B8050
B8050 | ||||
Location Map ( geo) | ||||
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From: | Faifley (E) (NS518730) | |||
To: | Milngavie (NS553741) | |||
Distance: | 2.5 miles (4 km) | |||
Meets: | A810, A809, B8030 | |||
Highway Authorities | ||||
Traditional Counties | ||||
Route outline (key) | ||||
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The B8050 was once a fairly rural link route but has become increasingly suburban as Milngavie and Bearsden have grown.
The route starts at the Langfaulds roundabout junction with the A810. This roundabout was constructed in Summer 2011, replacing the simple T-junction that had previously been here. The road then heads in a generally easterly direction initially between fields and then along Baljaffray Road through the Baljaffray area of Bearsden. For the most part it is a reasonably wide S2 road, albeit penned in by high hedges and speed is restricted to 40 mph at times. Even when passing through Bearsden, the new estates have been set back with service roads, minimising the number of junctions and accesses along the main road.
The B8050 then meets the A809 at Baljaffray Roundabout and continues ahead, dropping gently over a wooded embankment as it becomes Craigdhu Road. There are still a handful of fields separating Bearsden from Milngavie here, although South Mains Farm lies on the roadside as the road enters Milngavie. At a roundabout junction with Hunter Road it turns right and continues, still named Craigdhu Road, towards the town centre. The houses are now older and face directly onto the B8050, although the road is wide and tree lined. The route then turns sharp right at a signalised crossroads onto Park Road, which passes behind the town centre to terminate at a signalised junction with the B8030.
History
The route was originally unclassified but had gained its number by 1932.
As an important link across the north of the Glasgow urban area, the road has seen some improvements over the years. Most recently, construction of the Langfaulds roundabout was completed in August 2011, but this was just the latest of many other works. Continuing east, there is a long realignment to avoid an old bend at Windyhill Golf Course, which remains in use as the driveway to the clubhouse. There is then a slight realignment southwards where the road passes through the Baljaffray Roundabout; it previously ran in a straighter line which is still partially visible outside the filling station.
Another loop, along Chestnut Lane at the entrance to Milngavie has also been bypassed, and then a more substantial realignment through Milngavie's town centre. The road originally continued ahead at the crossroads and ended on the old B8030 line at the northern end of Main Street. However, when the B8030 relief road along Woodburn Way opened, it obviously changed the route of the B8050. There is a suggestion that for a brief period the B8050 was extended eastwards along Douglas Street and Station Road to meet Woodward Way, but this has not been confirmed. Before Long, the B8050 was re-routed onto its current line, heading south from the crossroads along Park Road, and leaving its original eastern end to become an unclassified dead-end serving a car park.