A89

A89

View gallery (20)

From:

Newbridge (NT125726)

To:

Glasgow (NS596648)

Length:

35.5 miles (57.1 km)

Meets:

A8, M8, M9, A73, A752, A779, A800, A801, A899, A7066, A8010

Primary Destinations

Glasgow •

Highways Authorities

Edinburgh • West Lothian • North Lanarkshire • Glasgow

Traditional Counties

Midlothian • West Lothian • Lanarkshire

Route outline (key)

A89

Newbridge - Glasgow

Route

Main Article: A89 route

Blackridge, near the halfway point of the journey

Taken at face value, the A89 is a route between the outskirts of Edinburgh and central Glasgow. It can essentially be split into three different areas; Edinburgh commuter belt, rural Scottish lowlands, and Glasgow commuter belt. As such, it varies greatly in character, and isn't thought of much as a through route, especially as it shadows closely the M8 motorway.

History

Main Article: A89 history

The A89 certainly isn't the route you would use between Edinburgh and Glasgow, as that journey is much easier to accomplish by motorway. Furthermore, those of you steeped in roads lore will know that the traditional route between these two bustling cities is that of the A8. Why then does a road with a much less assuming number perform the task? The answer lies with that traditional route indeed, but the mystery is solved with respect to its two replacements - the 1920s Glasgow and Edinburgh Road, and the 1960s motorway.

Notable locations and improvements

Newbridge Roundabout

The motorway passes beneath Newbridge Roundabout.

Main Article: Newbridge Roundabout

Newbridge Roundabout is the eastern end of the A89, and arguably the main entrance to and exit from Edinburgh itself. The road meets the M8 and M9 here in some degree; exactly what part of the junction is M8 and what is M9 is a matter of history, law and of your own personal opinion.

Starlaw Interchange

Three roundabouts make up Starlaw Interchange. This one, Boghall Roundabout, has the A89 connection.

Main Article: Starlaw Interchange

M8 junction 3A post-dates the construction of the motorway, as its suffixed designation suggests. It's also at a key junction in the history of the A89, having been at the point of its eastern teminus for over three decades.

Baillieston Interchange

The main part of Baillieston Interchange is a huge, four-level grade separated junction. The A89 sliproads, out of shot on the left, are separate.

Main Article: Baillieston Interchange

Most of us think as Baillieston being the meeting point of A8, M8 and M73, but there are free-flow connections to the A89 included as part of the junction.

Glasgow Cross

Standing on the very westernmost part of A89, this is the view down Glasgow's historic Trongate, away from the cross.

Main Article: Glasgow Cross

Glasgow Cross (the Mercat Cross) is the traditional centrepoint of the Second City of Empire. The Mercat building and the Tolbooth form iconic images of the city. It's also the far western end of the A89, and unusually, can only be covered in one direction, eastbound. Westbound travellers complete the journey on the parallel A749.

A89

Junctions