Sheriffhall Roundabout
Sheriffhall Roundabout | |||
Location Map ( geo) | |||
![]() | |||
Traffic on the circulatory carriageway | |||
| |||
Location | |||
nr Dalkeith | |||
County | |||
Midlothian | |||
Highway Authority | |||
Transport Scotland | |||
Junction Type | |||
Roundabout | |||
Roads Joined | |||
A7, A720, A6106 | |||
Junctions related to the A6106 | |||
Sheriffhall Roundabout is a junction on the City of Edinburgh Bypass. It is a notorious bottleneck, being at-grade. Construction of a grade-separated junction was considered too difficult, due to mine workings and a geological fault under the junction. In 2015 it was named the most dangerous junction in Scotland, based on Transport Scotland figures for the number of injuries at junctions that Transport Scotland manage.
Studies continue into how the junction might be improved, with the following proposals under consideration as of 2015:
- Grade-separated dumbbell junction at Sheriffhall.
- Closure of the junction, with Gilmerton Junction expanded.
- Grade-separate roundabout interchange at Sheriffhall.
- Closing Sheriffhall and Gilmerton with a new grade-separated dumbbell in between.
Draft orders were published in 2019 to grade separate the interchange.
The A7 and A6106 form a cannon at this junction.
History
The roads nearby have a complex history at least in numbering changes, due to multiple reroutings of the A68 and A7 and number changes to minor roads.
.
Before the bypass, there was a junction between the A68 and A6106 (ex B6374) nearby with a short multiplexed section. At a T-junction, Old Dalkeith Road from Edinburgh via Danderhall (A68, but the 4th Series OS maps from the 1930s show a multiplex with the A7) met the road from Portobello (A6106). There was a short multiplex in a southeastly direction, then the former A6106 branched off southwest on what's now the B6392 while the A68 Old Dalkeith Road continued southeast into Dalkeith. The old route of the A6106 terminated nearby on Gilmerton Road (now A772).
Sheriffhall roundabout first appeared in a rather different form in 1988 when the section of bypass between Sheriffhall and Old Craighall Junction (on the A1 to the east) opened. The other, western side was completed in 1989. At this time, Gilmerton Road (now A772) met the bypass to the west at Gilmerton Junction, while the Old Dalkeith Road (renumbered as the A7) and the Portobello road (A6106) were brought into the Sheriffhall roundabout from the north; the A6106 terminated there for a while. South of the bypass, the new A7 western bypass of Dalkeith ran southwest; the Old Dalkeith Road continued as before into Dalkeith (this was the start of the A68 in 1989, but is now also A6106).
When the A68 eastern bypass opened in 2008, the A68 moved away from the junction along the new road, and the road into Dalkeith became the A6106. In conjunction, the roundabout was upgraded with additional lanes and traffic lights to allow it to run a bit more smoothly.
The Borders Railway, which reopened in 2015, passes nearby; to allow for its reopening, a bridge had to be constructed under the bypass around 300 m east of the roundabout, and the bypass was temporarily re-routed to allow it to be built.
Routes
Route | To | Notes |
City Bypass - West, Glasgow (M8), Stirling (M9), Forth Road Bridge (A90), Edinburgh South & West, Airport | ||
City Bypass - East, Jedburgh (A68) Berwick-upon-Tweed (A1), Edinburgh East & North, Mussleburgh, Leith | ||
Danderhall, City centre, Edinburgh South, Hospital, Park and Ride | 4.6m 15'3" height limit | |
Galashiels, Hawick, Carlisle, Bonnyrigg 1 1/2, Newtowngrange 3, Gorebridge 5 | Borders Historic Route to Carlisle | |
Millerhall, Old Craighall, Newton | ||
Dalkeith, Pathhead | ||
Jedburgh, Dalkeith, Pathhead |
Links