Lothianburn Junction

Lothianburn Junction is the junction on the City of Edinburgh Bypass where it meets the A702. From this point south to Abington, where it meets the M74 / A74(M) motorway, the A702 is a trunk route, supposedly providing the direct route south to England from Edinburgh, although much of the route remains unchanged and is no longer really suitable for any volume of long distance traffic, meaning that most takes the longer motorway route to the west. The junction marks the eastern end of the first offline upgrade to the A720, which previously wound through the suburbs on the current B701 route.

The junction is a slightly modified dumbbell interchange. However, unlike typical dumbbells, the A720 on-slips do not start the roundabouts, but rather fork off the road between the two roundabouts a little nearer the overbridge, while the offslips do meet the roundabouts. This is partly due to the two routes crossing at a skewed angle, and also the confines of the site. The eastbound onslip is squeezed between the bypass and the Swanston Burn, while the westbound onslip is even more confined by a row of houses. This has led to it being constructed on top of a vertical retaining wall above the bypass, rather than the more customary embankments used for the other slips.

Routes

Route	To	Notes
A702	Penicuik, Biggar, Carlisle
A720	Forth Road Br, Glasgow, Stirling, Airport
A720	Berwick upon Tweed, Leith (A1)
A702	City Centre, Edinburgh South, Fairmilehead