B763
| B763 | |||||||||||||
| Location Map ( geo) | |||||||||||||
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| From: | Dennistoun (NS619654) | ||||||||||||
| To: | Shawlands (NS570624) | ||||||||||||
| Distance: | 4.5 miles (7.2 km) | ||||||||||||
| Meets: | A8, A89, A74, A749, A728, A730, M74, A77, B768 | ||||||||||||
| Former Number(s): | B807 | ||||||||||||
| Highway Authorities | |||||||||||||
| Traditional Counties | |||||||||||||
| Route outline (key) | |||||||||||||
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For the original B733, a shorter road further east, see B763 (Dalmarnock - Parkhead).
The B763, an entirely Glaswegian B-road, could be described as one quarter of an otherwise non-existant inner ring road. It gently turns from Alexandra Park in the well-tenemented eastern district of Dennistoun, to Shawlands on the south side. The most common site on the journey is that of the suburban railway station; there are four of them directly on the route and that many again just a short walk from it.
Route
Dennistoun – Dalmarnock
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The B763 starts on the A8 Alexandra Parade by forking left onto Cumbernauld Road outside Alexandra Park. However, traffic is not permitted to turn right into this road, and is instead directed to use the unclassified Alexandra Park Street a short distance to the west. This meets the A88 at a signalised crossroads, opposite another unclassified route which tries to claim various numbers for itself. A short distance along it to the northwest lies junction 14 of the M8 which is signposted to exit to the B763, making Viewpark Avenue part of the B763. However, from the crossroads on the A8 the route is signed as being part of the A804, which terminates on the A803 some distance to the west. On the road itself, southbound signage generally says (A8), indicating that it leads to the A8, while northbound it is (A803). It therefore seems unlikely, but not impossible, that this is part of the B763 route.
Cumbernauld Road is definitely the B763, and it heads south west, climbing a little to cross the railway (the Springburn spur of the North Clyde line) and meet Alexandra Park Street at a signalised T junction. Now heading south, and widening to S4, it curves gently alongside the railway to Alexandra Cross, where it crosses the former A802, Duke Street. The route turns back to run due south here, crossing the railway which is half tunneled under the junction and neighbouring properties. Now following Millerston Street, it crosses another railway line and runs along the western side of the Forge shopping centre in Parkhead. There used to be tower blocks on the right here but they, along with the surrounding low rise blocks, have been flattened and the site is being redeveloped with modern housing. At the south west corner of the retail park, the route crosses Gallowgate, the A89, at a large signalised crossroads and continues south of Fielden Street through a typical suburban mix of commercial units, schools and residential areas. There are no property accesses dirtectly onto the main road, however, and some of the side roads have been closed up.
The next major junction is with London Road, the A74, at Bridgeton which is also controlled by traffic lights, and then the B763 curves slowly to the south west on Dunn Street. This runs along the western edge of a large industrial area, with residential blocks opposite. The A749, Dalmarnock Road then comes in from the left, and used to continue to the right, but appears to now have a gap before resuming beyond Bridgeton Cross. A short distance later, the B763 also comes to a temporary end when it meets the A728 Clyde Gateway. Things now become a little confused. The B763 multiplexes south across the gently arched Rutherglen Bridge with the A728 to meet the A730 at Shawfield. There is then a three-way multiplex west along New Rutherglen Road to a signalised T junction with Polmadie Road near junction 1A on the M74 Polmadie Road was the B763, but when the A728 Clyde Gateway opened, it appeared to become part of that route. Now, it is generally signed as the B763 once more.
Oatlands – Shawlands
What was once the Dixon Blazes industrial estate is now a motorway interchange, with the B763 having a brief dual carriageway section through two sets of lights as it passes under the motorway. The small Polmadie Services then lie off to the right, just before the route crosses over the railway next to a massive Scotrail servicing depot. Polmadie Road continues to head south west through a large industrial area, although no one is quite sure if it is the B763 or the A728 these days. At the end of Polmadie Road, the older, and still current alignment of the A728 is met at what is laid out as a signalised TOTSO, and from the south Polmadie Road is signed as the B763. However, it could well now be unclassified, as the mainline of the B763 has itself encountered a TOTSO at the traffic lights at the eastern end of Calder Street. Typically, this junction is completely unsigned, giving no indication to traffic that it is a classified route.
Calder Street soon crosses the A728 at more traffic lights, and continues west, running between mid twentieth century flats as far as the next lights, where older tenements take over. Of more interest, however, is that this former crossroads has been changed in a most peculiar manner. The road to the right has been closed up, and that to the left is no entry. Ahead, the B763 inexplicably becomes one-way westbound, and the alternate eastbound route is the unclassified Allison Street a block or two to the south. For the most part, Calder Street retains two (unmarked) lanes with parking on both sides, so it could still accommodate two-way traffic. Shops and businesses fill the ground floors of many of the tenement blocks, and here and there modern low rise buildings, home to surgeries, a library and other businesses fill in gaps. The famous Govanhill Baths also lie on the right along Calder Street.
Just beyond the baths, Victoria Road, lined with shops, crosses at traffic lights, and then the next major junction is another signalised crossroads, with the A77, Pollokshaws Road, with another cluster of shops at the junction. The B763 crosses with a slight kink to the left to follow Nithsdale Drive across the railway and on to a roundabout where it meets the other end of the one-way loop. Back as a two-way road, Nithsdale Road curves north west to cross another railway, and then the B763 TOTSOs right onto Darnley Road, which runs alongside the railway for the route's final stretch. A block of slightly unusual tenements stands on the right along here, just before the grounds of Hutchesons Grammar School. The road then sweeps right onto Titwood Road at a signalised junction and becomes S4 again, but this is not the B763, as the B768 has come in from the right at the junction and takes over.
History
The current B763 is a relatively recent creation, dating from the later 1970s or 1980s, when there was a fairly thorough review of classified routes in south Glasgow. Most of the route was previously unclassified, but the northern most end along Cumbernauld Road is the original line of the B807. Mainly thanks to the Construction of the Clyde Gateway and M74 motorway, however, there have been a number of changes to the route since. The Parkhead to Dalmarnock section closely shadows the originally classified B763 - it was the next main road to the east, Springfield Road, and ran in roughly the same direction although to the east of the Forge and Celtic Park, unlike the modern routing which is to the west of these features. The Clyde Gateway which now runs between these two lines is obviously much newer than either.
