The M73 is a

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

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 ...

and

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns, and villages. It also borders East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk (co ...

, Scotland. It is long and connects the

M74 motorway The A74(M) and M74 form a major motorway in Scotland, connecting it to England. The routes connect the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 motorway in central Glasgow to the Scottish-English Anglo-Scottish border, border at Gretna, Scotland, Gretna. T ...

with the M80 motorway, providing an eastern bypass for Glasgow. The short stretch between junctions 1 and 2 is part of unsigned international E-road network E05, where it continues along the M8 through Glasgow. To the south, the M74 motorway is also part of the E05.

Route

Starting at the M74 junction 4 (M73 junction 1) by 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 proceeds north with Birkenshaw to the east and crosses the Whifflet railway line before meeting the M8 and A8 at a three-level interchange, west of Swinton. The North Clyde railway line passes underneath the M73 immediately north of this interchange. The M73 then passes alongside Woodend Loch before reaching junction 2A at Gartcosh. There is then a further of motorway, before traffic exits onto the M80 westbound. The road is a dual three-lane road between junctions 1 and 2, and a dual two-lane road between junctions 2 and 3. It is subject to the national speed limit.

History and future plans

Construction began in 1969 with the motorway opening between May 1971 and April 1972. Junction 2A was added at a later date. In 2011, the northern end was extended as part of the M80 completion project. This connects the motorway into the completed M80 at a new interchange. Further work in 2017 improved access from the M74 at Junction 3A, and from the M8 and A8 at Baillieston Interchange.New aerial footage as M8 M73 M74 project nears completion
Daily Record, 5 January 2017

Junctions

{, class="plainrowheaders wikitable" , - !scope=col, County !scope=col, Location !scope=col, mi !scope=col, km !scope=col, Junction !scope=col, Destinations !scope=col, Notes , - ,

, rowspan="4" ,

, 0 , 0 , 1 , – Carlisle, Glasgow , , - ,

, 1.5 , 2.4 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , 2 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , –

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

– Barlanark,
– Gallowgate,

Coatbridge Coatbridge (, ) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Airdrie, Coatbridge forms the area known as the Monklands (popula ...

, bgcolor="ffdddd" , No Northbound entrance from West on M8 , - , rowspan="2" ,

, 4.2 , 6.8 , 2a , – Gartcosh, Muirhead , , - , 6.4 , 10.3 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , 3 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , – Stirling
– Moodiesburn, Chryston , bgcolor="ffdddd" , No exit to M80 going Westward or entrance from M80 from the West ;Coordinate list

Gallery

File:Maryville_Interchange_-_M73,_M74_-_geograph.org.uk_-_106423.jpg, The interchange with the M74. File:M73_plus_Blue_Railway_Bridge_-_geograph.org.uk_-_127406.jpg, The M73 just before the Gartcosh cutoff

References

External links