Canderside Toll

Northbound offslip from the M74

The original crossroads in 1961

The roundabout shown in 1966

The junction in 1971 not long after the opening of the M74

Canderside Toll is a junction on the M74 to the south of Larkhall, providing easy access to Stonehouse and Strathaven as well as Larkhall. It comprises two parts, a roundabout junction between the A71 and B7078 (former A74), and the motorway sliproads, three of which meet the A71 separately a little to the east. The roundabout was built on the site of a historic crossroads in 1959 with the proposed interchange in mind. The rest of the junction was opened in 1966 as part of the first section of the M74 (see M74 and A74(M) History), and was junction 2 in the original junction numbering system which lasted until 1986. Since then it has been junction 8.

The roundabout is an oval shape, nearly on a north south axis, with the A71 passing through from south west to north east, while the B7078 is north-south. The M74 northbound offslip meets the roundabout in the south east corner, and a distribution centre is accessed from the roundabouts northern side. There are two circulatory lanes marked around three quarters of the junction, and the four main approaches (not including the motorway) have two approach lanes to separate turning traffic. In 2009 it was revamped to provide a filter lane from the A71 Stonehouse into Larkhall which leaves only one circulatory lane on this side of the junction, and so limits the amount of room for other turning traffic.

The remaining three motorway sliproads all meet the A71 to the east of the roundabout. Only the southbound onslip can be accessed from either direction, the other two sliproads both have acutely angled junctions turned towards the roundabout, forcing traffic to use the roundabout for right turns. However, as the eastern arm of the A71 turns to run roughly parallel to the motorway, most traffic will use the A72 and Junction 7 rather than doubling back at Canderside Toll.

History

As noted above, this junction is the site of a historic crossroads between the main Glasgow to Carlisle route, originally built in the 1750s as a military road and latterly the A74, and the A71, one of the main routes from Edinburgh to Ayrshire. It has therefore long been a busy junction. As originally constructed in 1959, the roundabout was a more normal circular shape, as can still be identified by the block of mature trees at the southern end of the island. Its enlargement seems to have been carried out fairly recently, certainly after the motorway was built, and is perhaps related to the construction of the distribution depot to the north, whose access road would not have easily fitted into the original smaller junction.

Routes

Route	To	Notes
M74	The NORTH, Glasgow
M74	The SOUTH, Carlisle
A71	Stonehouse, Strathaven
A71	Wishaw, Lanark (A72)
B7078	Blackwood	former A74
B7078	Larkhall, Hamilton	former A74
	Distribution Depot