A74(M) and M74 motorways Totally Explained

Everything about A74 M totally explained

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The A74(M) and M74 motorways are two major motorways in Scotland, running continuously from the southern outskirts of Glasgow to the Anglo-Scottish border at Gretna. In conjunction with the M6 motorway, it forms one of the two major cross-border routes between Scotland and England. It is part of the unsigned international E-road network E05. Although the entire route is usually referred to as the M74, more than half of its length is officially designated as the A74(M); see Numbering confusion below.

Present route

The M74 begins at a roundabout in the Glasgow suburb of Tollcross. It runs in a roughly south-easterly direction past the Clyde Valley towns of Bothwell, Hamilton and Motherwell before meeting the cross-country A71 at Larkhall. It passes west of Lanark and beyond Abington, Moffat and Lockerbie, before terminating at the border near Gretna after around 80 miles, six miles short of the connection to the M6 motorway - this short section remains part of the A74 road. By the end of 2008 there will be an end on connection with the M6 which is being extended north through the 'Cumberland Gap' thus finally completing a through motorway route from Glasgow to London.
The M74 (from Junction 4 southwards) and A74(M) are part of the E05 Euroroute which runs from Greenock to Algeciras. North from Junction 4, the E05 takes a short stretch of the M73 connecting to the M8, then proceeds westwards through Glasgow to Greenock; and southwards continues on the M6 through England.

Improvements underway

M6 Carlisle to Guards Mill Extension

There had been plans to complete the motorway link from the M74 to the beginning of the M6 at Carlisle (known as the "Cumberland Gap") for some time. However the project was delayed due to a number of arguments: the Scottish Government and the English Highways Agency have attempted to trade away responsibility for building the road - a largely Scottish route in the north of England - and a long-standing agreement for the Executive to build it expired only recently. The Highways Agency has finally agreed to build the road, and it's expected to open towards the end of 2008. Construction began on 25 July 2006.

M74 Extension

The M74 Extension, also known as 'M74 Completion' and 'M74 Northern Extension' will extend the M74 northwards by 5 miles through the south-eastern suburbs of Dalmarnock, Polmadie, Rutherglen, Govanhill and parts of the Gorbals to meet the M8 near the Kingston Bridge in Glasgow into on an elevated embankment. The required land has been purchased and ground works have started with a current completion date of 2010 at an estimated cost of £375m to £500m. The scheme was at the centre of a road protest from local campaigners and environmentalists. The city centre section of this motorway would perform a similar role to the never-built southern flank of the Glasgow Inner Ring Road planned in the 1960s, and first set out as a scheme in the Bruce Report of the 1940s, but only half-completed.

Proposed improvements

East End Regeneration Route

Complementing the extension is the city council's proposed East End Regeneration Route which will connect the M74 Northern Extensions with the M8 motorway at the Provan Gas Works interchange with the M80 motorway. The new road will make use of existing stretches of road with filler sections on currently derelict land. The go ahead for the new motorway was given on the 14th February 2008,with construction beginning in May 2008 Completion is expected sometime in 2011.

Numbering confusion

Although the motorway is usually referred to in public as the M74 motorway, this isn't the de jure nor the de facto situation. South of Abington, the road is officially the A74(M) motorway and this is noted on each sign in this southern section of the road (save for one erroneous "M74" sign at Gretna Green services). However, as the motorway is one continuous route and has a continuous junction numbering system, its entirety is usually referred to as M74. Typically, upgraded A-road designations like A74(M) are retained for short bypasses of existing road, whereas the M74/A74(M) is one continuous intercity route.
There is a long-standing plan, once the southern extension of the road is complete, to rename the motorway as part of the M6, creating a 350-mile motorway from Rugby to Glasgow. When the A74(M) was constructed in the 1990s, many of the signs were given patches with the A74(M) number on - these patches can be peeled away to reveal "M6" underneath. One such sign can be seen at the VOSA checkpoint just past the Crawford/Thornhill on-slip states that it's the "M6 South" instead of the "A74 (M)" South. More recently, however, the Scottish Government has appeared to change its position on the issue, with Sarah Boyack saying in 1999 that "We have no current plans to rename or redesignate the M74 or A74(M) motorways between Glasgow and the border as the M6"

Junctions

M74 MotorwayA74(M) motorway

Northbound exits	Junction	Southbound exits
Tollcross, Glasgow City Centre, THE NORTH A74 Cambuslang, Rutherglen	J1	Start of Motorway
Shettleston, Cambuslang, A763	J2	No Access
No Access	J3	Tannochside, Uddingston A721
Stirling, Kincardine Bridge, M73 Uddingston, Mount Vernon, A721	J4	Stirling, Kincardine Bridge, Edinburgh M73
		Bothwell Services ^{Southbound only}
Bellshill, Coatbridge, East Kilbride Edinburgh A725	J5	Bellshill, Coatbridge, East Kilbride, Edinburgh A725
Hamilton Services ^{Northbound only}
Hamilton, Motherwell A723	J6	Motherwell, Hamilton A723
No Access	J7	Lanark, Larkhall A72
Kilmarnock, Edinburgh A71 Larkhall B7078	J8	Kilmarnock,Livingston, Edinburgh A71
No Access	J9	Kirkmuirhill, Blackwood, Lesmahagow, Coalburn B7078
Lesmahagow, Kirkmuirhill, Blackwood B7078	J10	No Access
No Access	J11	Edinburgh, [[Ayr B7078, A70 Happendon Services
Edinburgh,Lanark, Ayr, A70 Happendon Services	J12	No Access
Road continues as M74	J13	Edinburgh A702 Lanark A73 Abington Services
Northbound exits	Junction	Southbound exits
Edinburgh A702 Lanark A73 Abington Services	J13	Road continues as A74(M)
Crawford, Thornhill A702	J14	Crawford, Thornhill A702
Moffat, Dumfries A701	J15	Moffat, Selkirk A701
Johnstonebridge B7076 Annandale Water Services	J16	Johnstonebridge B7076 Annandale Water Services
Lockerbie B7076	J17	Lockerbie, Dumfries B7076
Lockerbie, Dumfries B723	J18	No Access
Ecclefechan B7076	J19	Ecclefechan B7076
Eaglesfield, Annan B722	J20	Eaglesfield, Annan, Kirtlebridge B722
Kirtlebridge, Kirkpatrick Fleming B7076 Canonbie, B6357	J21	Canonbie B6357 Kirtlebridge, Kirkpatrick Fleming B7076
Gretna Green Services
No Access	J22	Longtown, Gretna Green, Gretna B7076
Dumfries, Stranraer, Gretna A75	J23	No Access
Start of Motorway	J24	No exit
B7076 A6071	J24	Road continues as A74* to THE SOUTH, Carlisle, M6*

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