A8 road (Scotland): Difference between revisions

A8
A8
Route information
	Part of E05
Length	42.9 mi (69.0 km)
Major junctions
East end	Edinburgh; 55°57′00″N 3°12′27″W / 55.9501°N 3.2076°W
	M9 motorway; M73; A1; A7; A70; A720; A73; A74; A77; A78; A80; A89; A90
West end	Greenock; 55°56′55″N 4°45′23″W / 55.9487°N 4.7565°W
Location
Country	United Kingdom
Constituent country	Scotland
Primary; destinations	Greenock, Glasgow Airport, Glasgow, Livingston, Edinburgh
Road network
	Roads in the United Kingdom; Motorways; A and B road zones;

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The A8 is a major road in Scotland, connecting Edinburgh to Greenock via Glasgow. Its importance diminished following the construction of the M8 motorway which also covers the route between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Route and relationship to M8

Edinburgh

The A8 begins at the West End of Edinburgh, in the New Town. The road originally also included Princes Street, but this stretch was declassified, as Princes Street is no longer open to all traffic.

The road continues westwards into the suburbs of the city passing Murrayfield and Corstorphine, often with an accompanying bus lane. Only once the road reaches the A720 City Bypass does it become a primary route, leading out past the Royal Highland Showground at Ingliston, and Edinburgh Airport.

At Newbridge, the A8 meets the start of the M8 and M9 motorways. From here the A8 is interrupted; it has been renumbered A89 until Bathgate, A7066 to Whitburn and then B7066 Harthill, until it resumes at Newhouse.

Glasgow

From Newhouse it runs parallel to the M8. Until recently there was no road of motorway standard between Newhouse and Baillieston in the eastern suburbs of Glasgow, and the A8 still carried all through traffic here, having been progressively upgraded to meet demand.^[1] However it was finally replaced in 2017 by the last section of the M8.^[2] It is now the principal non-motorway access between the Eurocentral business park and the settlements of Chapelhall and Calderbank, south of Airdrie.

Just prior to Junction 8 of the M8 it diverges from the motorway, and meets the A89 at Bargeddie while co-existing as the interchange for the M8 and M73. At a roundabout near Swinton it briefly merges with the A89 and heads towards central Glasgow. The A8 now passes through suburban Garrowhill, Barlanark, Wellhouse, Springboig, Cranhill and Carntyne as Edinburgh Road – much of which is a two/three-lane dual-carriageway, but an urban 30 mph (48 km/h) restriction is still applied – then past Haghill and Dennistoun as Alexandra Parade into the city centre at Glasgow Royal Infirmary and Glasgow Cathedral, where it follows the High Street and then the Saltmarket running north–south – meeting the A89 (Gallowgate) and the A749 (London Road) at Glasgow Cross. It splits for the complex one-way system, recombining prior to the junction at the start of the A814 that heads west along the Clyde, before crossing the river near The Gorbals, where it meets the end of the A74.

From there the A8 leads out of town through Tradeston, Kingston (passing under the M8's Kingston Bridge) Kinning Park, Cessnock and Ibrox as Paisley Road West, changing to Edmiston Drive past Ibrox Stadium, then through Drumoyne and Shieldhall as Shieldhall Road, Braehead as Renfrew Road and the town centre of Renfrew as Glasgow Road, Glebe Street and Inchinnan Road, passing to the rear of Glasgow Airport at Inchinnan, crossing over the M8 east of Bishopton and meeting it again at the motorway's western end, Junction 31 between Bishopton and Langbank.

The A8 becomes the primary route again and takes traffic through Port Glasgow. Its terminus is in Greenock at a large roundabout with the A78 road and the A770 to Gourock, which was the former terminus of the A8.

Euroroute designations

Three short stretches of the A8 are part of three different Euroroutes, as follows:

The stretch from the western end of the M8 into Greenock is part of the E05.
Between M8 Junctions 6 and 7 is part of the E16.
A very short stretch linking the A720 and A902 is part of the E15.

