Background & Overview
Following the findings of a study of the A80, M74, and A8 transport corridors in central Scotland (www.cstcs.co.uk), the Scottish Executive reported its conclusions in the document “Central Scotland Transport Corridor Studies Decisions” in January 2003. Executive Decision 3 in that document states that:
“The A8 between Baillieston and Newhouse will be upgraded to dual three-lane equivalent motorway standard, with preparatory work to start immediately for the scheme to be operational prior to 2010."
The M8 Baillieston to Newhouse and Associated Improvements project was subsequently initiated by the Trunk Roads Design and Construction Division, which was part of the Transport Group within the Enterprise Transport and Lifelong Learning Department, now Trunk Road Infrastructure & Professional Services (TRIPS) division of Transport Scotland. Consultants were appointed in July 2003 to take forward the necessary studies.
The 10 kilometre section of the A8 trunk road between Baillieston and Newhouse was built in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Lying 16 kilometres east of the City of Glasgow, it is a key element of the central Scotland trunk road network, serving both east / west and to a lesser extent north / south traffic movements. The A8 corridor between Baillieston and Newhouse has a multi-function role, as:
- a key section of the strategic road network
- a principle route for freight;
- an inter-urban connector between several Central Scotland towns and Edinburgh and Glasgow business centres
- an intra-regional distributor between population and employment centres within North Lanarkshire
This combination of strategic and local roads, together with associated high levels of local, regional and long distance traffic seriously impairs the safety of road users and pedestrians. Furthermore the poor road and junction layouts result in severe traffic congestion.
Currently, significant congestion problems are experienced by road users in the A8 corridor at the following locations:
- A8 (westbound) between Newhouse and Eurocentral
- A8 (eastbound) between Shawhead and Carnbroe
- A8 & A725 at Shawhead
- A8 (eastbound) between Baillieston and Bargeddie
