The Glasgow Inner Ring Road was a proposed ring road encircling the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland. Construction of the roads began in 1965, and half of its circumference was completed by 1972, but no subsequent construction was made and the remaining plans were formally abandoned in 1980. After 30 years, a route following roughly the southern section of the proposals have also been created as the new M74.
The Bruce Report , a wide-ranging investigation into the post-war regeneration of the city, proposed (in addition to other road plans and a redistribution of rail termini) a system of motorways into and around central Glasgow. At least three new arterial motorways, the Monklands, Renfrew and Maryhill Motorways, would be constructed in towards the city centre, terminating on a new ring road. The ring would take the shape of a "box" around the centre, with four straight flanks and an interchange at each corner for a connection to the perpendicular section of the ring and to the new arterials. At its publication in 1945, much of the Bruce Report was rejected, and it was not until the mid-1950s that the road plans within it were resurrected. After consultation between the Glasgow City Corporation and its traffic consultants Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick & Partners, the basic design of the Bruce proposals were further developed, and the first contracts were awarded to build the northern and western flanks of the ring in four stages; Townhead, Woodside, Charing Cross and Kingston Bridge. Construction of the flanks began in 1965.
The north flank of the ring (the Townhead and Woodside sections) runs between an interchange at St George's Cross in Woodside and an interchange at Townhead, passing through the districts of Garnethill and Cowcaddens. The entire section was elevated over the surrounding land on a concrete viaduct. The first contract was awarded for the Townhead section and it was the first section completed, opening in April 1968. [1] The Woodside Section completed the North Flank in May 1971.
The west flank (the Charing Cross and Kingston Bridge sections) was planned to run from the St George's Cross interchange, sweeping beneath Charing Cross and through Anderston before rising to cross the River Clyde and run to an interchange at Tradeston. The river crossing, whose feasibility had been considered even before the proposal of the ring road, was completed in June 1970 and opened by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. The Charing Cross section completing the link to St George's Cross was made in February 1972, marking the end of the originally contracted work. The North and West Flanks form 2.5 miles of motorway, built at a cost of around £27 million.
In 1993 the conservation organisation DoCoMoMo listed the completed sections of the inner ring road as one of the sixty key Scottish monuments of the post-war period.
At the Townhead (north-east) interchange, a complex grade separated junction was laid out to connect the North Flank of the ring to three roads proposed or under construction (the East Flank, the A803 Springburn Expressway, and to the Monklands Motorway to carry traffic out of the city to the east and on to Edinburgh) and to the existing A8 road towards Dennistoun and Glasgow Cross. The entire project entailed the construction of ten bridges and six pedestrian subways with over 5,000 feet of interconnecting passages.
The south-western interchange at Tradeston was built to incorporate connections to the South Flank and to the Renfrew Motorway to carry traffic out of the city westwards to Greenock and Glasgow Airport. Additional links were provided for surface roads including those to Kinning Park and the Gorbals.
Further junctions were provided with existing roads in and out of the centre at Cowcaddens, to the Great Western Road (A82), to streets in the upmarket business district, and to the new A814 Clydeside Expressway. A Maryhill Motorway (which would have been designated the M82) was also proposed which would take the strain from the A82 and would have acted as an arterial route to the North West. The split-level section of the M8 between Cowcaddens and St George's Cross was designed to accommodate this. [2] [3]
Plans for the South and East Flanks were never finalised, but it is known that the South Flank would have interchanged with the A77 at Eglinton Street. Both flanks would have been elevated and met in the Gorbals or Laurieston. [4]
The East Flank would have taken a course directly south from the Townhead interchange, and driven a path directly along, or parallel to the historic High Street in what is now the Merchant City. It is likely that similar destruction as was witnessed in Charing Cross and Anderston for the construction of the Western flank would have taken place, endangering historic buildings such as Glasgow Royal Infirmary, the Provand's Lordship and the Tolbooth clock tower at Glasgow Cross. [4]
The legacy of the proposals still exists in terms of land that was compulsory purchased by the Corporation at the time; for example the old College Goods Yard (part of the City of Glasgow Union Railway) was acquired and was used as an open air car park until built upon in 2011 by the Glasgow Collegelands office development.
Although the Monklands and Renfrew Motorways were constructed (in 1975 and 1977 respectively), plans for the other two sides of the ring along with those for the Maryhill Motorway to the northwest were all shelved in 1980, amidst public protests against their construction on the basis of the damage done to the environment and appearance of the city. [2] [3] In particular, the Charing Cross section came in for harsh criticism when many properties in Anderston and Garnethill were demolished to facilitate the massive trench through which the motorway ran; critics condemned the works as a "massacre". When the East and South Flanks were eventually abandoned, the UK government confirmed that the scheme would be the last motorway built through a city in the United Kingdom.
