A74(M) and M74 motorways

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M74 Motorway

Road of the United Kingdom
Length 35 miles (56.3 km)
Direction Northwest - Southeast
Start Glasgow
Tollcross
Primary destinations East Kilbride
Hamilton
End Abington
Construction dates 1966 - 1991/Under construction
Motorways joined 4 -
M73 motorway
13 -
A74(M) motorway
Euroroute(s)
A74(M) Motorway

Road of the United Kingdom
Length 45 miles (72.4 km)
Direction Northwest - Southeast
Start Abington
Primary destinations Dumfries
End Gretna
Construction dates 1991 - 1999
Motorways joined 13 -
M74 motorway
Euroroute(s)
M74 near Larkhall.
M74 near Larkhall.

The A74(M) and M74 motorways are two major motorways in Scotland, running continuously from the southern outskirts of Glasgow to the Anglo-Scottish border at Gretna. In conjunction with the M6 motorway, it forms one of the two major cross-border routes between Scotland and England. It is part of the unsigned international E-road network E05. Although the entire route is usually referred to as the M74, more than half of its length is officially designated as the A74(M); see Numbering confusion below.

Contents

[edit] Present route

The M74 begins at a roundabout in the Glasgow suburb of Tollcross. It runs in a roughly south-easterly direction past the Clyde Valley towns of Bothwell, Hamilton and Motherwell before meeting the cross-country A71 at Larkhall. It passes west of Lanark and beyond Abington, Moffat and Lockerbie, before terminating at the border near Gretna after around 80 miles, six miles short of the connection to the M6 motorway - this short section remains part of the A74 road. By the end of 2008 there will be an end on connection with the M6 which is being extended north through the 'Cumberland Gap' thus finally completing a through motorway route from Glasgow to London.

The M74 (from Junction 4 southwards) and A74(M) are part of the E05 Euroroute which runs from Greenock to Algeciras. North from Junction 4, the E05 takes a short stretch of the M73 connecting to the M8, then proceeds westwards through Glasgow to Greenock; and southwards continues on the M6 through England.

[edit] Improvements underway

[edit] M6 Carlisle to Guards Mill Extension

See also: M6 motorway

There had been plans to complete the motorway link from the M74 to the beginning of the M6 at Carlisle (known as the "Cumberland Gap") for some time. However the project was delayed due to a number of arguments: the Scottish Government and the English Highways Agency have attempted to trade away responsibility for building the road - a largely Scottish route in the north of England - and a long-standing agreement for the Executive to build it expired only recently. The Highways Agency has finally agreed to build the road, and it is expected to open towards the end of 2008. Construction began on 25 July 2006. [1]

[edit] M74 Extension

See also: Road protest (UK)

The M74 Extension, also known as 'M74 Completion' and 'M74 Northern Extension' will extend the M74 northwards by 5 miles through the south-eastern suburbs of Dalmarnock, Polmadie, Rutherglen, Govanhill and parts of the Gorbals to meet the M8 near the Kingston Bridge in Glasgow into on an elevated embankment. The highly controversial scheme was at the centre of a road protest from local campaigners and environmentalists. The city centre section of this motorway would perform a similar role to the never-built southern flank of the Glasgow Inner Ring Road planned in the 1960s, and first set out as a scheme in the Bruce Report of the 1940s, but only half-completed.

Construction of the extension began in May 2008, with a current completion date of 2011 at an estimated cost of £375m to £500m.[2]

[edit] Proposed improvements

[edit] East End Regeneration Route

Main article: Glasgow EERR

Complementing the extension is the city council's proposed East End Regeneration Route which will connect the M74 Northern Extensions with the M8 motorway at the Provan Gas Works interchange with the M80 motorway. The new road will make use of existing stretches of road with filler sections on currently derelict land. The go ahead for the new motorway was given on the 14th February 2008,with construction beginning in May 2008 Completion is expected sometime in 2011. [3][4]

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[edit] Numbering confusion

See also: M6 motorway

Although the motorway is usually referred to in public as the M74 motorway, this is not the de jure nor the de facto situation. South of Abington, the road is officially the A74(M) motorway and this is noted on each sign in this southern section of the road (save for one erroneous "M74" sign at Gretna Green services). However, as the motorway is one continuous route and has a continuous junction numbering system, its entirety is usually referred to as M74. Typically, upgraded A-road designations like A74(M) are retained for short bypasses of existing road, whereas the M74/A74(M) is one continuous intercity route.

