A89
A89 | ||||
Location Map ( geo) | ||||
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From: | Glasgow (NS596648) | |||
To: | Newbridge (NT125726) | |||
Distance: | 35.5 miles (57.1 km) | |||
Meets: | A8, A749, A728, A8, M8, A752, A725, A8010, A73, A801, A800, A7066, A779, A899, M9, M8, A8 | |||
Former Number(s): | A8 | |||
Primary Destinations | ||||
Highway Authorities | ||||
Traditional Counties | ||||
Route outline (key) | ||||
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Route
Taken at face value, the A89 is a route between central Glasgow and the outskirts of Edinburgh. It can essentially be split into three different areas: Glasgow commuter belt, rural Scottish lowlands, and Edinburgh 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
The A89 certainly isn't the route you would use between Glasgow and Edinburgh, 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
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 can only be covered in one direction, eastbound. Westbound travellers complete the journey on the parallel A749.
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.
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.
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.