References

^ Missing link to be finished on M8 motorway, BBC News, 14 December 2010
^ M8, M73, M74 motorway improvements in Scotland, Go Construct, 21 December 2020

External links

KML file (edit • help)

Template:Attached KML/A8 road (Scotland)

KML is from Wikidata

[1] Missing link to be finished on M8 motorway, BBC News, 14 December 2010

[2] M8, M73, M74 motorway improvements in Scotland, Go Construct, 21 December 2020

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|Road in Scotland}}
-{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2013}}
+{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
 {{Use British English|date=February 2013}}
 {{Infobox road
-| country      = GBR
+| country=SCT
 | type         = A
 | route        = 8
+| length_mi    = 42.9
 |map=[[File:A8 road map.png|200px]]|map_custom=yes
 | direction_a  = East
@@ Line 11: / Line 13: @@
 | destinations = [[Greenock]], [[Glasgow Airport]], [[Glasgow]], [[Livingston, West Lothian|Livingston]], [[Edinburgh]]
 | terminus_b   = [[Greenock]]<br>{{coord|55.9487|-4.7565|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline|name=A8 road (western end)}}
-| junction     = [[File:UK-Motorway-M9.svg|1000x20px]] [[M9 motorway (Scotland)|M9 motorway]]<br />{{ukmotorwaysmall|73}}<br />{{ukroadsmall-svg|1}}<br />{{ukroadsmall-svg|7}}<br />{{ukroadsmall-svg|70}}<br />{{ukroadsmall|720}}<br />{{ukroadsmall-svg|73}}<br />{{ukroadsmall|74}}<br />{{ukroadsmall|77}}<br />{{ukroadsmall|78}}<br />{{ukroadsmall|700}}<br />{{ukroadsmall|725}}<br />{{ukroadsmall|726}}<br />{{ukroadsmall|730}}<br />{{ukroadsmall|739}}<br />{{ukroadsmall|741}}<br />{{ukroadsmall|749}}<br />{{ukroadsmall|761}}<br />{{ukroadsmall|770}}<br />{{ukroadsmall-svg|80}}<br />{{ukroadsmall|89}}<br />{{ukroadsmall|803}}<br />{{ukroadsmall|877}}<br />{{ukroadsmall-svg|90}}
+| junction     = [[File:UK-Motorway-M9.svg|1000x20px]] [[M9 motorway (Scotland)|M9 motorway]]<br />{{jct|country=GBR|M|73|dab1=Great Britain}}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|1|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|7|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|70|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|720|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|73|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|74|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|77|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|78|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|80|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|89|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|90|name1= }}
+| e-road       = {{Jct|country=EUR|E|05}}
-| e-road       = [[File:Tabliczka E05.svg|x20px]] [[European route E05|E05]], [[File:Tabliczka E15.svg|x20px]] [[European route E15|E15]] and [[File:Tabliczka E16.svg|x20px]] [[European route E16|E16]]
+| previous_type = A
+| previous_route = 7
+| next_type = A
+| next_route = 9
 }}
-The '''A8''' is a major road in [[Scotland]], connecting [[Edinburgh]] to [[Greenock]] via [[Glasgow]]. Its importance diminished following the construction of the [[M8 motorway (Scotland)|M8 motorway]] which covers much of the route between Edinburgh and Glasgow (though with interruption).
+The '''A8''' is a major road in [[Scotland]], connecting [[Edinburgh]] to [[Greenock]] via [[Glasgow]]. Its importance diminished following the construction of the [[M8 motorway (Scotland)|M8 motorway]] which also covers the route between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
 ==Route and relationship to M8==
+===Edinburgh===
 The A8 begins at the West End of Edinburgh, in the [[New Town, Edinburgh|New Town]]. The road originally also included [[Princes Street]], but this stretch was declassified, as Princes Street is no longer open to all traffic.
