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B7081

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B7081
Location Map ( geo)
Cameraicon.png View gallery (7)
From:  Irvine (NS322389)
To:  Kilmarnock (NS426377)
Via:  Dreghorn, Crosshouse
Distance:  6.9 miles (11.1 km)
Meets:  A736, B7080, B730, B751, B7064, A735, A759
Former Number(s):  A71
Primary Destinations
Highway Authorities

East Ayrshire • North Ayrshire

Traditional Counties

Ayrshire

Route outline (key)
B7081 Irvine - Kilmarnock

The B7081 provides a minor back route between Irvine and Kilmarnock, along the original line of the A71 between the two towns.

Route

Irvine - Springside

Irvine High Street

The B7081 begins in the centre of Irvine at a signalised crossroads on the A736. It quickly curves around the back of a supermarket and the Town Hall complex to reach a mini roundabout on The High Street. Here it TOTSOs left onto the wide High Street, which narrows a little as it becomes Townhead, but still has room for nose in parking on one side. Shops are strung along both sides of the tree lined road as far as the next junction, where the town centre area is quickly left behind. Annick Road is initially lined with older stone houses and flats and some newer infill quickly and we pass though an area of flats, but these soon give way to bungalows as the road bends gently to reach the Annick Roundabout. The unclassified road to the right here appears to have room for dualling and leads through trees to the A71 bypass. The B7081, meanwhile, continues ahead to cross over the Annick Water and then, after passing some modern developments, also crosses over the A78 without a junction.

An Industrial area lies beyond the A78, although the B7081 soon meets the B7080 at the Newmoor Roundabout. This large junction was clearly designed for the B7080 to be grade separated, but this never happened. The B7081 continues ahead through a smaller industrial area, past a High School and so into the old village of Dreghorn, which has been all but absorbed by the growth of Irvine. Now following Campbell Place, the route is lined with some typical suburban semis and cottage flats. It then curves past a small park onto Townfoot, which has a scattering of shops between the houses. The B730 is met at a traffic-light-controlled crossroads by the Parish Chruch, before entering the town centre proper. A fairly typical mix of town centre shops and flats is the backdrop as the route runs along Main Street. The old village school lies at the further end of the town centre, and then after passing a few more houses, the route leaves the urban area and passes between a field and woodland to reach the Dreghorn Roundabout.


Turning right at the roundabout leads down to the A71 at the Corsehill Mount Roundabout, while the left turn is a modern distributor road which winds back towards Irvine town centre. On the far side of the roundabout, the route crosses another couple of fields before entering Springside, a settlement largely consisting of post-WWII council houses and more modern semis. The route winds into town on Main Road then Springhill Terrace and, after passing a small groups of shops on the left, leaves again on Kilmarnock Road.

Springside - Kilmarnock

East of Springside, there is almost a mile of open country before the route reaches Crosshouse. The route climbs gently between hedges and trees, to reach a low summit with some houses hidden in the trees to the left. The rooftops of the village can briefly be seen ahead before the road dips down again, and soon enters Crosshouse. Irvine Road is again lined with cottage flats and houses, and quickly leads into the village centre. Here the B751 comes in from the left for a blink-and-you'll-miss-it multiplex past the shops and over the Carmel Water before peeling off at a signalised T-Junction. The B7081 continues east along Kilmarnock Road, again lined with flats and houses, before trees on the left mark the edge of the grounds of University Hospital Crosshouse - Kilmarnock's main hospital. A roundabout provides the main entrance, with large car parks lying along the roadside, and the hospital buildings visible beyond.

The next roundabout provides another link to the A71, and is doubtless the preferred route for Ambulances travelling to and from the hospital, even from parts of Kilmarnock. Beyond, the B7081 is the dominant number in a multiplex with the B7064 along Irvine Road into Kilmarnock. After passing a small industrial estate on the left, a new housing development on the right marks the edge of the town. The route continues across a roundabout and past Annanhill golf course and park on the right, with interwar housing to the left. A traffic-light-controlled crossroads sees the B7064 turn left and the B7081 continues ahead alone through an area of large, traditional houses and bungalows as it winds its way towards Kilmarnock town centre. Just after the next set of lights, the route follows Portland Road as it squeezes under the railway, before widening up again. After the next signalised crossroads, most of the large houses are now offices or business premises, and soon shops appear too.

A large church complex sits on the right, with another tower visible ahead, but the B7081 ends before it can reach it. The terminal junction is another signalised crossroads, where the A759 comes in from the right and also terminates on the A735 one-way loop around the town centre.

History

The route gained its number in stages in the late 1970s and 1980s with the completion of the present A71 dual carriageway. The first section of the new road to open was the Dreghorn Bypass in 1978, and Irvine's Town Centre bypass was completed in 1981. The Springside and Crosshouse bypass opened in 1983, and almost exactly four years later the Kilmarnock Southern Bypass opened in November 1987. At present it is presumed that the B7081 number was applied to each bypassed section in turn, but this is not absolutely confirmed.




B7081
Junctions
Crossings
Places
Related Pictures
View gallery (7)
Approaching Annick Roundabout, Irvine - Geograph - 6858190.jpgB7081-irvine.jpgB7081-high-st.jpgB7081-annick-water-br.jpgB7081-annick-water-br2.jpg
Other nearby roads
Irvine
Kilmarnock
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


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