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A8000

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A8000
Location Map ( geo)
Cameraicon.png View gallery (38)
From:  Almondhill (NT125755)
To:  Queensferry (NT125777)
Distance:  1.7 miles (2.7 km)
Met:  M9, A904, A90
Former Number(s):  B800
Now part of:  B800
Traditional Counties

West Lothian

Route outline (key)
A8000 Almondhill - Queensferry
A8000 Newbridge - Almondhill
This is the A8000 as it was in 2005, a busy main road
The 2010 OS 1:250,000 map showed the random change between A8000 and B800
This was resolved in the 2011 edition

The A8000 was an A-road which used to be one of the most important roads in Scotland, essentially performing the function which should have been given to a motorway or dual carriageway - that of carrying traffic from the M9 through to the A90 and across the Forth Road Bridge. But instead of being a motorway, this was in fact just an ordinary single-carriageway road, accessed via a roundabout and without even the status of a trunk road.

Formerly the B800, it was renumbered in the early 1970s to A8000 when the M9 opened, and all traffic to and from the Forth Road Bridge and the M9 had to use this short stretch of single carriageway. It became legendary for all the wrong reasons, namely traffic jams for its entire length for much of the day. According to the relevant 1971 OS One Inch map, the entire B800 was upgraded to A8000 when the M9 spur opened, though the 1973 OS Quarter Inch map shows only the section north of the M9 spur as A8000; meaning that either the 1971 map is in error, or the section south of the M9 was rapidly reverted to B800.

In 2007 the A8000 was finally relieved of its burden when the M9 spur was extended to meet the A90 at a new junction, in advance of the construction of the Forth Replacement Crossing. The old roundabout was removed and the A8000 fell back to its previous use as an anonymous local access road. Lack of trunk road status had previously led to endless disputes about who should pay for upgrading the route; funding for the extension was finally agreed to be shared by the Scottish Executive and the Forth Estuary Transport Authority.

It was thought that once the M9 spur was complete the road would revert back to its former B800 number, but instead it was briefly retained as A8000, albeit as non-primary, with the curious situation of the road seemingly arbitrarily changing from A8000 to B800 under the M9 where the roundabout junction used to sit. Eventually, however, it did revert back to its old number in September 2009. The main reason you would be finding yourself on the B800 these days is to access the retail park close to the Forth Road Bridge.

The A8000's main claim to fame now is as an historical anomaly, much to the relief of drivers who no longer have to endure the road's legendary traffic.




A8000
Junctions
Crossings
Related Pictures
View gallery (38)
Heading south on A8000 - Coppermine - 9226.jpgHeading south on A8000 - Coppermine - 9225.jpgA8000 - Coppermine - 6030.jpgA8000.jpgA90 Widening - Coppermine - 8799.jpg
Other nearby roads
Forth Road Bridge
NCN1 • A90 • A92 • A823(M) • A904 • A921 • A985 • A9000 • B800 • B907 • B924 • B980 • B981 • E15 • E32 (Old System) • EuroVelo 12 • Fife Coastal Tourist Route • Forth Valley Tourist Route • M9 • M90 • T93 (Britain)
A7000-A9099
A7000-A7999A7002 • A7066 • A7071
A8000-A8999A8000 • A8001 • A8002 • A8003 • A8004 • A8005 • A8006 • A8010 • A8011 • A8014 • A8015 • A8082
A9000-A9999A9000 • A9011 • A9012 • A9013 • A9103 • A9119


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