-The road continues westwards through into the suburbs of the city past affluent areas of [[Murrayfield]] and [[Corstorphine]], often with an accompanying bus lane. Only once the road reaches the [[A720 road|A720 City Bypass]] does it become a [[primary route]], leading out past the [[Royal Highland Showground]] at [[Ingliston]], and [[Edinburgh Airport]].
+The road continues westwards into the suburbs of the city passing [[Murrayfield]] and [[Corstorphine]], often with an accompanying bus lane. Only once the road reaches the [[A720 road|A720 City Bypass]] does it become a [[primary route]], leading out past the [[Royal Highland Showground]] at [[Ingliston]], and [[Edinburgh Airport]].
-At [[Newbridge, Edinburgh|Newbridge]], the A8 meets the start of the M8 and [[M9 motorway (Scotland)|M9]] motorways. From here the A8 is interrupted; it has been renumbered [[A89 road|A89]] until [[Bathgate]], [[A7066 road|A7066]] to [[Whitburn, West Lothian|Whitburn]] and then [[B7066 road|B7066]] Harthill, until the A8 resumes at [[Newhouse, North Lanarkshire|Newhouse]] &mdash; precisely where the eastern part of the M8 ends at its Junction 6.
+At [[Newbridge, Edinburgh|Newbridge]], the A8 meets the start of the M8 and [[M9 motorway (Scotland)|M9]] motorways. From here the A8 is interrupted; it has been renumbered [[A89 road|A89]] until [[Bathgate]], [[A7066 road|A7066]] to [[Whitburn, West Lothian|Whitburn]] and then [[B7066 road|B7066]] Harthill, until it resumes at [[Newhouse, North Lanarkshire|Newhouse]].
+===Glasgow===
-Until Junction 8, the A8 is a dual-carriageway, though not at full motorway standard. After Junction 8 it diverges from the M8 which resumes a course for central Glasgow.
+From Newhouse it runs parallel to the M8. Until recently there was no road of motorway standard between Newhouse and [[Baillieston]] in the eastern suburbs of Glasgow, and the A8 still carried all through traffic here, having been progressively upgraded to meet demand.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-11991702 Missing link to be finished on M8 motorway], BBC News, 14 December 2010</ref> However it was finally replaced in 2017 by the last section of the M8.<ref>[https://www.goconstruct.org/why-choose-construction/whats-happening-in-construction/m8-m73-m74-motorway-improvements-in-scotland/ M8, M73, M74 motorway improvements in Scotland], Go Construct, 21 December 2020</ref> It is now the principal non-motorway access between the [[Eurocentral]] business park and the settlements of [[Chapelhall]] and [[Calderbank]], south of [[Airdrie, North Lanarkshire|Airdrie]].
-The A8 now winds through suburban [[Baillieston]], [[Easterhouse]] and [[Dennistoun]] under a 30&nbsp;mph restriction (often as a three-lane dual-carriageway) into the city centre, where it follows the [[High Street, Glasgow|High Street]] and then the [[Saltmarket]]. It splits for the complex one-way system, recombining before crossing the [[River Clyde|Clyde]] near [[Gorbals|The Gorbals]], from where it leads out of town past [[Ibrox stadium]] and through [[Renfrew, Scotland|Renfrew]], passing to the rear of [[Glasgow International Airport]] at [[Inchinnan]], constantly close to the M8 until it meets it again at its western end, Junction 31 near [[Bishopton, Renfrewshire|Bishopton]].
