A77: Ayr to Stranraer

[GC_NEMan1]

I voted for "At-Grade D2" but what I really meant is that junctions with other classified roads should be GSJ'd, while those with unclassified roads could remain at-grade, rather than having to build on a new alignment to have GSJs only...

[m80]

Hopefully the planned grade separation at Symington and Bogend Toll will also go ahead after which I'd expect the 50mph speed limit to be raised to 70. 

[m80]

There's some hills in the way of that!

No more so than there were hills in the way of the A74(M).

Having driven from Ayr to Cairnryan a few times recently and with my realistic head on I'd settle for: dualling / grade separation around Ayr as far as Maybole; Maybole northern bypass with climbing lanes; Girvan bypass with overtaking opportunity; and a few other WS2+1 sections south of Turnberry including Dowhill to Chapeldonan and Ardwell to Slockenray and a couple more south of Ballantrae.

The majority of the Ayr bypass should be dualled and grade separated. However, traffic falls off significantly at the A713 junction (the DfT say from 22,000 to 15,000) and further still to 12,000 at the A79 junction. At those volumes grade separation at the A79 junction can't really be justified, and S2+1 would be reasonable between Ayr and Maybole. I broadly agree with the suggestions for further south.

Fair enough, but there's no harm in future proofing for the planned southernly expansion of Ayr.

[c2R]

How about "motorway with bridge/tunnel crossing to Ireland" (and not Iceland as I first typed!)

[Was92now625]

If a motorway bridge between Stranraer and Northern Ireland were to be built (and there was some talk of such a thing relatively recently) it would maybe make most sense for the motorway on the Scottish side to extend to the A702 junction on the M74 (or thereabouts).

And nice to do something about A702 at the same time !!

[m80]

Quote from Alex Salmond today:-

"For the Maybole bypass, we now will start work on obtaining the necessary statutory permissions and draft orders."

Dare we hope?

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Release ... 1/25110246

[wrinkly]

Maybole bypass exhibition

Press release

leaflet

[Nwallace]

Should be D2 till south of Ayr then an properly fixed single carraigeway with overtaking areas.

WS2 would probably do, outside of "a ferry has just arrived" times the only problem areas seem to be the narrower twistier bits and the towns.

[wrinkly]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that the long-term plan is for dualling to extend as far south as the north end of the Maybole bypass.

[clangy]

Maybole bypass exhibition

Thanks for the heads up on this wrinkly. I use this road a few times a year; south of Turnberry it's a really enjoyable drive; very picturesque landscapes and seascapes.

I'm a bit dissapointed by this proposal. Given the nature of the traffic on this road, caused by the ferry terminals at Cairnryan, you get long platoons of HGV's which are not easy to pass with just short lengths of overtaking lane and DAL's at junctions. So I think it should be D2 in its entirety, with a compact GSJ with the B7023. This would give a good safe opportunity for overtaking in both directions.

Overall, I think the whole route should be D2 to the south side of Girvan (with compact GSJ's, roundabouts and LILO's, no right turns across carriageway). Beyond that I think the currently proposed upgrades, plus a new off-line route with a climbing lane from Ballantrae to the top of the hill at Auchencrosh near Glen App Castle would bring it up to an acceptable standard.

[jgharston]

Maybole bypass exhibition
Press release
leaflet

Looks like a sensible route, it essentially straightens out a double kink as the A77 goes through Maybole, so you don't end up with strange "turn off to bypass" junctions.

[m80]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that the long-term plan is for dualling to extend as far south as the north end of the Maybole bypass.

I thought the plan was to dual as far south as Bankfield with grade separation of Dutchhouse, Whittlets and Holmston Roundabouts.

[wrinkly]

You may well be right. I may have misremembered.

Is Bankfield the A713 junction?

[m80]

You may well be right. I may have misremembered.

Is Bankfield the A713 junction?

Yes that's the one.

I dug out this from the STPR: http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/fil ... 2D24P1.pdf

[wrinkly]

Either I'm mixed up about what I saw, or the thing I saw was real but was an aspiration of South Ayrshire Council before the STPR was published.

[Trebeck]

Interesting strip map, though it may make sense to use the route of the A8 to get to Belfast.

A tunnel between Larne and Newtownabbey would be over the top, especially with no junctions.

If we are improving a road, we should improve the A75.

[RS990]

There's some hills in the way of that!

No more so than there were hills in the way of the A74(M).

Having driven from Ayr to Cairnryan a few times recently and with my realistic head on I'd settle for: dualling / grade separation around Ayr as far as Maybole; Maybole northern bypass with climbing lanes; Girvan bypass with overtaking opportunity; and a few other WS2+1 sections south of Turnberry including Dowhill to Chapeldonan and Ardwell to Slockenray and a couple more south of Ballantrae.

The majority of the Ayr bypass should be dualled and grade separated. However, traffic falls off significantly at the A713 junction (the DfT say from 22,000 to 15,000) and further still to 12,000 at the A79 junction. At those volumes grade separation at the A79 junction can't really be justified, and S2+1 would be reasonable between Ayr and Maybole. I broadly agree with the suggestions for further south.

I would be inclined to support a grade separated dual carriageway finishing just south of the Doonholm Road/Corton Road junctions then upgrading the quality of the single carriageway south of Ayr, perhaps bypassing some of the villages along the way. A Maybole bypass is essential.

If the proposed South East Ayr expansion ever goes ahead, the A77 south of the Bankfield roundabout could see a big increase in traffic.

[wrinkly]

Another exhibition about the Maybole bypass, Dec 13th:

http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/New ... ole-Bypass

A lot of materials are online:

http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/roa ... ole-bypass

For drawings see Environmental Statement Vol 1 Ch 17

[wrinkly]

Orders made for the Maybole bypass:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2016/ ... tents/made

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2016/ ... tents/made

I haven't seen a press release.

[Glenn A]

Links to Stranraer and Cairnryan are dire. The A75 was modernised on the cheap in the nineties as an S2 and the A77 south of Ayr is poor. I'd have both roads upgraded to D2, it's just not good enough to have Scotland's major ferry and freight ports served by such poor roads.