B908

The B908 at the B9140 roundabout

The B908 is a short B-road in Clackmannanshire.

It starts on the A91 in Alva, just below the steep flank of the Ochill Hills. The road heads south along Brook Street and so remains more-or-less flat as it heads out of the small town. There are speed bumps through town but the road soon reaches open country and heads out across the fields, with a sweeping double bend leading to the River Devon, which is crossed at a narrow Weak Bridge. Across the river, a much sharper double bend puts the road almost back onto its original line. The road then climbs slightly and, after a couple more sharp bends, crosses the B9140 at the Collyland Roundabout. Continuing south around yet another double bend, it soon reaches the edge of Alloa and its northern suburb of Sauchie.

After passing a small industrial site, the road sweeps round to head east along Fairfield Road which at first runs between housing estates, but after a mini roundabout there are houses facing directly onto the road, opposite parkland. Beyond the park, there are houses on both sides and then Fairfield Road meets a junction with Parkhead Road, where it TOTSOs right. Continuing ahead along Fairfield Road is a short link which soon reaches a mini-roundabout on the A908. This is a spur, however, and listed by the council as being the very short C104. Meanwhile, the mainline of the B908 now heads south along Parkhead Road, passing between mostly modern housing and a cemetery. The route continues along Sunnyside Road, past an industrial site and then curves to the west onto Parkway, before coming to an end on the B9096 at a mini roundabout.

History

The B908 in 1923

Although the northern part of the route is little changed, the route through Sauchie and Alloa is very different to that laid out in 1922. Originally the B908 forked right at the entrance to the town, along what is now a potholed lane to reach the Ten Acres housing estate. It then continued ahead along Branshill Road to meet Parkhead Road, long before the housing was built. Half a mile further on it turned left to cross the railway line at the station, where the old bridge survives as a footbridge, now crossing a single line of tracks instead of the three or four of the past. The station, too, has moved to the east, leaving an area of dereliction behind. On the south side of the railway, the route doglegged to the right into Primrose Street and then ran along the High Street to end on the A907 Mill Street. This route was severed when the present A907 relief road was built and so the B908 continues ahead along the new build Parkway instead, which was completed in 1968 per the 1968 Scottish Development Department Report along with the relief road.

The route over the railway station in 1960	Parkway route shown in 1969.