+Just prior to Junction 8 of the M8 it diverges from the motorway, and meets the [[A89 road (Scotland)|A89]] at [[Bargeddie]] while co-existing as the interchange for the M8 and [[M73 motorway|M73]]. At a roundabout near [[Swinton, Glasgow|Swinton]] it briefly merges with the A89 and heads towards central Glasgow. The A8 now passes through suburban [[Garrowhill]], [[Barlanark]], [[Wellhouse]], [[Springboig]], [[Cranhill]] and [[Carntyne]] as Edinburgh Road – much of which is a two/three-lane dual-carriageway, but an urban {{convert|30|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} restriction is still applied – then past [[Haghill]] and [[Dennistoun]] as Alexandra Parade into the city centre at [[Glasgow Royal Infirmary]] and [[Glasgow Cathedral]], where it follows the [[High Street, Glasgow|High Street]] and then the [[Saltmarket]] running north–south – meeting the A89 (Gallowgate) and the [[A749 road|A749]] (London Road) at [[Glasgow Cross]]. It splits for the complex one-way system, recombining prior to the junction at the start of the [[A814 road|A814]] that heads west along the [[River Clyde|Clyde]], before crossing the river near [[Gorbals|The Gorbals]], where it meets the end of the [[A74 road|A74]].
+From there the A8 leads out of town through [[Tradeston]], [[Kingston, Glasgow|Kingston]] (passing under the M8's [[Kingston Bridge, Glasgow|Kingston Bridge]]) [[Kinning Park]], [[Cessnock, Glasgow|Cessnock]] and [[Ibrox, Glasgow|Ibrox]] as Paisley Road West, changing to Edmiston Drive past [[Ibrox Stadium]], then through [[Drumoyne]] and [[Shieldhall]] as Shieldhall Road, [[Braehead]] as Renfrew Road and the town centre of [[Renfrew, Scotland|Renfrew]] as Glasgow Road, Glebe Street and Inchinnan Road, passing to the rear of [[Glasgow Airport]] at [[Inchinnan]], crossing over the M8 east of [[Bishopton, Renfrewshire|Bishopton]] and meeting it again at the motorway's western end, Junction 31 between Bishopton and [[Langbank]].
-The A8 becomes the primary route again and takes traffic past [[Port Glasgow]]. Its terminus is in Greenock at a large [[roundabout]] with the [[A78 road]] and the A770 to [[Gourock]], which was the former terminus of the A8.
+The A8 becomes the primary route again and takes traffic through [[Port Glasgow]]. Its terminus is in Greenock at a large [[roundabout]] with the [[A78 road]] and the A770 to [[Gourock]], which was the former terminus of the A8.
 ==Euroroute designations==
@@ Line 35: / Line 45: @@
 * Between M8 Junctions 6 and 7 is part of the [[European route E16|E16]].
 * A very short stretch linking the [[A720 road|A720]] and [[A902 road|A902]] is part of the [[European route E15|E15]].
+==References==
+{{reflist}}
 ==External links==
 {{Attached KML|display=inline,title}}
 *[https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/?title=A8 A8 at ''Roader's Digest'' (SABRE)]
-*[https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/maps/?view=A8 SABRE - Map and photos of A8]
+*[https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/maps/?view=A8 SABRE – Map and photos of A8]
-*[https://www.road-to-nowhere.co.uk/route-guides/A8/ Road to Nowhere - A8]
+*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071227053633/https://www.road-to-nowhere.co.uk/route-guides/A8/ Road to Nowhere – A8]
 {{UK primary routes 8}}
+{{Transport in Edinburgh}}
+{{Transport in Glasgow}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:8-0008}}
@@ Line 51: / Line 66: @@
 [[Category:Transport in Renfrewshire]]
 [[Category:Transport in Inverclyde]]
+[[Category:Greenock]]
+[[Category:Port Glasgow]]
+[[Category:Renfrew]]
+[[Category:Govan]]
+[[Category:Gorbals]]
+[[Category:Baillieston]]
+[[Category:Coatbridge]]
+[[Category:New Town, Edinburgh]]
+[[Category:Corstorphine]]

v t e A roads in Zone 8 of the Great Britain road numbering scheme
	A8 A80 A81 A82 A83 A84 A85 A86 A87 A88 A89
	A801 A803 A811 A814 A815 A828 A830 A832 A835 A836 A838 A839 A846 A847 A850 A851 A861 A863 A882 A893 A897 A898 A899
	A8000 A8010 A8011
List of A roads in Zone 8 List of B roads in Zone 8