Editing Transport in Glasgow (section)

==Motorway network==
Glasgow is a focal point of Scotland's motorway network. The network is heavily used at peak times and is one of the most comprehensive in the United Kingdom, connecting the city centre with the rest of the sprawling [[Greater Glasgow]] area.

===M8===
[[File:Wfm m8 motorway.jpg|thumb|right|The [[M8 motorway (Scotland)|M8]], Scotland's busiest motorway, passing under [[Charing Cross, Glasgow|Charing Cross]] in central Glasgow.]]
[[M8 motorway (Scotland)|The M8]] is Scotland's busiest motorway, running from the capital city of [[Edinburgh]], approximately {{convert|40|miles}} to the east of Glasgow, through the centre of Glasgow and on to [[Bishopton, Renfrewshire|Bishopton]] in western [[Renfrewshire]], {{convert|13|miles}} further west. The motorway was built in sections starting in 1964 and was finally completed in 2017. The city centre stretch of the M8 was originally planned to form part of a wider [[Glasgow Inner Ring Road]], a proposed ring road encircling the city. The inner ring road plans were later abandoned, however a similar motorway ring around the eastern part of the city was later completed in 2017 as part of the M74 extension.

The motorway begins at Junction 1 in the west of Edinburgh and travels westwards through [[West Lothian]] and [[North Lanarkshire]] to the north-eastern outskirts of Glasgow at [[Easterhouse]], meeting the M73 at [[Baillieston]] Interchange. Previously the section of road between Junctions 6 and 8 in North Lanarkshire was incomplete and not built to motorway standard; the road instead used a small section of the A8; however in 2017 the 'gap' was finally closed with a new six lane motorway built to connect both sides of the M8.

From here the M8 runs through the east of the city, where its character is unusual compared to other motorways in the UK, featuring illuminated overhead gantries, high mast lighting and exits and entrances to the motorway on the right and left hand sides. It connects indirectly to the M80 at [[Riddrie]] and to the A803 at [[Townhead, Glasgow|Townhead]] junction before skirting around the city centre on an elevated viaduct, meeting the A82 before dipping down through [[Charing Cross, Glasgow|Charing Cross]] and then rising again to go over the A814 ([[Argyle Street, Glasgow|Argyle Street]] / Clydeside Expressway) before crossing the River Clyde on the [[Kingston Bridge, Glasgow|Kingston Bridge]]. The bridge is 10 lanes wide and is the busiest road crossing in Europe, with traffic volumes of up to 150,000 vehicles per day.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}

After the bridge, the M8 merges with the M74 and M77 at [[Plantation, Glasgow|Plantation]], becoming one of the widest stretches of road in the UK, with 16 lanes providing connections between the three motorways. The M8 continues west past [[Ibrox, Glasgow|Ibrox]] and the A739 for the [[Clyde Tunnel]], then out of the city to [[Braehead]], [[Renfrew]], [[Glasgow International Airport]], and [[Erskine, Renfrewshire|Erskine]] before continuing on to [[Greenock]] on the [[Firth of Clyde]] as the non-motorway A8.

===M73===
[[File:M73, Junction 2a - geograph.org.uk - 128724.jpg | thumb | right | alt=M73 Junction 2a | M73 Junction 2a]]
[[M73 motorway|The M73]] is a north-south link between the M74 and the M8 in the east of the city, allowing traffic to move between the two motorways which run east to west at that point. Construction began in 1969, with the M73 opening in 1972. In 2011, the M73 was extended north to link up with the M80 (as well as the A80), forming a motorway triangle to the north of the city. It is still a fairly short road, around {{convert|6.5|miles}} long. In 2015, as part of the 'M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvement Project', additional lanes were added to the southern part of the M73, making the southern part of the route four to five lanes wide in both directions.

