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Cumbernauld

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Cumbernauld
Comar nan Allt
Location Map ( geo)
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County
Dunbartonshire
Highway Authority
North Lanarkshire
Transport Scotland Roads
M80, M876
Places related to the M80
Places related to the A73

Cumbernauld is a new town in Scotland to the NE of Glasgow. It was started in the 1950s to provide overspill and slum clearance opportunities in Glasgow, and whilst it has never reached its planned size, it is a large town lying astride the M80 motorway, so offering good links to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling and further afield. The town was built around two villages in the first instance, although numerous small settlements have also been absorbed by the urban area. In addition to the town centre area, there are large housing estates and a number of industrial areas, providing many jobs. Some of these are related more to distribution than manufacturing, but there are also a number of factories and small workshops in the town.

The town was laid out in an idealistic pedestrians over (or under) cars, where there were to be no pedestrian crossings, underpasses and footbridges providing the necessary connections. The houses and flats are also set in green parkland, with roads, driveways and car parks relegated to secondary importance. Unfortunately, the underpasses have, often undeservingly, gained bad reputations, the footbridges are often of little use to the elderly, infirm and those with young children, no matter how gently the ramps slope, and the poor access to the properties by car has also generated problems.

The A8011 passing under the town centre building

In the centre of town, the vast concrete jungle of the town centre building was designed to include all of the shops, civic facilities, offices and associated functions literally under one roof. This includes several covered bridge spans across the main dual carriageway spine road through the town. Unfortunately, poor planning and the apparent lack of foresight for adding space and connecting new buildings has created a maze of corridors and steps which can be disorientating in a way which open air town streets seldom are. A modern extension has been built partly in place of one of the older sections of the development, but it is still poorly connected. This centre building is now flanked by large Tesco and Asda stores.

The classified road network around the town is perhaps not as dense as might be expected. The M80 separates the original new town zone from the more recent suburbs to the north west, and the parallel A8011 runs through the town centre as noted above. This road turns at either end to meet the motorway, and is almost all garde-separated. The only at-grade junctions are the new roundabout proividing access to the car parks for Tesco and Asda! Towards the south of the town, and passing under the A8011 without a junction, is the A73 which terminates on the motorway after a long journey north from the borders. The south of the town is then served by two B roads, the B8039 and B8054, which have a number of, mostly unfinished, GSJs along their length, not least where the two cross.

The newer zone to the north is less well served with classified roads. The B8048 connects the ends of the A8011 and A73 and then runs west to Kirkintilloch. The B802 also crosses from south to north, little bothered by the developments as it mostly maintains its original route through Condorrat and Croy. The suburbs themselves are then served by unclassified distributor roads.

Before the town was built, the B802 and B8048, ran along similar routes to their current ones. The M80 was the A80, and the only other classified road at that time was the A73. This last took a very different route through the town, with the southern end now being the B8039, and the northern end the A8011. In between, almost all of the route has been lost to development.

Opening Dates

Year Section Notes
1967 Cumbernauld South-western Bypass The 2.87 mile dual carriageway from Auchenkilns Junction (east of Condorrat, then a roundabout with A80) to north of Riggend was opened on 19 June 1967. Cost £1.5 million. Then known then as Luggiebank Bypass.
1967 Langlands - Seafar Interchange The A8011 / B8039 intersection was due to be opened on 12 September 1967. Contractor was R.J.M. McLeod (Contractors) Ltd. cost £600,000. It included the short section of B8039 dual carriageway south to the future Jane's Brae Interchange.
1969 Jane's Brae Interchange The B8039 interchange with South Carbrain Road was reported by Cumbernauld News of 13 March 1969 as having opened "this week". It had a 400 feet eight span bridge over the roads and railway. It completed the dual carriageway from Central Way to Lenziemill Road. Contractor was Tarmac Civil Engineering, cost £380,000.
1971 Southern Link Road (Glasgow Road Extension to A80) The dual carriageway from a new flyover at Auchenkilns Junction (east of Condorrat, then A80) to Glasgow Road (by A73) was opened on 12 July 1971. The original roundabout junction was replaced with a flyover over A73. Originally known as Pollockshole / Low woods Interchange. There was one way running on the southern carriageway over the A73 bridge whilst work continued which was expected to be completed on 19 July 1971. Cost £0.5 million.
1975 Westfield Road The 1.49 mile road from Mollins Road to B802 was completed in 1975 per the 1975 Scottish Development Department Report.
1981 Luggiebank Bypass The 0.5 mile road on B8039 was opened on 2 October 1981. Cost £0.75 million

Routes

Route To Notes

M80

Perth, Stirling

M80

Glasgow (M8), Carlisle (M73)

M876

Kincardine Bridge, Falkirk, Grangemouth via M80

A73

Airdrie

A8011

(M80) Signed both ways out of the Town Centre

B802

Kilsyth, Croy, Craigmarloch, Balloch

B802

Condorrant, Westfield

B816

Bonnybridge, Castlecary, Wardpark, Airport

B8039

Airdrie (A73), Blairlynn, Lenziemill, S Carbrain

B8048

Kirkintilloch, Blackwood, Smithstone

B8054

Seafair, Kildrum, N. Carbrain

A80

Stirling (M80), Kincardine Bridge (M876) upgraded online to M80 in 2011

A80

Glasgow (M80, M8), Carlisle (M73) upgraded online to M80 in 2011

Links





Cumbernauld
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CumbernauldMissingJunction.pngCumbernauldMissingJunction2.pngTwechar-rbt2.jpgM80-mollinsburn2.jpgM73-mollinsburn6.jpg
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