Rutherglen Cross

Rutherglen Cross lies in the heart of Rutherglen, an ancient Burgh which is now one of Glasgow's inner suburbs. It is the meeting point of the A749 which runs roughly north south, and the east-west B768, which run's along Rutherglen's Main Street, which is the main shopping street. To the west, Main Street is a very wide, presumably reflecting its ancient usage as the market place. The Mercat Cross stands towards the western end of this wide area, in front of the public buildings, but is a replica from 1926. It is not marked on maps before the 1950s, however, so it is unclear if it is erected on the historic location or just close by. What is clear is that the current junction was only a T junction until c1900 when the eastern part of Main Street was opened up. Maps from c1910 show a stub dead end built with a couple of older terraces stretching away from the junction, and by the 1920s the route is complete, although the MOT map from 1922 doesn't show it, and implies that the A730 follows the older Hamilton Road to the south. This, on balance, is probably unlikely and a result of using an old base map.

Both routes through the junction have been renumbered since 1922, the A749 was, for perhaps just a couple of years, originally numbered as the B744, but quickly elevated to Class I standard and renumbered accordingly. The B768 was only extended through the junction in the 1960s, however, when the A730 was re-routed to the south. Today each of the four arms has 2 approach lanes and a single marked departure lane, although Main Street is wide enough for two lanes, and has bus lanes and parking bays. The western part of the B768 also has a central reservation through the market place. The crossroads is controlled by traffic lights with pedestrian crossings on all four arms.

Routes

Route	To	Notes
A749	(M74), Dalmarnock, Bridgeton, Parkhead, city centre	former B744
A749	Burnside, East Kilbride	former B744
B768	Torryglen, Mount Florida	former A730
B768	Cambuslang, Hamilton (A724)	former A730