Some loose ends were left behind because of the abandonment. Amongst the most infamous examples are the access to the unbuilt south section at Tradeston which was left as a "ski-jump" (the road abruptly terminates in mid-air, and has remained so despite the 2010 M74 extension, as other plans were used to link the roads), the tangle of slip-roads at Tradeston, and the two infamous "Bridges to Nowhere"; a concrete podium over the Charing Cross section that was left empty for nearly 20 years before finally acting as a base for an office building constructed in the early 1990s (this was always its intended purpose although it had the appearance of an overbridge) and a pedestrian bridge over the carriageways that terminated in mid air as a result of the incompleteness of the adjacent Anderston Centre commercial complex. Signs saying "Ring Road" were still displayed both above and on the approaches to the central section until the late 1980s. The Anderston pedestrian bridge was finally completed in 2013 when it was joined to Waterloo Street as part of a cycle route. [5]
The M8 is consistently jammed at rush hour, with the Kingston Bridge having to cope with vast amounts of traffic that would have been redirected to other roads had the ring been completed; this traffic load has necessitated extensive roadworks on the bridge, amplifying congestion. The motorway is derided in popular culture, with Glasgow-based pop band Deacon Blue's album Raintown largely forming an attack on the inner-city atmosphere of the road, and including a picture of it cutting through the city on the rear cover.[ citation needed ]
Continued traffic congestion in central Glasgow led to proposals for the completion of the missing two sides of the ring, albeit in different forms:
Plans published by the Scottish Executive in 2003 proposed the extension of the M74 motorway from its former terminus in the south-east of the city towards the Kingston Bridge. This motorway passes through Polmadie and the Gorbals – on elevated sections like the original preliminary plans for the South Flank, and meets the M8 at Tradeston, a few hundred metres south of the planned interchange leaving the 'ski-jump' untouched. The plans went to public inquiry in 2004, and although it rejected the plans, then-Transport Minister Nicol Stephen approved them. The project was stalled by legal challenges which collapsed in June 2006, paving the way for the road to be constructed. [6] The road opened to traffic in June 2011.
The East End Regeneration Route, originally a proposal to supplement the East Flank, has been championed by Glasgow City Council as the preferred solution for completion of the ring. The plans are for a road linking the M74 extension to the M8 at the Provan Gas Works, about 2 km (1+1⁄4 mi) east of the interchange at Townhead. It is extremely unlikely that this section would be built to motorway standard; instead the road would form an urban corridor, part of which exists as a road bypassing Parkhead built in 1988 as part of The Forge shopping centre. The road is proposed to run through Hogarth Park (where a former railway embankment is now used as public open space), Haghill and Carntyne, beneath the A8 Edinburgh Road, continuing along a disused railway alignment to Provan. Construction work began in early 2010. As of April 2014, the route has been completed between the M74 extension and the Parkhead bypass. The remaining section, from the Parkhead Bypass to the M8, was intended to be constructed after the 2014 Commonwealth Games. [7] However no work had been carried out as of August 2021 instead traffic for the M8 is directed along the existing road network.
In late 2005, after years of planning, Glasgow City Council began work on a new road bridge, the Clyde Arc, (commonly known locally as the "Squinty Bridge") over the Clyde alongside the Kingston which connects Finnieston on the north bank to Kinning Park on the south. The first new road crossing of the Clyde in Glasgow since the Kingston Bridge in 1970, the new structure is intended to divert local traffic away from using the M8 to cross the river. It opened in September 2006. On the night of 14 January 2008, one of the support cables snapped, closing the Clyde Arc for all traffic for months. It reopened in June 2008.
In 2019, Glasgow City Council put forward plans to cover over the infamous "trench" through Charing Cross and Anderston with a raised garden, in an attempt to create a new public space in the area and to reconnect the communities in Anderston and the West End which saw their direct link to the city centre severed by the motorway. [8] The proposals were further expanded [9] in the 2023 Charing Cross Masterplan published by Glasgow City Council. As well as the aforementioned garden plans, several of the 1970s-era office blocks constructed at the same time as the motorway will be demolished to make way for replacement commercial developments and high-rise student housing towers.
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.
The M8 is the busiest motorway in Scotland. It connects the country's two largest cities, Glasgow and Edinburgh, and serves other large communities including Airdrie, Coatbridge, Greenock, Livingston and Paisley. The motorway is 60 miles (97 km) long. A major construction project to build the final section between Newhouse and Baillieston was completed on 30 April 2017. The motorway has one service station, Heart of Scotland Services, previously named Harthill due to its proximity to the village.
