M74
M74 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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From: | Glasgow (NS576643) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
To: | Abington, Lanarkshire (NS929246) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance: | 32.5 miles (52.3 km) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Meets: | M8, M77, M73, A725, A702, A74(M) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The M74 forms the northern section of the motorway running between Glasgow and Gretna, and hence the English border.
The last section of the M74 was opened on the evening of 28 June 2011, extending the motorway westwards along the south side of Glasgow, past the city centre and bypassing sections of the M8 and the Kingston Bridge.
Junctions
Abington Interchange
The Abington Interchange is where the A74(M) and M74 change numbers, and also forms the main access to Edinburgh from the motorway network. It was formerly a fork junction between A74 and A73. During the motorway construction in the early 1990s, the junction was rebuilt into the present layout.
Fullarton Road Interchange
The Fullarton Road Interchange was the Glasgow terminus of the M74 for over 15 years until 2011. It was originally a flat roundabout, flared ready for the extension of the motorway. It is now a standard grade-separated roundabout junction. The roundabout, now J2A following completion of the M74 extension, was J1 of the M74, and links it to the only remaining section of A74.
Services
Cairn Lodge services
Cairn Lodge is an unusual MSA, as it is actually bypassed by the motorway and is located on the B7078, the former A74. It is located between junctions 11 and 12, and traffic wishing to visit the services must exit at one junction, and rejoin the motorway at the next junction.
Bothwell services
Bothwell services serves only the southbound side of the M74, and is located between junctions 4 and 5. It is one of the oldest MSAs in Scotland, and one of the smallest.
Hamilton services
Hamilton is a small run-down services that is only accessible from the northbound side of M74 between junction 5 and 6. The main building is not open 24 hours, although the fuel station (and small shop therein) is.
History
Glasgow Extension
An extension to the M74 was completed in 2011 from the previous northern terminus to meet the M8 at Kingston, Glasgow, near the south end of the Kingston Bridge. The previous terminus, Fullarton Road Interchange, had been J1. To get round this problem, Junctions 1, 2 and 3 were renumbered 2A, 3, 3A, and the sequence of junctions numbers is now 1, 1A, 2, 2A, 3, 3A, 4, 5, ... . For some reason the use of letters beyond A was avoided, otherwise only J1 need have been renumbered.
The extension ends on the outer carriageways of the M8, which continue to the M77 junction. Officially this will remain part of the M8, however they could be considered to be part of the M74.
Opening Dates
Videos
Links
Roads.org.uk
legislation.gov.uk
Roads UK
You Tube