East Fife Regional Road

The East Fife Regional Road was first proposed in the 1960s and eventually built (on a different line) in the 1980s in the county of Fife. It was completed in 1990.

Route

It is a dual carriageway with grade separated junctions which connects the towns of Dunfermline, Cowdenbeath, Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes and is part of the A92. There are currently no road signs referring to the East Fife Regional Road, although while it was being constructed there were signs carrying this name.

Planning

It was originally intended that the EFRR be built to the south of its current alignment, connecting to the M90 and A823(M) motorways at M90 Junction 2. In the end it was built further north, connecting to the M90 at Junction 3, terminating on a roundabout. Direct slips were later added to connect to and from M90 to the south at Junction 2a. This more northerly route was first planned as far back as 1969 with the alignment and junctions the same as what was later built apart from an unbuilt junction at Dundonald and the eastern continuation to the A915. The layout at Redhouse Roundabout was to be a three level stacked roundabout but this was changed to a roundabout in the late 1970s with the EFRR curving northwards towards Glenrothes. This junction was built slightly to the west of the original proposals and has provision for grade separation which has never been carried out.

Plan of both routes from the 1960s. The route in green is identical to that which was built in the 1980s apart from the area around Redhouse Roundabout.

Opening Dates

Year	Section	Notes
1985	Phase 1	The dual carriageway from the original M90 Halbeath Junction to Cowdenbeath Junction was opened in 1985 per the Dundee Courier of 25 April 1986 (the Halbeath Spur opened in 1998). Contractor was Tractor Shovels Ltd.
1987	Phase 2	The 2.2 mile dual carriageway from Cowdenbeath Junction to Lochgelly Junction was opened on 20 August 1987 by James Douglas-Hamilton, Scottish Environment Minister. Contractor was Tractor Shovels Ltd, cost £6.3 million.
1990	Phases 3 & 4	The dual carriageway from Lochgelly Junction to Redhouse Roundabout (south end of Thornton Bypass) was opened on 16 July 1990 by James Douglas-Hamilton, Scottish Environment Minister. The first "drive" was a shot down the road by Scottish golfer Sam Torrence. Contractor was Tractor Shovels Ltd..

West Fife Regional Road

A West Fife Regional Road was also planned, linking Dunfermline with towns to the west and ultimately onward to Stirling. The WFRR was never built, but was still being considered for construction as late as the mid-1990s. Local campaigners are still pressing for the WFRR section between the A823(M) and the A985 to be completed. This section is known as the Rosyth Bypass and would relieve the town of Rosyth of a considerable amount of through traffic.