A80

From Roader's Digest: The SABRE Wiki

Jump to: navigation, search

A80

View gallery (24)

From:

Glasgow (NS623655)

To:

Longcroft (NS789785)

Length:

14 miles (22.5 km)

Meets:

A8, M8, M80, A752, M73, A8011, A73, A803

Primary Destinations

Glasgow • Stirling •

Highways Authorities

Transport Scotland, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire

Traditional Counties

Lanarkshire, Dunbartonshire (Detached Area), Stirlingshire

Route outline (key)

A80	Glasgow - Stepps
A80	Stepps - Longcroft

One of Scotland's most important routes, the A80 was originally the Glasgow-Stirling route, forming a Central Scottish triangle with the A8 and A9. With the construction of the two-part M80, the A80 no longer reaches Stirling, but remains a very busy dual carriageway for much of its length.

While the section of the A80 which was bypassed by the northern (earlier) section of the M80 is now the A872, the southern section now avoided by the M80 Stepps Bypass remains the A80, although now non primary. The middle, trunk section of the A80 is chronically unsuitable for the volume of traffic using it. As of 2009, however, the M80 Completion project is finally underway, so the A80 will, after 2011, finally cease to be the star of Scottish travel reports.

Route

Glasgow - Longcroft

Junction of A8 and A80

From the SW, the A80 leaves the A8 in the east end of Glasgow at the corner of Alexandra Park, and strikes NE as Cumbernauld Road past Barlinnie prison, crossing the M8 at Junction 12. It heads as a mixture of urban dual and wide four lane road (may now be two lane plus bus/cycle lane?) past Hogganfield Loch to reach Stepps. Beyond Stepps is the Crowwood roundabout, claimed to be Scotland's busiest, and the current end of the southern section of the M80.

The A80 continues NE, bypassing Muirhead and Chryston (partially 30mph), and meeting the A752 at either end - traffic lights at the southern end, and a Y junction at the northern end. A traffic light controlled crossroads at Moodiesburn is another interruption to the flow of traffic, and then the dual carriageway opens out to 70mph. After a couple of miles, traffic from the M73 (from the M74 and all points south) must filter in from the left (access to the A80 is only northbound; access to the M73 only from the north). Immediately after this interchange is another interchange serving the western suburbs of the new town of Cumbernauld. Another limited access interchange with the A8011 dual carriageway through Cumbernauld, the main part of which sits up on a hill while the A80 passes below.

Shortly after, what used to be the congestion-inducing Auchenkilns roundabout is reached, where the B8048 to Kirkintilloch and the once important A73 south to Airdrie (at one time the A73's primary destination was Carlisle) meet. This roundabout was finally grade-separated in 2005, allowing traffic to flow much more freely. Now the road seems to get better (though still two lane dual), and at this point heading north the flow of traffic normally improves. Another interchange (almost a cloverleaf) sees the A8011 rejoin from Cumbernauld; after this the A80 descends under the Edinburgh-Glasgow railway viaduct, with an arch for each carriageway, at Castlecary (nowhere near Glastonbury), then past a turnoff for the B816 and the UFO capital of Bonnybridge, and across the brand new bridge over the revitalised Forth and Clyde Canal.

A slight incline past Banknock to a slip road for the A803 at junction 4 of the M80...and that's it, the end of the A80. Originally, it would have briefly multiplexed with the A803 from Longcroft to Dennyloanhead, before heading north along the now A872, through Denny, to meet the A9 just south of Stirling at at Bannockburn.

Original Author(s): Dave835

History

One of the draft proposals from the renumberings of 1935 would have seen the A80 extended east of Stirling along the entire route of the A91 to St Andrews. The suggestion has 'Agreed' noted in the margin, but was never subsequently carried through.

Future

Construction begun on the M80 Stepps to Haggs project in 2009, with completion due in 2011. This scheme consists of three sections:

Stepps to Mollinsburn: 8 km of new offline D2M, diverging from the existing M80 at Hornshill Junction and joining the route of the A80 at Mollinsburn
Mollinsburn to Auchenkilns: the upgrading of 2.7 km of the present A80 to D3M from Mollinsburn to the western side of the new Auchenkilns Junction
Auchenkilns to Haggs - the upgrading of 7.3 km of the A80 to D2M to meet up with the M80 at Haggs. Includes a climbing lane between Castlecary and Haggs on the eastbound carriageway and between Castlecary to Old Inns on the westbound carriageway.