Star.pngStar.pngStar.pngStar.pngStar grey.png

B7012

From Roader's Digest: The SABRE Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
B7012
Location Map ( geo)
Cameraicon.png View gallery (2)
From:  Bothwell Bridge (NS702561)
To:  Crossbasket (NS668563)
Via:  High Blantyre
Distance:  3.6 miles (5.8 km)
Meets:  A725, A724, B758, A725
Former Number(s):  A776
Old route now:  A725
Primary Destinations
Highway Authorities

South Lanarkshire

Traditional Counties

Lanarkshire

Route outline (key)
B7012 Bothwell Bridge - Whitehill
B7012 High Blantyre – Whitehill
B7012 Burnbank - Crossbasket

The B7012 consists of two disconnected sections of road near the Lanarkshire town of Hamilton.

Route

Bothwell Bridge - Whitehill

The eastern part of the B7012 is little more than a glorified, and very long, sliproad. It starts on the eastern side of East Kilbride as a westbound offslip from the A725. In some respects this is one of the longest slip roads in the country, as it is nearly two thirds of a mile to the roundabout. However, along the way the route passes a large industrial area, and so as a dead-end access road comes in from the left, the B7012 widens and becomes two-way. The route is running alongside the dual carriageway, and has several more left turns into the industrial area, one served by a mini roundabout. As the two roads diverge a little, a right turn then passes under the A725 to pass through another industrial estate and provide sliproads for the eastbound carriageway, but this doesn't appear to have ever been part of the B7012. The railway line is then crossed, and a short distance later this part of the B7012 reaches its end at a roundabout on the A724. Opposite lies a westbound onslip for the A725, while an eastbound onslip is provided a little to the north from the A724. There isn't an eastbound offslip here, however, with traffic therefore using the unclassified link and the B7012.

Burnbank - Crossbasket

Heading east towards the junction with the B758 in High Blantyre

The western part of the route starts at a signalised TOTSO just under a mile to the south on the A724 and heads north west on High Blantyre Road. A short section of dual carriageway rapidly narrows to a wide S2 with parking bays on both sides. The route forks right at the first roundabout and then becomes a dual carriageway again before the second, although roadside parking means that this section is essentially D1. Having passed through a typical suburban neighbourhood and then crossed some wooded parkland, an industrial estate now sits to the left. The A725, East Kilbride Expressway is then crossed at a large grade separated roundabout, beyond which the route winds through trees onto Main Street which leads into High Blantyre. There is a lot of modern infill between older buildings as the route winds through this former village, now a large suburban area between Hamilton and Glasgow. Shops and businesses are also clustered along the route, interspersed with some modern flats and houses.

After passing a car park, the B758 is met at a signalised staggered crossroads, coming in from the left before leaving to the right. Now following Hamilton Road, the route winds through trees, passing between modern housing estates that back onto the main road. A hatched centre lane is provided for the junction with the newest of these estates. After passing the last house, the route becomes a dual carriageway once more, as it crosses fields and woodland. It doesn't last long, however, and soon the westbound carriageway is narrowed to a single lane before turning abruptly to a give way line for the eastbound carriageway. This provides access to the unclassified road past Crossbasket to East Kilbride, while the B7012 itself becomes the lone eastbound offslip from the A725, all other movements provided via the B758.

History

The B7012 as first classified in the 1920s

On classification in 1922 the B7012 did not exist. The number had come to the area by 1927 but not quite where it would be expected. The B7012's original route started on the A724 (now the B7071) at the southern end of Bothwell Bridge and headed west along Whistleberry Road. The first part of this is now lost under the A725 East Kilbride Expressway, while the rest remains the B7012. After crossing the A74 (now the A724) with a short multiplex, the route continued west along Auchenraith Road to reach the A726, Hamilton Road. Despite numerous changes to the numbering of the routes that were crossed, the B7012 retained this route until the late 1970s.

The A726 had been renumbered as the A776 in 1934, and the western part of this route was bypassed by a new dual carriageway in 1967 - the old road is now the unclassified road past Crossbasket at the western end of the B7012. Around a decade later, the dual carriageway was completed on a new alignment to meet the A74 (now the B7071) at Bothwell Bridge, and as such it was numbered as an extension to the A725, which continued north east through Bellshill to Coatbridge. This led to the old road being downgraded, and while it was natural to renumber the western part through High Blantyre as an extension of the B7012, the rest was not so obvious. However, as it ran alongside the new dual carriageway, the original B7012 was almost surplus to requirements as a classified road. The precise chronology is uncertain, but Auchenraith Road was downgraded to be unclassified in order to let the B7012 take over all of the A776 in towards Hamilton Town centre, while the Whistleberry Road section seems to have been left solely as a long sliproad.




B7012
Places
Related Pictures
View gallery (2)
Car Showrooms Adjacent to A725 - Geograph - 107086.jpgHeading toward the junction - Geograph - 3729487.jpg
Other nearby roads
East Kilbride
Hamilton
B7000 – B7999
B7000 • B7001 • B7002 • B7003 • B7004 • B7005 • B7006 • B7007 • B7008 • B7009 • B7010 • B7011 • B7012 • B7013 • B7014 • B7015 • B7016 • B7017 • B7018 • B7019
B7020 • B7021 • B7022 • B7023 • B7024 • B7025 • B7026 • B7027 • B7028 • B7029 • B7030 • B7031 • B7032 • B7033 • B7034 • B7035 • B7036 • B7037 • B7038 • B7039
B7040 • B7041 • B7042 • B7043 • B7044 • B7045 • B7046 • B7047 • B7048 • B7049 • B7050 • B7051 • B7052 • B7053 • B7054 • B7055 • B7056 • B7057 • B7058 • B7059
B7060 • B7061 • B7062 • B7063 • B7064 • B7065 • B7066 • B7067 • B7068 • B7069 • B7070 • B7071 • B7072 • B7073 • B7074 • B7075 • B7076 • B7077 • B7078 • B7079
B7080 • B7081 • B7082 • B7083 • B7084 • B7085 • B7086 • B7087 • B7088 • B7089 • B7090 • B7091 • B7092 • B7093 • B7094 • B7095 • B7096 • B7097 • B7098 • B7099
B7201
Earlier iterations: B7000 • B7011 • B7035 • B7039 • B7054 • B7058

SABRE - The Society for All British and Irish Road Enthusiasts
Discuss - Digest - Discover - Help