The A8010 is a relatively short route around the northern side of Airdrie town centre. The road was originally part of the B801 but had gained its current number by the early 1930s.
It starts at a traffic-light-controlled fork off of the A89 between Centenary Park and West End Park at the western side of town. Heading north east as a busy suburban road between houses and schools, the road passes a small retail park just before reaching the B802. This crossroads is also traffic-light-controlled. Beyond, the road is a little quieter, running past blocks of flats set in parkland. After a couple of wiggles, an unsigned right turn is the B8053, and a little further on the A8010 comes to an end at Rawyards Roundabout on the A73. The road ahead is the B8058
Numbering puzzle
The A8010 number is first marked on the 1932 edition of the OS 10 mile map, at which point the A8xx numbers have yet to be used up; the A895 being the highest number found on the same map. This is the first evidence of route numbers being issued out of sequence in Scotland, at a time when they were little known or used by the travelling public, with only the first few being indicated on signposts and being infrequently shown on mass market maps at the time. However, the reasoning behind the selection of the A8010 number appears to be that it was an easier change from B801 than A896, for instance, would have been. The rest of the A8xxx numbers that have been used appear to have been issued in a similarly haphazard manner.