When was m8 built

The bypass took a wide berth of Renfrew , so that it could serve Paisley and Glasgow Airport well. At St James Interchange the bypass makes a big turn northwards to head back to the A8. Now very much a rural motorway, the M8 bypasses Bishopton. This section of motorway was mostly built to link to the Erskine Bridge. The M8 comes to an end on the south bank of the Clyde opposite Dumbarton , specifically the imposing form of Dumbarton Castle across the river.

The A8 continues uninterruptedly westwards towards Greenock as dual carriageway, while a roundabout links the eastward A8. The notorious Junction 15, where the M8 meets the A It was designed as one of the corners of the never-completed Glasgow Inner Ring Road, complete with Offside Sliproads! Along the way it meets the A82 , A and A amongst others. Heart of Scotland services formerly Harthill are located between junctions 4 and 5, and was the first MSA in Scotland.

The bridge has five traffic lanes in each direction, but no hard shoulders. The two outer lanes southbound are weaving lanes connecting the on and off slips either side of the river. On the north bound side of the bridge, the two outer lanes are now segregated from the main carriageway, primarily to prevent the weaving movements. These two lanes are, despite not actually connecting to the rest of the M8 in any way, still designated as part of the Motorway.

M8 Location Map geo. This article is about the Scottish M8. For the Irish road with this number, see M8 Republic of Ireland. For detailed information about this topic, see Roads. Main Article: Townhead Interchange. Main Article: Charing Cross Glasgow. Main Article: Heart of Scotland services. Another key feature of this section is the Scotland Street Viaduct, provided to cross the now closed railway line to General Terminus Quay. At Junction 22 Plantation , the M77 heads south via two curved ramps.

The number of traffic lanes reduces to four lanes with intermittent hard shoulder in each direction. At Junction 23 Ibrox traffic from the M74 finally merges with the M8 mainline. Access to the junction is restricted to M74 traffic only for safety and weaving reasons.

From Junction 24 the speed limit increases to 70mph. The road varies in width from three to four lanes wide with hard shoulders as far as Junction At Junction 25 some slip roads are particularly wide or have large dead areas. This is a visible reminder of the intended connection with the South Link Motorway, a route that would have provided connections to the south of the city, as well as east to south movements to the M77 from the M8.

Junction 25a Braehead was constructed in to serve the new shopping centre and industrial development. A two-lane spur leaves the motorway and ends on a signalised junction adjacent to the shopping centre main car park.

In recent years, congestion has become a major problem on this part of the route with peak time delays experienced on most weekdays. Hillington Junction was completed in March as the eastern terminus of the Renfrew Bypass. This was the first section of M8 to open in the west of the country, constructed in a corridor between the towns of Paisley and Renfrew. Today, it is one of the busiest junctions on the entire route and congestion is common at peak times.

From Hillington to Junction 27 Renfrew Road the motorway continues as three lanes in each direction with hard shoulders provided almost continuously. The straight section of carriageway immediately east of Arkleston was constructed on the line of the runway of the former Renfrew Airport. A new footbridge was constructed in linking the Arkleston area with the Hillington Industrial Estate, replacing an original structure which was severely damaged by an over-height vehicle.

At Junction 27 the road turns north westwards, passing south of Glasgow Airport which opened in May It was built high above the water level to allow access to Paisley Harbour, a harbour that had closed by the time the motorway was completed.

The viaduct was extensively refurbished during the early s, with strengthening required due to the amount of traffic using it. The viaduct is three lanes wide with no hard shoulders and stunning views of the southern highlands can be enjoyed on clear days. The speed limit reduces initially to 60mph over the viaduct, then further still to 50mph.

James Interchange the motorway is considerably changed from its original design. In the early s, severe congestion at St. James roundabout led to the construction of two free flow flyovers to provide links with the A They were completed in August , with works including the installation of sign gantries and revised access to Glasgow Airport.

The motorway reduces to two lanes wide with hard shoulders as it passes beneath St. James Roundabout, with the speed limit returning to 70mph. From here the motorway regains its rural characteristics, with no street lighting or overhead signage provided.

After Junction 29 the motorway passes the western end of the Glasgow Airport runway and travels parallel to the main Greenock railway line. A new junction, 29a, was built to serve the town of Bishopton in Last year the newest "missing link" section of the M8 opened to traffic.

The seven-mile link road between Newhouse and Baillieston was completed in April, making the entire stretch from Glasgow to Edinburgh one motorway.

All images copyright. Image source, Glasgow Motorway Archive. M8 Townhead Interchange - view east from Baird Street early s. A dvanced Search. You have 0 images in your photo album. View Photo Album.