Humbie Roundabout

The roundabout shown on the September 1971 OS One Inch map

The Humbie Roundabout was a junction which linked the A8000 and B800 to the M9 Spur. It was removed when the M9 Spur was extended to meet the A90 at the new Scotstoun Junction south of Queensferry. For over 30 years, this junction had been a serious bottleneck on the road network of West Lothian. Two lanes of traffic headed north along the motorway, and had to merge down to a single lane northbound on the A8000 to reach Queensferry and the Forth Road Bridge. Very little traffic turned right onto the B800 at the end of the motorway, primarily because Kirkliston was easier to reach from Junction 1 on the M9. This constriction from two lanes to one regularly caused long traffic jams along both the A8000 and M9 spur. Heading south, things were little better. The sheer volume of traffic using the A8000 meant that the interruption of the roundabout caused long tailback along it to the north as well.

When built in 1971, the Humbie Roundabout may have been considered a temporary solution, but in the end it took over 35 years for the motorway spur to be extended. Much of the delay was due to the A8000 being maintained by West Lothian Council, rather than Transport Scotland, and its predecessors. The council didn't have enough money to fix it, and the state were reluctant to pump money into a 'local' road. The motorway extension finally opened in 2007, leading to the total removal of the Humbie Roundabout, after some temporary layouts during the construction phase. The Motorway is now part of the M90, and is carried over the B800 on a bridge, with no connection between the two routes at this location.

Routes

Route	To	Notes
M9	Edinburgh
A8000	Forth Road Bridge (A90)
B800	Kirkliston

Strip Maps

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  The layout of the roundabout.