Airdrie

Airdrie is a town to the east of Glasgow. It is a historic crossing point of the old Glasgow to Edinburgh Road and the Stirling to Carlisle road, both of which were significantly improved as Turnpike Roads in the 1790s. Since then the importance of the two routes has diminished substantially.

The original Glasgow - Edinburgh road passed through the town along what is now a rather convoluted route. Starting to the west, it ran along the A89, then the A8010 before turning south along the B802 and then heading east again along Hallcraig Street. This led on, running north of the A89 through Clarkston to the B8058, and although the final link back to the A89 has now been built over, the alignment can easily be traced on maps, linking up with the sharp bend on the new road. That new road, which in 1922 became the A8 was built by the Turnpike Company and made Airdrie an important stopping point on the route, especially as the industry and wealth of the town expanded. Finally, in the 1930s the New Glasgow to Edinburgh road was constructed, and the A8 diverted south on to it, leaving the old road to become the A89.

The North - South route may seem to be of little importance these days, but before even Glasgow had become an important centre, the road from Stirling to Carlisle would have existed as an important trade route from one of the main cities in Scotland to the border. It later served as a Military Road for the transport of troops after the Jacobite Rebellions. The route was steadily improved over the centuries to become the A73 in 1922, the number it still holds today. However, the route is not that which was in use 300 years ago, having been diverted to the east of the town in the turnpike era. The old route seems to have run along what is now the B8053 and South Biggar Road, with the B802 possibly following an even older route through the town centre.

Routes

Route	To	Notes
A73	Cumberland
A73	(A8, M8), Chapelhall, Peebles, Lanark, Motherwell (A723)
A89	Glasgow, Coatbridge
A89	Plains
A8010
B799	Local
B802	Glenmavis
B802	Calderbank, Holytown
B8053
B8058		loop around west of town
A8	Glasgow, Coatbridge	now A89
A8	Edinburgh, Plains	now A89
B752		short link between A8 and A73: now unclassified
B799	Calderbank, Holytown	now B802
B801		now A8010 and B8058
B7028	Holytown	now B799
B7058		now B8058

Links

• Undiscovered Scotland