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A91

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A91
Location Map ( geo)
Cameraicon.png View gallery (29)
From:  St Andrews (NO504169)
To:  Stirling (NS806889)
Via:  Cupar
Distance:  53 miles (85.3 km)
Meets:  A915, A917, A919, A914, B940, A913, A92, B937, B936, A912, B996, B919, M90, A911, A823, B913, A908, B908, B998, A907, A905, B9124, A9, M9, A872
Former Number(s):  B907, A99
Old route now:  B998
Primary Destinations
Highway Authorities

Clackmannanshire • Fife • Perth and Kinross • Stirling

Traditional Counties

Clackmannanshire • Fife • Kinross-shire • Perthshire • Stirlingshire

Route outline (key)
A91 St Andrews – Mawcarse
(M90) Mawcarse – Milnathort
A91 Milnathort – Stirling

The A91 used to be a major route into the north of Fife, but has now been superseded by the A92 and the A90. Once primary throughout, it has since been downgraded.

Route

The route starts at the bottom of City road in the university town of St Andrews on a new alignment from 1964 bypassing the Old Course Hotel. The road continues west and crosses the river Eden at Guardbridge, on a new bridge; we follow the river almost as far as Milnathort. The road meets the A919 from Leuchars at a roundabout on the west bank of the river. It then runs through a fairly rural farming area, meeting the A914 just east of Dairsie.

Near Cupar

The road runs into the royal burgh and county town of Fife, Cupar. It runs along East Port (where the A914 turns off towards Glenrothes), St Catherine Street, Bonnygate, and West Port. We meet the A913 and pass Elmwood college and Bell-Baxter high school before heading back into the countryside past the Scottish Deer Centre and into the Bow of Fife. We meet the A92 at Melville Lodges Roundabout. The road now passes north of Birnie Loch and into Auchtermuchty, where the B936 heads north to Perth or south to Falkland. We bypass Strathmiglo and run down to Gateside where the A912 heads towards Perth. The B919 runs off to the left and the road is now dual-carriageway for the only time in its 55-mile length – and even this is only for a short distance.

Originally the A91 multiplexed with the A90 through Milnathort; that road is now the B996 and A922. The current A91 multiplexes with the M90 between junction 8 and 7, although the road seems to have a spur back into Milnathort, ending on the ex-A90. After the multiplex the A91 passes to the north of Balado airfield, site of the T in the Park music festival, then the road runs down into Glen Devon. At this point, to the north are the Ochil Hills and to the south the flat Glen Devon. The road meets the A823 at a complicated junction near Yetts O' Muckhart, in the form of an elongated roundabout with extra roads thrown in. Westbound traffic continues straight (but needs to go for some distance in the wrong direction to turn right onto the A823; signs ominously state "Crieff A91 (A823)"). Eastbound traffic bears left onto what was once the mainline of the A823 before bearing right then having to TOTSO left to get continue on the A91. We pass through Pool of Muckhart and then down the hill to Dollar, the site of the famous Dollar Academy, and Castle Campbell. The next town we come to is Tillicoultry. Sterling Mills Outlet village is to the south on the banks of the River Devon. From Tillicoultry the road runs very straight, along the foot of the Ochils through Alva and Menstrie to reach a roundabout on the edge of Stirling.

The old road went up the hill ahead past the Wallace Monument to end on the A9 Airthrie Road. Now the road turns 90 degrees to the left as the Stirling eastern bypass. It crosses the Forth and the A9 and comes to an end on the M9, at junction 9.

History

A91 historic route from 1922/3 numbering

It appears from the draft proposals before the 1935 renumberings that the A91 was in severe danger of being wiped out. The suggestion was to extend the A80 eastwards along the entire length of the A91 from Stirling to St Andrews. In the margin the proposal is even marked as 'Agreed', but for some reason it was never carried through.

