Craigton Interchange

Craigton Interchange, junction 30 (formerly junction 11) of the M8, connects to M898 and lies towards the western end of the motorway.

Detail

The junction in 1972 before Bishopton Bypass Stage 2 was built

It is where a significant chunk of the traffic that remains on the motorway after Renfrew disappears. Considering the congestion found on the 5-lane sections in Glasgow city centre, the two lane M8 at Craigton is already lightly trafficked, but with roughly half the traffic turning off onto the M898 it becomes clearer still. The reason so much traffic turns off here is that it is heading across the Clyde via the Erskine Bridge, the lowest crossing point of the river, on its way north and west on the A82.

The junction itself is a directional T design, with a full set of single lane sliproads. However, when first built these sliproads carried two narrow lanes without hard shoulders, a thought that seems quite scary when travelling through the junction at speed today! Of the two sliproads which cross the M8 mainline, the westbound offslip passes under the M8, whilst the onslip crosses over the top. In each case, the single lane sliproads merge to form the D2M M898 leading to the A898 across the Erskine Bridge.

History

The connection between the eastwards M8 and the M898 towards Erskine Bridge was opened on 27 December 1970 per The Gazette (in advance of Erskine Bridge opening on 2 July 1971}.

The full junction was opened on 18 November 1975 with the westwards extension of the M8 on the Bishopton Bypass.

Routes

Route	To	Notes
M8	Greenock
M8	Paisley, Glasgow Airport
M898	Erskine Br., Erskine, Bishopstone