The A814 road in Scotland (known for part of its length as the Clydeside Expressway) is a major arterial route within

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, connecting the city centre to the west end. Running along the right (north) bank of the

River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...

, it continues further west through

Clydebank Clydebank () is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Milton beyond) to the w ...

and

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...

, leaving the suburban environment and serving as the main road for

Helensburgh Helensburgh ( ; ) is a town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local government reorganisation in 1996. Histo ...

, turning north to meet the A83 at Arrochar, Argyll and Bute.

Route

The A814 starts at the junction of Clyde Street and Saltmarket ( A8, beside

Glasgow Green Glasgow Green is a park in the east end of Glasgow, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde. Established in the 15th century, it is the oldest park in the city. It connects to the south via the St Andrew's Suspension Bridge. History In ...

and the Albert Bridge) in the east of

city centre and follows the

's right (north) bank westwards, becoming the

Broomielaw Broomielaw is a major thoroughfare in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It runs beside the River Clyde, on its north bank looking over to Tradeston. Both sides have been marketed as the city's International Financial Services District. History O ...

after passing under the

Caledonian Railway Bridge The Caledonian Railway Bridge is a bridge crossing the River Clyde at Broomielaw in Scotland. It is adjacent to Glasgow Central Station. First bridge The first bridge was built between 1876 and 1878 for the Caledonian Railway Company and opene ...

(serving Glasgow Central Station). At James Watt Street, two streets take the designation, with the northern one ( Argyle Street, one of the city's main pedestrianised shopping zones further east) becoming a dual carriageway just before it passes under the M8 motorway at Junction 19 beside

Anderston railway station Anderston railway station serves Glasgow's financial district of Anderston and, across the M8 motorway, the housing schemes of both Anderston West and the Blythswood Court estate of the Anderston Centre. It is also close to both the Hilton and ...

and becomes the elevated Clydeside Expressway – there is direct motorway slip access to and from the Expressway onto the Kingston Bridge across the river, but traffic intending to travel northwards / eastwards on the M8 must use the road network and join at Junction 18, similarly those joining the Expressway or Argyle Street from that direction must exit at J19 onto a standard traffic junction. The south 'branch' of the A814 continues under the Kingston Bridge along the riverside at Lancefield Quay before turning north at Finnieston Street by the Clyde Arc Bridge and feeding 'onto itself' a short distance further north). After passing the

SEC Centre The SEC Centre (originally known as the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre until 2017) is Scotland's largest Exhibition center, exhibit ...

SSE Hydro The OVO Hydro is a multi-purpose indoor arena located within the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow, Scotland. The arena was initially named The Scottish Hydro Arena after its main sponsor Scottish Hydro Electric. During construction, Scottish ...

on one side and residential Kelvinhaugh and Yorkhill on the other (two footbridges provide pedestrian access at what is a very busy and fast-moving section), an atypical junction added in the early 21st century just prior to the

River Kelvin The River Kelvin () is a tributary of the River Clyde in northern and northeastern Glasgow, Scotland. It rises on the moor south east of the village of Banton, Scotland, Banton, east of Kilsyth. At almost long, it initially flows south to D ...

provides access from the Expressway to eastern

Partick Partick (, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and to the north Broo ...

and the Riverside Museum from the westbound direction, with eastbound entry/exit points further on at Glasgow Harbour where the main carriageway is in a cutting. There is a further junction at the Thornwood roundabout providing suburban access western Partick and Broomhill. Dumbarton Road - geograph

Road bridge over the River Leven at Dumbarton - geograph

The A814 carries on to the A739 interchange (see below) beyond which it drops down to street level at

Whiteinch Whiteinch () is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated directly north of the River Clyde, between the Partick and Scotstoun areas of the city. Whiteinch was at one stage part of the burgh of Partick, until that burgh's absorp ...

, continuing as Dumbarton Road through

Scotstoun Scotstoun () is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, west of Glasgow City Centre. It is bounded by Garscadden and Yoker to the west, Victoria Park, Jordanhill and Whiteinch to the east, Jordanhill to the north and the River Clyde (and Braehead ...

, Yoker and into

(where it is named Glasgow Road) and Dalmuir (becoming Dumbarton Road again). Now out of the city, it feeds the A82 / A898 ( Erskine Bridge interchange) at Old Kilpatrick then merges with the A82 for a short distance as a dual carriageway before recovering its designation through the town centre of

(as Glasgow Road and Cardross Road), over the River Leven and past Cardross, directly next to the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde, is the estuary of the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the deepest coastal waters of the British Isles. The Firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre, Kintyre Peninsula. The ...

through

and alongside the

Gare Loch The Gare Loch or Gareloch () is an open sea loch in Argyll and Bute in the west of Scotland, and it bears a similar name to the village of Gairloch in the north west Highlands. The loch is well used for sailing, recreational boating, list of ...

past

Faslane naval base His Majesty's Naval Base, Clyde (HMNB Clyde; also HMS ''Neptune''), primarily sited at Faslane on the Gare Loch, is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth). It ...

. It turns north onto the left bank of

Loch Long Loch Long is a body of water in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The sea loch extends from the Firth of Clyde at its southwestern end, to the Arrochar Alps at the head of the loch. It measures approximately in length, with a wi ...

, meeting the A83 at the head of the loch at Arrochar. It shares some characteristics with the A82 which is also a main urban route within western Glasgow (as Great Western Road) and then an important rural road in Argyll, almost connecting with the end of the A814 as it clings to the shore of

Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; ) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault (HBF), often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Central Scotland and the Highlands.Tom Weir. ''The Scottish Lochs''. pp. 33-43. Published by ...

as well as superseding it as the route number for a short distance between

Bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

and Milton where the tight confines of the Clyde and the Kilpatrick Hills leave space for only one road.

Clydeside Expressway history

Construction on the expressway started in 1971, taking around 24 months, with the road opening to traffic in April 1973. The Expressway includes many over- and underpasses which are designed in typical Glasgow style, using prestressed concrete beams fabricated on site. Unlike most motorways in Scotland, corner radii were set at 150 feet, and the road has a unique electric road heating system installed which is used to reduce the need to grit during the winter months. The Expressway has a number of unique grade separated junctions designed to enable efficient movement of traffic whilst minimising land take. Whiteinch Interchange is an example of such a junction, designed to allow traffic to move freely between the Expressway and the Clyde Tunnel (A739). The design of this junction created a challenge as it was a requirement that it should be completely free flowing whilst also not taking any land from the nearby Victoria Park. The final design involves a partial-cloverleaf where traffic from opposing directions temporarily share carriageway space when moving around the interchange. In 2022, plans released under

Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for Glasgow, Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was former ...

's 'liveable neighbourhoods programme' included a proposal to reduce the Expressway to a single-lane, tree-lined boulevard to provide better harmony with the neighbourhoods in its vicinity, and to reduce pollution and discourage car use in the city centre.Glasgow Argyle Street set to go one way and Clydeside Expressway transformed under plans
Sarah Hilley, Glasgow Live, 14 October 2022

References

External links

*
A814

SABRE A sabre or saber ( ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the Early Modern warfare, early modern and Napoleonic period, Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such a ...

Map of Clydeside Expressway

Gazetteer for Scotland The ''Gazetteer for Scotland'' is a gazetteer covering the geography, history and people of Scotland. It was conceived in 1995 by Bruce Gittings of the University of Edinburgh and David Munro of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, and co ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:8-0814 Roads in Scotland Transport in Glasgow Transport in West Dunbartonshire Transport in Argyll and Bute Clydebank Partick Dumbarton Helensburgh