A977

The A977 is an important connection between the Clackmannanshire Bridge and the M90, crossing North West Fife. It was formerly a trunk route for its entire length, but only the southernmost couple of miles remain so.

Route

The start of the route takes a little thought to understand, especially its status as a trunk route. However, as the best connection between the eastern ends of the Clackmannanshire Bridge and Kincardine Bridge, it is retained as a trunk road to serve as the diversion route when one or other bridge has to be closed. The route therefore starts to the east of the town of Kincardine at the Longannet Roundabout where it meets the A985. The A985 bypasses Kincardine to the south on the Eastern Link Road which opened in 2006 and the A977 follows the previous route of the A985 into Kincardine on Toll Road. In the town centre it meets the Northern Approach Road (a detached spur of the A876) at a complex signalised junction, which marks the previous terminus of the A977.

Heading south at Tulliallan

The A977 then heads north along Feregait, passing the Tulliallan Police College and then the golf course. About a mile north of the town it reaches the Kilbagie Roundabout where the main line of the A876 from the Clackmannanshire Bridge terminates. This also appears to be the point where the A977 ceases to be trunk, although some records suggest it continues to the next roundabout. This is the Gartarry Roundabout which lies a short distance to the north, astride the council boundary, and is where the A977 is crossed by the A907, with a minor road (the former A907) running in to Clackmannan. The route now curves round to the north east and passes through fields before entering 'The Forest'. A derelict industrial site lies behind the trees on the left, and then a couple of areas have been felled, diminishing the size of the forested area.

Beyond The Forest, the road crosses the Black Devon at Forestmill, and continues to wind across the landscape past an old quarry site and on to the crossroads with the B913. A little further on, the road passes through the tiny village of Blairingone before following a couple of longer straights to reach Powmill. Here the A823 comes in from the south and Dunfermline and the two routes multiplex north for about a mile (the A977 is dominant although this was not always so). They part again at Rumbling Bridge, from where the A823 continues north while the A977 returns to its easterly direction. The next village is Crook of Devon, the largest along the whole route (excluding Kincardine) with the River Devon just behind the houses on the north side of the road, before it doubles back on itself, giving the village its name.

The Balado Golf Ball

Beyond Crook of Devon the quality of the road, which has never been bad, improves notably and a series of long gently curving 'straights' leads to Balado, where the annual 'T In The Park' music festival was formerly held. Balado is also home to the 'Golf Ball', part of a former military communications centre. The B918 comes in from the north here, and soon after the A977 reaches junction 6 of the M90 to the west of Kinross, where the road ends. Kinross services are accessed from the A977 just to the west of the roundabout. Rather bizzarely, the onward route into Kinross is numbered as the A922, with no logical reason behind the change in number.

History

The A977 crossing the Forth on the 1939 OS Ten Mile Road Map

The A977 was not on the 1922 Road Lists; it came into existence a few years later when it took over part of the route of the B910. That road ran from Clackmannan to Kinross; the section from the A823 at Rumbling Bridge to the A90 (now B996) at Kinross was initially redesignated as the A977, and is shown as such on the 1931 Michelin Map. Then, after the construction of the Kincardine Bridge, the section of the B910 from Rumbling Bridge to Gartlove was added, along with a section of previously unclassified road running south from Gartlove to Kincardine, taking over part of the A985 into town. This is first shown on the 1937 edition of the OS Ten Mile Map (the 1936 edition doesn't show the bridge either). The road then crossed the Forth on the new bridge and, after a brief multiplex south with the A905, turned west to meet the A9 just north of Larbert.

At some time in the early 1950s the section west of Kincardine was renumbered as the A876, a new trunk route (designated in 1946) which now started west of the A9, included the Kincardine Bridge, and continued via the A985 to east Fife. The A977 now ended at a triple-point in the centre of Kincardine with the A876 and A985 meaning the southern section of the road became a useless multiplex with the A985. North of Kincardine our road did not become trunk until 1969, replacing the western half of A91 as a trunk route. Apart from the southern end, it was detrunked in 1996. Construction of the M876 turned the road east of Larbert into the A88 and the Kincardine Bridge itself is now the A985; the A977 has been extended south of Kincardine to meet the new course of that road.

At the Kinross end, a short section of the A977 was lost with the coming of the M90 in 1972. It now terminated at junction 6 of the motorway; the lost section was renumbered as the B918 except for the first few yards which is part of the A922.

A number of realignments have also occurred over the years, to the west of Crook of Devon most are identifiable as widenings of the verge or small laybys. The old junction at Gartlove now forms part of the farmyard, while the former line of the B910 is now a picnic area. East of Crook of Devon, the improvements have been more substantial, and a series of stretches of abandoned tarmac can be seen in the fields to either side of the new, straighter road. Finally, the small settlement of Balado has been completely bypassed, and the old road now forms a cycle route from the crossroads at Killoch Bridge all the way through Balado, beyond which the cycle route has to follow the roadside pavement.

Improvement Opening Dates

Year	Section	Notes
1972	Drum - Park Neuk diversion	Completed in 1972 per the 1972 Scottish Development Department Report.
1977	Balado Diversion	The diversion from Balado Crossroads to Turfhills (to the west of Kinross) was completed in 1977 per the 1977 Scottish Development Department Report.