Whitletts Roundabout

Whitletts Roundabout is a large and busy signalised roundabout on the bypass to the east of Ayr. It is also the southern end of the A77 dual carriageway which comes south from Glasgow (via the M77). The dual carriageway does continue beyond the roundabout, however rather than following the A77 it takes the A719 into Ayr town centre. To further confuse matters, when the bypass was built, it followed part of the former A719, and so the northern arm of the A77 is an online upgrade of the A719. The other route to pass through the roundabout is the B743. Before the bypass was built, this route was unclassified into the town centre, and the A758 to the east.

The roundabout, then, has 5 arms, with the A77 to north and south, the A719 heading south west and the B743 north west and east. All routes have at least 2 approach lanes, the northern A77 having a total of 4, whilst the southern A77 has a long stretch of S2+1, widening to S3+2 for the roundabout itself. The A719 and western arm of the B743 also widen to 3 approach lanes, all of which provide greater capacity for the queues at the signals. The roundabout itself then has 4 circulatory lanes, to accommodate the traffic. Due to the layout of the approaches, there is no real benefit in installing bypass filter lanes for left turns, as the majority of traffic is either turning right or going straight on.

Routes

Route	To	Notes
A77	Ayr (South), Stranraer
A77	Glasgow, Kilmarnock, Irvine, Greenock (A78), Prestwick (A79)	Former A719
A719	Town Centre
B743	Heathfield, Prestwick (A79)
B743	Mauchline, Mossblown, Auchincruive	Former A758