There is a long-standing plan, once the southern extension of the road is complete, to rename the motorway as part of the M6, creating a 350-mile motorway from Rugby to Glasgow. When the A74(M) was constructed in the 1990s, many of the signs were given patches with the A74(M) number on - these patches can be peeled away to reveal "M6" underneath. One such sign can be seen at the VOSA checkpoint just past the Crawford/Thornhill on-slip states that it is the "M6 South" instead of the "A74 (M)" South. However, when the Scottish Executive was established in 1999, taking over for responsibility for roads in Scotland,Sarah Boyack said that "We have no current plans to rename or redesignate the M74 or A74(M) motorways between Glasgow and the border as the M6". The current Scottish Government have not yet revealed what their plans are in relation to this.[5]

[edit] Junctions

The interchange with the M73.
The interchange with the M73.
Road sign on the A702 showing the change in designation.
Road sign on the A702 showing the change in designation.
M74 Motorway
Northbound exits Junction Southbound exits
Tollcross, Glasgow City Centre, THE NORTH A74
Cambuslang, Rutherglen		 J1 Start of Motorway
Shettleston, Cambuslang, A763 J2 No Access
No Access J3 Tannochside, Uddingston A721
Stirling, Kincardine Bridge, M73 Uddingston, Mount Vernon, A721 J4 Stirling, Kincardine Bridge, Edinburgh M73
Bothwell Services
Southbound only
Bellshill, Coatbridge, East Kilbride Edinburgh A725 J5 Bellshill, Coatbridge, East Kilbride, Edinburgh A725
Hamilton Services
Northbound only
Hamilton, Motherwell A723 J6 Motherwell, Hamilton A723
No Access J7 Lanark, Larkhall A72
Kilmarnock, Edinburgh A71
Larkhall B7078		 J8 Kilmarnock,Livingston, Edinburgh A71
No Access J9 Kirkmuirhill, Blackwood, Lesmahagow, Coalburn B7078
Lesmahagow, Kirkmuirhill, Blackwood B7078 J10 No Access
No Access J11 Edinburgh,[[Ayr B7078, A70
Happendon Services
Edinburgh,Lanark, Ayr, A70
Happendon Services		 J12 No Access
Road continues as M74 J13 Edinburgh A702
Lanark A73
Abington Services
A74(M) motorway
Northbound exits Junction Southbound exits
Edinburgh A702
Lanark A73
Abington Services		 J13 Road continues as A74(M)
Crawford, Thornhill A702 J14 Crawford, Thornhill A702
Moffat, Dumfries A701 J15 Moffat, Selkirk A701
Johnstonebridge B7076
Annandale Water Services		 J16 Johnstonebridge B7076
Annandale Water Services
Lockerbie B7076 J17 Lockerbie, Dumfries B7076
Lockerbie, Dumfries B723 J18 No Access
Ecclefechan B7076 J19 Ecclefechan B7076
Eaglesfield, Annan B722 J20 Eaglesfield, Annan, Kirtlebridge B722
Kirtlebridge, Kirkpatrick Fleming B7076
Canonbie, B6357		 J21 Canonbie B6357
Kirtlebridge, Kirkpatrick Fleming B7076
Gretna Green Services
No Access J22 Longtown, Gretna Green, Gretna B7076
Dumfries, Stranraer, Gretna A75 J23 No Access
Start of Motorway J24 No exit
B7076 A6071 Road continues as A74 to THE SOUTH, Carlisle, M6

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Extending the motorway • Carlisle to Guards Mill Highways Agency
  2. ^ Work to begin on Scotland’s ‘missing link’ of motorway. The Herald (2007-05-28). Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
  3. ^ East End Regeneration Route. Glasgow City Council. Retrieved on 2008-01-21.
  4. ^ M74 extension: Will the gap ever be filled?. The Herald (2007-12-10). Retrieved on 2008-01-21.
  5. ^ Scottish Parliament Written Answers. Scottish Parliament (1999-07-13). Retrieved on 2007-12-01.

[edit] External links

[edit] Official sites on the upgrades

[edit] Other sites

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