Glasgow Cross

Glasgow Cross is a historic major junction in the city centre of Glasgow. Both the A89 Gallowgate and the A749 London Road terminate on the A8 here, with Trongate continuing westwards into the city centre. The A8 itself heads northeast-southwest at this point running along High Street and into Saltmarket to cross the Clyde on Albert Bridge.

The junction has been a key part of the road network for centuries. It was the meeting point of the old Glasgow - Edinburgh coaching road via Airdrie and Bathgate (the original A8) and Thomas Telford's Carlisle Road (later the original A74) and Fort William road (the original A82). Originally the A82 continued the line of the A74 westwards along Trongate; at one point there was a tentative plan to renumber this entire route as an extension of the A6 to Inverness.

The A89 and A749 both approach roughly parallel from the east, and are both one-way with Moir Street providing the link to form a large one-way system. This minimises the traffic movements at the junction itself, where Trongate also forks to provide continuation to each arm of the one-way system. To the north, the A8 High Street also has to split, albeit briefly in order to negotiate the slender tower of the Tollbooth, one of a number of medieval buildings which survive nearby.

Routes

Route	To	Notes
A8	(M8,M80), Springburn (A803, Royal Infirmary (A&E)
A8	East Kilbride (A730)
A89	Parkhead
A749	Bridgeton