A80 road
Encyclopedia
The A80 is a road in Scotland
, running from the A8 to Moodiesburn, north east of Glasgow. Prior to the M80 opening, the A80 was one of Scotland's busiest trunk roads.
to Stirling
. It has now been surpassed by the M80 motorway
which roughly follows the route of the original A80.
, to the eastern segment, where it connects to the A803
and M876
, through what was known as the Kelvin Valley Route.
The Scottish Executive announced in 2002 that the A80 would be upgraded to Motorway standard, replacing the A80 from Stepps to Haggs with the M80. The Kelvin Valley route was not chosen as it would have breached the Antonine Wall
and destroyed the Castlecary
Roman
fort; instead an on-line upgrade through Cumbernauld was selected.
The upgrade was completed in September 2011.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, running from the A8 to Moodiesburn, north east of Glasgow. Prior to the M80 opening, the A80 was one of Scotland's busiest trunk roads.
Original Route
The A80 was once the main route from GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
to Stirling
Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
. It has now been surpassed by the M80 motorway
M80 motorway
The M80 is a motorway in central Scotland, running through Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Falkirk and Stirling and links the M8, the M73 and M9 motorways. Following completion in 2011, this road is long. From 1992 - 2011, the road was in two sections; the southern section, Glasgow to Stepps and the...
which roughly follows the route of the original A80.
History
The A80 gained a reputation for being one of Scotland's worst traffic bottlenecks. In 1992, the M80 Stepps bypass opened between the M8 and Stepps to relieve pressure on the road. This caused the M80 to lie in two parts with the A80 providing the link between the two sections: between the end of the Stepps bypass, and the 1974 section of the M80 which resumed at Haggs. The Stepps-Haggs stretch, built in the 1960s, was under-capacity in relation to the amount of traffic it carried, and the lack of hard shoulders meant that a vehicle breakdown potentially could cause massive jamsAuchenkilns roundabout upgrade
Despite long term plans to replace the Stepps-Haggs section with a completed M80, the troublesome Auchenkilns roundabout in Cumbernauld was replaced by a grade separated junction in 2005 as traffic congestion meant it could not wait for the final upgrade (which at that stage, was still in planning). A dumbbell interchange junction between the A80, A73 and B8048 was opened in November 2005, but the widely regarded long term solution to the A80's problems was to replace it entirely with a motorway which would bypass Cumbernauld completely. There was a scheme devised in the 1970s to do just that, which would have linked western segment of the M80, linking to the M8M8 motorway
The M8 is the busiest motorway in Scotland and one of the busiest in the United Kingdom. It connects the country's two largest cities, Glasgow and Edinburgh, and serves other large communities including Airdrie, Coatbridge, Greenock, Livingston and Paisley...
, to the eastern segment, where it connects to the A803
A803 road
The A803 is a road in central Scotland. It runs from Glasgow to Champany Corner .-Route:Beginning at Springburn in Glasgow, the A803 passes through the towns of Bishopbriggs, Kirkintilloch, Kilsyth, Banknock, Haggs, Bonnybridge, Falkirk, Laurieston, ending east of Linlithgow.It connects to the...
and M876
M876 motorway
The M876 motorway is a motorway in Scotland. The motorway runs from Denny to Airth in the Falkirk council area, forming an approach road to the Kincardine Bridge. It was opened in 1980....
, through what was known as the Kelvin Valley Route.
M80 Stepps to Haggs completion project
- See M80 motorway
The Scottish Executive announced in 2002 that the A80 would be upgraded to Motorway standard, replacing the A80 from Stepps to Haggs with the M80. The Kelvin Valley route was not chosen as it would have breached the Antonine Wall
Antonine Wall
The Antonine Wall is a stone and turf fortification built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. Representing the northernmost frontier barrier of the Roman Empire, it spanned approximately 39 miles and was about ten feet ...
and destroyed the Castlecary
Castlecary
Castlecary is a small village on the border between the North Lanarkshire and Falkirk council areas in Scotland. It is close to the new town of Cumbernauld....
Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
fort; instead an on-line upgrade through Cumbernauld was selected.
The upgrade was completed in September 2011.