach road to the Clyde Tunnel have all been switched off as GCC has failed to pay Transport Scotland the funds to maintain them. As for backlit, these gantries have had reflective signage put over them so the backlights could be shut off.
I used to drive end to end on a regular basis being a bus driver for stagecoach and there was a few time on there when it was a close shave even being in a coach and to be fair i did loathe it some days but it does need duelling from Inverness to Aberdeen and its long over due
It should be the rank and file who built the motorway who should be in the undercover section,not the councilors or mps who live for free lunches,and claim it on their expenses,fuckin parasites.
