B700
B700 | ||||
Location Map ( geo) | ||||
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From: | Haymarket (NT242733) | |||
To: | Lothian Road (NT247731) | |||
Via: | Morrison Street | |||
Distance: | 0.4 miles (0.6 km) | |||
Meets: | A8, A700 | |||
Highway Authorities | ||||
Traditional Counties | ||||
Route outline (key) | ||||
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The B700 is a short link road in Edinburgh's west end.
The B700 has two western ends, one for each direction of traffic, on the A8 at Haymarket. They run eastwards on parallel streets (eastbound on Torphichen Street, westbound on Morrison Street) before converging at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. The road then flies over the Western Approach Road without interchange and runs to the A702 (former A700) Lothian Road halfway between the West End and Tollcross junctions. The B700 covers the entire length of Morrison Street, although the last fifty or so yards are one-way eastwards only. Westbound traffic has to use the unclassified Semple Street instead, which forms part of a complex, partially one-way gyratory system connecting the A702 and A700. Although a lot of Edinburgh's historic terraced blocks survive along the route, there are also several notable modern redevelopments, which largely comprise commercial premises, but include some flats.
History
When first classified in 1922, the B700 comprised the full length of Morrison Street, starting opposite Haymarket Station and running through to its present eastern terminus on Lothian Road. The precise chronology is not clear, but the western end of Morrison Street is now a part of the A8 one way system at Haymarket, resulting in the B700 being cut back by a block to the junction with Torphichen Place. The eastbound route along Torphichen Street similarly starts at the Junction with Torphichen Place, a few yards short of the historic A8 line on Atholl Place. These changes all predate the construction works for the citys tram route.