M8 JOURNEY BOOST FOR DRIVERS
Vital link to save motorists 20 minutes
THE M8’s “missing link” is set to open almost a week ahead of schedule.
Dubbed Scotland’s “main street” by Cabinet Secretary Keith Brown, the move will ease congestion and speed up journeys for millions of commuters.
THE M8’s “missing link” is to open almost a week ahead of schedule.
Dubbed Scotland’s “main street” by Keith Brown, the move will ease congestion and speed up journeys for millions of commuters.
The Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work said the landmark opening on Sunday, April 23 will help transform travel between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Praising the news the motorway will open five days early, Mr Brown said: “It’s all credit to the contractors. Everybody who lives locally or who uses the road will have seen hundreds of yellow jackets.
“It’s been incredibly complex as well, including putting up a new railway bridge, which is a push operation and extremely difficult but done well.
“And you can see the quality of the roads produced here by the contractors under very difficult circumstances.
“The most difficult improvements to make are those that are being done ‘online’ – they are having to keep roads running at the same time and that has meant congestion for local people and for people using the routes but that’s now coming to an end and you’ll see from next Sunday the road reopening bit by bit and phases of all the different roads affected by this will be opening up.”
The new M8 link, which runs from Newhouse to Baillieston, is part of a half a billion pound investment in the M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project.
The westbound carriageway of the new M8 section will open to traffic on Sunday, April 23, followed by the eastbound carriageway on Sunday, April 30.
The A8 will run alongside the M8 for local traffic, freeing the motorway up for longer journeys.
It is believed the new road will save drivers 20 minutes at peak time.
Mr Brown added: “Look at this road we’re on now, the M8, three lanes going in each direction and the capacity is dramatically increased. Also, you’ll have 10 lanes if you take into account the A8, which will service local traffic. So a huge increase in capacity and we should see some major improvements in terms of journey times and the experience of people travelling on those roads.
“My partner lives in Baillieston so I do use this road a lot and have been aware of the changing nature of the quite complicated work and I appreciate that.
“I’m from Edinburgh originally so this is a road that’s well used – though unfortunately Hibs haven’t been getting through to many finals so it’s not been as well used recently.”
A diversion of the A8/M8 was introduced in mid-February to facilitate works connecting the new M8 Motorway into the existing A8/M8 carriageway at Baillieston.
Motorists are advised traffic management, including signed diversions and temporary speed restrictions, will remain in place along the A8/M8 corridor to allow completion of several junctions, including Shawhead and Eurocentral.
Graeme Reid, Transport Scotland Project Manager for the M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project, added: “While the full benefits of the new M8 will not be realised until completion of all junctions and project roads, commuters between Edinburgh and Glasgow should experience a vast improvement to their journeys between Newhouse and Baillieston Interchange.
“When the new M8 opens, pressure on the A8 will ease, allowing the contractor to focus on completing the upgrade of the existing A8 and linking it to the new all-purpose road, which is a continuation of the A8 at Eurocentral.
“Local road users should note that whilst access to all routes to and from the A8 will be maintained, signed diversions for traffic to Coatbridge, Airdrie, Bargeddie and Bellshill will be in place until completion of the project.
“I would urge road users to plan their journeys in advance using the Transport Scotland and Traffic Scotland websites.”
THE improvements, which include a new All Purpose Road between Newhouse and Baillieston separating local and strategic traffic, is designed to reduce journey times at peak periods by up to 20 minutes.
The Scottish Government is working with Scottish Roads Partnership (SRP), along with funding from the European Investment Bank and Allianz Global Investors, to deliver the infrastructure project linking the key arterial routes in Central Scotland.
SRP general manager Gabriel Valtueña-Ramos said: “SRP is proud
to have delivered this major and strategic infrastructure project for Scotland in spring 2017, as originally announced.
“I would take this opportunity to thank both our contractor Ferrovial Lagan Joint Venture for its efforts to make this possible.”
The M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project is the first of a combined £1.7bn investment in construction being delivered this financial year by Transport Scotland on Scotland’s roads network.
Traffic management layouts change regularly and road users are urged to check the Transport Scotland website and the Traffic Scotland website for live updates at www.transportscotland.gov.scot and www.trafficscotland.org