A911

The A911 is a main (though non-primary) west-to-east road linking the M90 to Glenrothes and Leven on the fife coast, although the construction of the A92 East Fife Regional Road in the 1990s removed some of its importance.

Route

Balgedie Toll

Logically, the A911 starts at junction 7 of the M90 where the A91 starts to multiplex with the M90. However, Stirling Road continues to carry the A91 number as it runs east into Milnathort according to maps and signs and so the A911 actually starts at a mini-roundabout in the centre of town, where the A91 used to start to multiplex along the A90. As the latter has now been downgraded in this area, all four roads meeting at the roundabout have different numbers - the other two are the A922 to the south and an unclassified route heading north.

The A911 therefore starts by running east for a few hundred yards along New Road (Old Perth Road lies up the hill to the north), then TOTSOs right onto Burleigh Road, with the original A90 (now B996) continuing ahead. The road runs east past a selection of mostly large detached bungalows, before passing close against the ruinous walls of Burleigh Castle, a small ruin just outside of Milnathort. After the castle, the A911 becomes a rural road winding across fields with occasional glimpses of Loch Leven to the south, although there is a slight ridge between road and water. A couple of farms are passed before the road reaches the first of a series of small villages at Wester Balgedie. Here, the B919 comes in from the left at an acute angle at Balgedie Toll, the pub standing in the angle reducing visibility.

Entering Kinnesswood

The road reaches a summit just beyond the village, briefly offering fine views of the hills surrounding Loch Leven, before the road dips again into Easter Balgedie, and on into Kinneswood. This is a much larger village, with shop and garage, and the narrow main street is further constrained by some traffic calming islands. A field is all that separates Kinnesswood from Portmoak where the parish church stands, and then another field lies between it and Scotlandwell (apparently there is a well). Here the A911, TOTSOs left with the B920 continuing ahead. Despite having skirted around two sides of Loch Leven so far, the landscape is so flat that the loch has hardly be seen; the roads that complete the loop around the loch do, however, provide some better views of the water.

Beyond Scotlandwell, the A911 passes a scattering of farms and houses, with blocks of woodland across the hillside above which occasionally drop to the roadside. It climbs away from the flat valley floor around the River Leven, passing between low hills at Arnot before descending to Auchmuirbridge, a good point for fishing on the river Leven. There is also a junction here, and although the roads on the far side of the bridge are unclassified, both are busy through routes, bypassing Scotlandwell or Glenrothes if your journey so requires it. A long, fairly straight stretch then climbs into the old town of Leslie, now consumed by Glenrothes New Town. Unusually, perhaps, the road into Leslie doesn't seem to carry a street name, but after passing housing set back behind service roads, or accessed from the other side, the A911 turns right onto Douglas Road and then left to get onto the wide High Street.

Leslie High Street could perhaps be considered a relic of a bygone era. There is no town centre nucleus, instead shops and businesses are scattered along the street for over half a mile, interspersed with houses, churches, and other buildings. This streetscape has survived despite, or perhaps because of the growth of Glenrothes New Town to the east. After a short wooded interlude, as the road crosses the Lothrie Burn, Glenrothes itself is found, and the A911 quickly meets the B969 at Leslie Roundabout. This is the first of five roundabouts, in about 2 or 3 miles of new build road, and has 5 giant flowers (plastic or fibreglass obviously) on its eastern side. The road then dips down through parkland to cross the River Leven at Cow Bridge, before climbing into the town centre.

There is a short bit of dual-carriageway between Rothes Roundabout and its neighbour, then single-carriageway once more past the rear of the Kingdom Centre shopping centre to the south. To the north lies an industrial area, with supermarkets accessed from the Queensway Roundabout. Queensway itself follows, a longer stretch of dual carriageway leading to Preston Roundabout where the A911 crosses the A92, one of the apparently unfinished distributor routes around the new town. This is the last of the roundabouts in the town, and while housing estates continue to lie either side of the route, there are few connections, with the A911 intended to be a fast flowing highway as it runs east, despite only being single carriageway.

The A911 now runs along the Leven Valley, crossing back over the river and bypassing Markinch to the north, on a long straight with a little kink when it goes through the old railway viaduct. A right turn provides a link to the [[B9130, and then it passes to the north of Milton of Balgonie before a brief run along its (heavily upgraded) historic route. The last mile of the road is a bypass of Windygates, before it comes to an end at the Windygates Roundabout, where it meets the A915 and A916

History

Apart from the slight extension along the former A91 route in Milnathort, the western half of the A911 has seen little change since 1922. However, from the eastern end of Leslie High Street, the route has changed substantially, and some of the old route is now no more than a footpath or cycle route. From just before the first roundabout at Leslie Mains, the road used to kink left, finding what is now called Lodge Rise as far as Aspen Avenue. Here, the footpath from the junction leading round to Cadham Road is the old road line, followed by Cadham Road itself all the way to the A92. After a short multiplex to the south, the B9130 picks up the old A911 route through Markinch.

After crossing the railway at Markinch Station, the old A911 route continues eastwards, in the long straight past the cemetery towards Bellfield. A sharp turn southwards crosses the modern line of the A911 at right angles (the northern arm has been realigned to prevent a crossroads), and then turns sharp left into Milton of Balgonie. At the far end of the village, the A911 briefly resumes its historical route, before the two diverge once more as the old route heads into Windygates on Milton Road. The A911 then terminated at the crossroads, where the A916 now turns sharply eastwards to find the new junction.

The 1969 OS One Inch sheet shows the A911 still on its original route around the town. However, the road through the roundabouts from Leslie Roundabout to Preston Roundabout is labelled as the B969, and was shown as complete and unclassified as early as 1962. Continuing east, the Milton bypass was built first, completed in 1972. The section to the west, as far as the B9130 junction is open but unclassified, and the next section to reach the A92 is under construction. The section through the town centre is still shown as the B969 on the same map.

Opening Dates

Year	Section	Notes
1972	Milton of Balgonie Bypass	The 1.75 mile road was opened on 5 April 1972. Cost £250,000. It was the first stage of a programme to improve the A911 between Glenrothes and Levenmouth.

The 1922 MOT Road List defines this route as: Milnathort - Leslie - Markinch - Windygates