===M74===
[[File:M74 (geograph 2638091).jpg|thumb|The [[A74(M) and M74 motorways|M74]] (2011 phase) looking north from Cathcart Road overbridge(A728) towards the point where it merges into the M8]]
[[A74(M) and M74 motorways|The M74]] runs from the city centre through the south east of the city, acting as a major route in and out of the city for the Lanarkshire suburbs; at [[Uddingston]] it connects to the [[M73 motorway|M73]] and expands to five lanes in each direction. It then turns to the south and continues to England. The M74 is Scotland's only motorway link to the rest of Great Britain and as such is one of the key cross-border routes between Scotland and England. Although the entire road is commonly referred to as the M74, it later becomes the [[A74(M) and M74 motorways|A74(M)]] and then the [[M6 motorway|M6]] upon entering England.

Construction of the M74 began in 1964, and by 1999 the motorway stretched to [[Gretna, Dumfries and Galloway]]. The M74's northern extension from [[Kingston, Glasgow|Kingston]] to [[Tollcross, Glasgow|Tollcross]] via [[Rutherglen]] was completed in 2011, finalising the original plan of a southern motorway across the city.

===Other===
[[M77 motorway|The M77]] begins in Glasgow at the M8 / M74 [[Plantation, Glasgow|Plantation]] connection and runs south-west to [[Kilmarnock]] via [[Bellahouston]], [[Pollok Country Park]], the [[Silverburn Shopping Centre]] and [[Newton Mearns]].
[[File:The M80 motorway from the air (geograph 5716335).jpg|thumb|left|Aerial view of the [[M80 motorway]] looking east at [[Provanmill]] as it passes under the [[Cumbernauld Line]] railway tracks and the B765 Robroyston Road (2018)]]
[[M80 motorway|The M80]] runs between north-eastern Glasgow and the [[M9 motorway (Scotland)|M9 motorway]] just south of [[Stirling]], via [[Robroyston]], [[Cumbernauld]] and [[Denny, Falkirk|Denny]]. The M80 diverges from the M8 motorway at [[Blochairn]] and eventually links up with the M73 outside the city at [[Mollinsburn]]. The road was constructed in three sections, the first opening in 1974, followed by further sections in 1992 and 2011.

[[M898 motorway|The M898]] (located entirely in Renfrewshire outwith the city itself), connects the M8 to the [[Erskine Bridge]], so is an important link avoiding the city centre for motorists from the likes of [[Dumbarton]] and [[Clydebank]] north of the Clyde. It is the highest numbered motorway in the UK and also the shortest, being less than a mile long (the Erskine Bridge itself is not classified as a motorway).

===Bruce Report===
{{main|Glasgow Inner Ring Road}}
[[File:Unfinished Glasgow ring road - geograph.org.uk - 2922100.jpg | thumb | right | alt=Unfinished Glasgow ring road | Unfinished Glasgow ring road]]
The construction of Glasgow's motorway network was originally proposed as part of the ''Bruce Report'', which set out an ambition for a modern, efficient transport network for the city. This included miles of new motorway, bridges, tunnels and railway and resulted in the creation of the M8, M74 and M77 roads as well as the Clyde Tunnel and Clydeside Expressway. The implementation of the Bruce Report was at the time controversial as it required the destruction of several communities and historic buildings in the path of the routes; however in recent times it has been recognised{{by whom|date=November 2022}} as contributing to Glasgow's relatively low level of inner-city congestion and low journey times for people travelling across the city.

Not all projects from the ''Bruce Report'' were fully implemented, notably the final part of the city's inner ring road which was meant to complete a motorway box around the city centre. This is unlikely ever to be completed as in 2008, the Scottish Government began construction of the M74 northern extension following a similar route to the south west portion of the inner ring road. The extension connected the M74 to the M8, forming a motorway box around the eastern part of Glasgow similar to, but slightly larger than that originally envisioned in the ''Bruce Report''. The extension opened to traffic in 2011 and succeeded in its goals of reducing traffic on the congested M8 and improving safety and journey times around the city.

Following the completion of the M74 northern extension, the city has now started construction on the [[Glasgow East End Regeneration Route]] which will connect the M74 northern extension with the [[M8 motorway (Scotland)|M8 motorway]] at the M80 interchange forming a second, smaller box closer to the city centre. Phases 1 and 2 of the project are complete, with phase 3 currently under construction.