The A91 never quite reached Stirling. It originally ended on the A9 in Causewayhead. It soon took over the B907, gaining a spur at its western end. In 1946 the whole of A91 became a trunk road, and at its western end took over a later use of the B907 number as well as a mile or so of the A907 (with the old route past the Wallace Monument being renumbered A997). This detour, although about a mile longer, gave a flat route with few bends.

This road was later to become the beginning of a Stirling eastern bypass. A second section, connecting the then A80 (now A872) and A9 in the Bannockburn area was completed in the mid-1970s and numbered A99. By the end of the 1980s this short section of road had been joined to the A91 (including a bridge over the River Forth) and the whole thing renumbered as an extension of the A91, with the A907 being extended to Causewayend once again. At around the same time, the A997 was deemed surplus to requirements and became the B998.

The western half was detrunked in 1969, being replaced by A977, although it remained primary. Sometime later, probably in 1996, the eastern half was also detrunked.

Improvement Opening Dates

Year Section Notes
1962 Cowden Castle Corner Diversion The 0.37 mile road north-east of Dollar was completed in 1962 per the 1962 Scottish Development Department Report.
1964 St Andrews: Petheram Bridge Diversion The 1 mile road east of the town was completed in 1964 per the 1964 Scottish Development Department Report. It bypassed Old Station Road.
1979 Cuthilmuir - Burnside The straightening to the east of M90 J8 Arlary Junction was completed in 1979 per the 1979 Scottish Development Department Report.




A91
Junctions
Services
Crossings
Roads
Places
Miscellaneous
Related Pictures
View gallery (29)
Yetts-m2.jpgEast side of Auchtermuchty.jpgStirling Road, Milnathort.jpgA91.jpgThe Old Guardbridge.jpg
Other nearby roads
Stirling
Kinross
Cupar
A92 • A913 • A914 • A916 • B940 • C8 (Fife) • C14 (Fife) • C16 (Fife) • C29 (Fife) • C31 (Fife) • T94 (Britain)
St Andrews
A1-A99
The First 99           A1  •  A2  •  A3  •  A4  •  A5  •  A6  •  A7  •  A8  •  A9  • A10 • A11 • A12 • A13 • A14 • A15 • A16 • A17 • A18 • A19
A20 • A21 • A22 • A23 • A24 • A25 • A26 • A27 • A28 • A29 • A30 • A31 • A32 • A33 • A34 • A35 • A36 • A37 • A38 • A39
A40 • A41 • A42 • A43 • A44 • A45 • A46 • A47 • A48 • A49 • A50 • A51 • A52 • A53 • A54 • A55 • A56 • A57 • A58 • A59
A60 • A61 • A62 • A63 • A64 • A65 • A66 • A67 • A68 • A69 • A70 • A71 • A72 • A73 • A74 • A75 • A76 • A77 • A78 • A79
A80 • A81 • A82 • A83 • A84 • A85 • A86 • A87 • A88 • A89 • A90 • A91 • A92 • A93 • A94 • A95 • A96 • A97 • A98 • A99
Motorway sectionsA1(M): (South Mimms - Baldock • Alconbury - Peterborough • Doncaster Bypass • Darrington - Birtley)
A3(M) • A8(M) Baillieston spur • A38(M) • A48(M) Cardiff spur • A57(M) • A58(M) • A64(M) • A66(M) • A74(M) • A92(M)
DefunctA1(M) Newcastle CME • A2(M) Medway Towns Bypass • A4(M) • A5(M) • A8(M) Renfrew bypass • A14 • A14(M) • A18(M) • A20(M) • A36(M)
A40(M): (Westway • Denham -Stokenchurch) • A41(M) • A42 • A46(M) • A48(M): (Port Talbot bypass • Morriston bypass) • A62(M) • A88 • A99
UnbuiltA2(M) Rochester Way Relief Road • A6(M): (Western route • Eastern route) • A14(M) (Expressway) • A34(M) • A48(M) Llantrisant Radial • A59(M) • A61(M)

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