Irvine
Irvine Irbhinn | |||
Location Map ( geo) | |||
| |||
County | |||
Ayrshire | |||
Highway Authority | |||
North Ayrshire | |||
Forward Destination on | |||
A71, A78, A737 | |||
Next Primary Destinations | |||
Ayr • Greenock • Kilmarnock • Paisley | |||
Irvine is a historic burgh and New Town on the north Ayrshire coast at the mouth of the River Irvine and River Garnock. The town grew up around a busy port and harbour at the river mouth, around which other industries developed over the centuries. With the port in decline through the 20th century, the town was designated as a New Town in the 1960s. This led to a lot of the old part of the town around the docks being demolished to make way for a new shopping and commercial centre. The large new shopping centre building was built across the River Irvine, connecting the new developments to the old town centre on the north bank. However, it replaced the historic old bridge, which dated back to 1748.
The main road through Irvine is the A78, North Ayrshire Coast road, which once ran through the town centre, but now follows a bypass to the east, although the town extends beyond. The old route of the A78 has become an extension of the A737, which runs straight towards the town centre, before turning sharply to the west across the new bridge over the River Irvine and then pass under the 'new' shopping centre complex. It rejoins the A78 at Newhouse Interchange to the south of the town. Where the A737 turns to cross the river, the curtailed A736 terminates, it previously continued over the old bridge and into the docks area.
The A71 also once terminated in Irvine, but this now runs on a new alignment which bypasses both Irvine and Kilmarnock to the east. The old road through the towns is now the B7081, with the B7080 providing a north - south distributor road parallel to, but east of the A78, for the length of the Irvine Bypass. The B769 has a new route out of Irvine - it starts to the northeast of the centre, but then sticks to its old route across Ayrshire and into the Glasgow suburbs. The only other classified road in the town is the curtailed B730, which used to start near the B769, but now starts at Dreghorn to the south, and heads south across the county.
Routes
Route | To | Notes |
Kilmarnock | ||
Ayr(A77), (A719) | Accessed via A737 | |
Greenock | Accessed via A737 | |
A78(North), (Paisley(A726) | ||
Barrhead | ||
Fullarton, A78(South) | ||
Sandy Rd | ||
Dreghorn |
Links