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A8011

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A8011
Location Map ( geo)
Cameraicon.png View gallery (6)
From:  Low Wood Junction (NS737736)
To:  Old Inns Junction (NS769767)
Distance:  3.6 miles (5.8 km)
Meets:  M80, B8039, B8054, M80, B816
Former Number(s):  A76, A80
Highway Authorities

North Lanarkshire

Traditional Counties

Dunbartonshire

Route outline (key)
A8011 Link in Cumbernauld

The A8011 is the road through central Cumbernauld and feeding from M80 to the south-west and north-east.

Route

Passing under Cumbernauld's shopping centre

Looping from the M80 at Low Wood Junction (J4A) on the M80 to the same road a couple of miles further north at Old Inns Junction (J6), the A8011 is rather a depressing road. It passes through Cumbernauld and right under the awful monstrosity that serves as the town centre. It is dualled throughout and all but three junctions are GSJs. Starting at the western end, the eastbound offslip from the M80 has a pair of sliproads connecting to the B8048 before it has even crossed over the motorway. Further sliproads come up before the two carriageways of the A8011 have met, serving the suburb of Condorrat, and then the road sweeps over the A73. A short distance further on, a pair of conjoined GSJs connect to distributor roads and the B8039, before the A8011 quickly meets its first flat roundabout, serving Tesco and the town centre car parks.

A short straight then takes the dual carriageway under the town centre complex to the other flat roundabout, this one for Asda and the other end of the car parks. There is then a near mirror image of the conjoined GSJs serving more distributor roads, including the B8054 before one of the longer runs between junctions up to the Trumpet at Cumbernauld Village Junction. A minor road serving the now-closed local theatre and the former Cumbernauld House meets the West bound side of the road, between these two junctions, however. The partially signalised Old Inns Junction lies a very short distance beyond the Cumbernauld Village junction, and after passing under the motorway, the A8011 ends at a roundabout, meeting the eastbound motorway slips and the B816.

History

1961
1966
1974

The original A80/A73 junction was where Old Glasgow Road (had it not been severed) would have met the A8011 and Main Street at the east end of Cumbernauld Village. From here north to Old Inns Junction the A8011 is an online improvement of the original A80, while southward (as far as the curve north of Muirhead Interchange) the A8011 is an online improvement of the original A73 (south of here the old A73 was destroyed by the construction of the New Town and is now very difficult to follow). The route appears to have been built in stages, initially as an improvement of the A73, as can be seen in the extracts from the OS One Inch maps on the left.

By 1966, the route of the A8011 is largely complete as far as the (unbuilt) bridge over the A73. However, the A8011 number is not yet in place, with the eastern end as far as Muirhead - Braehead Interchange part of an improved and realigned A73. The section of the road past Cumbernauld Village is still single carriageway, and all of the route beyond the A73 turn off is also shown as single carriageway with none of the town centre complex yet built.

Move forward to 1974, and the A8011 is almost complete. Apart from the single section past Cumbernauld Village, and some changes to junctions, the road is as it is today. The bulk of the southern section of the A8011 is shown on large scale OS plans from c1967/69, but the section south of the A73 bridge is first shown on the 1974 map (left). Curiously, the 1971 Quarter Inch map shows the route with a series of roundabout junctions at Old Inns, and the two roundabout interchanges on the road, ending with a T junction onto the new A73 route. This is clearly due to poor mapping, however, as the large scale plans from three years earlier show the current junctions already either complete or under construction.

Opening Dates

Year Section Notes
1967 Langlands - Seafar Interchange The intersection was due to be opened on 12 September 1967. Contractor was R.J.M. McLeod (Contractors) Ltd. cost £600,000. It included a short section of B8039 dual carriageway south to the future Jane's Brae Interchange.
1967 A80 Southern Link (Glasgow Road Extension) The dual carriageway from a new flyover at Auchenkilns Junction (east of Condorrat, then A80) to Glasgow Road (by A73) was opened on 12 July 1971. The original roundabout junction was replaced with a flyover over A73. Originally known as Pollockshole / Low woods Interchange. There was one way running on the southern carriageway over the A73 bridge whilst work continued which was expected to be completed on 19 July 1971. Cost £0.5 million.





A8011
Junctions
Places
Related Pictures
View gallery (6)
A8011.jpgCentral Way, Cumbernauld.jpgCumbernauldMissingJunction2.pngCumbernauld's Light Sculpture at Seafar Roundabout, Cumbernauld- Geograph - 2039476.jpgBlue Bridge, Cumbernauld at Langlands Interchange - Geograph - 221765.jpg
Other nearby roads
Cumbernauld
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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