The A74(M) and M74 form a major motorway in Scotland, connecting it to England. The routes connect the M8 motorway in central Glasgow to the Scottish-English border at Gretna. In conjunction with their southward continuation, the M6 motorway, they form one of the three major cross-border routes between Scotland and England. They are part of the unsigned international E-road network E05. Although the entire route is colloquially referred to as the M74, for more than half its length, south of Abington, the road is officially the A74(M); see naming confusion below.
The Kingston Bridge is a balanced cantilever dual-span ten lane road bridge made of triple-cell segmented prestressed concrete box girders crossing the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland.
Cowcaddens is an area of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is very close to the city centre and is bordered by the newer area of Garnethill to the south-west and old Townhead to the east.
The city of Glasgow, Scotland, has a transport system encompassing air, rail, road and an underground light metro line. Prior to 1962, the city was also served by trams. Commuters travelling into Glasgow from the neighbouring local authorities of North and South Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, and East and West Dunbartonshire have a major influence on travel patterns, with tens of thousands of residents commuting into the city each day. The most popular mode of transport in the city is the car, used by two-thirds of people for journeys around the city.
Tradeston is a small district in the Scottish city of Glasgow adjacent to the city centre on the south bank of the River Clyde.
The A728 is a route number in Glasgow, Scotland applied to two connected roads.
The Bruce Report is the name commonly given to the First Planning Report to the Highways and Planning Committee of the Corporation of the City of Glasgow published in March 1945. It influenced an intensive programme of regeneration and rebuilding efforts which took place in the city and surroundings from the mid-1950s and lasted until the late 1970s. The author was Robert Bruce, Glasgow Corporation Engineer at the time.
Charing Cross is a major road junction and area within the centre of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated north of the River Clyde at the intersection of Sauchiehall Street, St George's Road, Woodlands Road, North Street and Newton Street, as well as being at a major interchange of the M8 motorway. Charing Cross marks the notional boundary between the City Centre and the West End of the city.
The International Financial Services District (IFSD) is a public-private financial district in Glasgow, Scotland. Based at Scottish Enterprise, the venture aims to create an attractive inward investment location for leading international financial services companies and a re-location option for existing Glasgow-based companies, seeking to expand their operations.
The A725 road in Scotland is a major route which is a trunk road dual carriageway for almost its whole length, connecting several of the large towns of North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire, linking the M8 and M74 motorways; it has been upgraded frequently since its construction, with the most recent major work completed in 2017. In combination with the A726 road which meets the M77 motorway, it forms a southern and eastern bypass for the city of Glasgow.
The A814 road in Scotland is a major arterial route within Glasgow, connecting the city centre to the west end. Running along the right (north) bank of the River Clyde, it continues further west through Clydebank and Dumbarton, leaving the suburban environment and serving as the main road for Helensburgh, turning north to meet the A83 at Arrochar, Argyll and Bute.
Bridge to Nowhere is a nickname used to refer to various unfinished structures around the M8 motorway in the centre of Glasgow, Scotland. They were built in the 1960s as part of the Glasgow Inner Ring Road project but left incomplete for several years. One "bridge", at Charing Cross, was completed in the 1990s as an office block. The Anderston Footbridge, a pedestrian bridge south of St Patrick's church, was finally completed in 2013 as part of a walking and cycling route.
Argyle Street is a major thoroughfare in the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland.
The Anderston Centre is a mixed-use commercial and residential complex, and former bus station located in the Anderston area of Glasgow, Scotland. Completed in 1972 and designed by Richard Seifert, it is one of the earliest examples of the "megastructure" style of urban renewal scheme fashionable in the 1950s and 1960s - the other notable example in Scotland being the infamous Cumbernauld Town Centre development. The complex is a notable landmark on the western edge of Glasgow city centre, and is highly visible from the adjacent Kingston Bridge.
Elmbank Gardens is a multi-use commercial complex in the Charing Cross area of Glasgow, Scotland. Best known for its signature 13-storey tower which overlooks the M8 motorway and stands directly opposite the Mitchell Library, it was designed by Richard Seifert and constructed between 1970 and 1972. It is one of the tallest and most prominent high rise buildings on the western side of Glasgow city centre, beyond Blythswood Hill. The surface buildings of the subterranean railway station which serves Charing Cross are also an integral part of the complex.
Auchenshuggle Bridge is a road bridge spanning the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland. The Auchenshuggle Bridge is the latest bridge to be built over the Clyde in the Auchenshuggle district of Glasgow, carrying the M74 motorway over the river and onto land which is part of Clydebridge Steelworks in Rutherglen, en route to the M8 junction near the heavily congested Kingston Bridge.
