B754

The B754 is an urban B-road passing to the south of Motherwell and Wishaw in north Lanarkshire.

Route

Shields Road, Craigneuk

Starting at traffic lights on the A723 to the west of Motherwell town centre, the B754 heads east along Airbles Road as it winds through a green corridor between modern housing estates - some are still being built. There are two eastbound lanes from the start, and after the second junction the route becomes dual-carriageway, now passing between a large cemetery to the south and office buildings to the north. Houses resume after a roundabout, and then the route passes over a railway line adjacent to Airbles station. A short distance further on it reaches another roundabout, with high and mid rise tower blocks standing in the surrounding parkland. A mixture of Commerical properties and housing then line the roadside as it crosses another roundabout to meet the A721 at a fourth roundabout, next to Motherwell's Civic Centre and so at the southern edge of the town centre area.

There is then a multiplex east along the A721 to the next roundabout, where the B754 regains its number by turning right and heading south along Shields Road. Again the road starts as S2+1, with two lanes northbound, but quickly widens to D2 as it reaches another, larger group of tower blocks. A pleasant green strip survives where the route crosses a burn, but a line of tower blocks, with low rise homes surrounding them, can be seen ahead. The route then turns to the south east and becomes more traditionally suburban as it runs through Muirhouse. The dualling ends at a signalised T junction next to a car dealership, beyond which the route runs through another green strip where a large industrial area extends to the north, and houses back onto the road to the south. This is Netherton, and beyond the next roundabout there are houses on both sides for a time, before the industrial estate takes over completely after the following roundabout.

Netherton Road then reaches a mini-roundabout where it turns right onto Castlehill Road; the route to the left is the B7032 which leads into Wishaw town centre. A very large electricity substation stands off to the left, beyond which an estate of low and high rise flats appears to be in the process of demolition / redevelopment, but they stand well back from the road which curves round to the east once more. Fields stretch off to the right, dropping down into the Clyde Valley, while the relatively modern housing of Gowkthrapple stands on the left, with a mini roundabout giving access to the newest estate. After passing a School, it climbs into Overtown, passing a mixture of new and older housing on Castlehill Road before reaching the village centre. Here the route ends at traffic lights on the A71, Main Street.

History

As originally classified in 1922, the route only extended along the western part of the modern route, running from the A723 to the A721 on Airbles Road. It was soon extended, however, and the current extent is shown on the revised MOT map from 1927. Since then there have been numerous local improvements carried out, not least the two long sections of dualling, some of which have led to minor realignments. The second roundabout on the A721 was built slightly offline, leading to realignments of both routes. The B754 previously met the main road a little to the west, where a stub of Shields Road survives serving houses. Further east, the B754 originally followed Netherton Road between the houses, the current alignment post dates 1974, and was probably built at a similar time to the dualling immediately to the west, and there seems to be a wide green strip retained for future dualling of this section. Finally a double bend on Castlehill Road where it sweeps back to the east has been bypassed, although part of the old road survives as parking.

The 1922 MOT Road List defines this route as: Bye-Pass S. of Motherwell