The M77 motorway 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 ...

in Scotland. It begins in

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 ...

at the M8 motorway at

Kinning Park Kinning Park is a southern suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. It was formerly a separate police burgh between 1871 and 1905 before being absorbed by the city. In 1897, it had a population of 14,326.Govan Parish School Board, ''The Members' Year Book ...

, and terminates near

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

at Fenwick, becoming the A77 dual carriageway. Changes were made in 2005 segregating a lane on the M8 motorway almost as far as the Kingston Bridge, which in January 2006 was extended further onto the bridge itself. It forms the most northerly part of the A77

trunk road A trunk road is a major highway with a specific legal classification in some jurisdictions, notably the United Kingdom, Sweden and formerly Ireland. Trunk roads are planned and managed at the national-level, distinguishing them from non-trunk ro ...

which links Glasgow to

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...

in the South West of Scotland. (The A77 itself continues to

Portpatrick Portpatrick is a village and civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in the historical county of Wigtownshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located on the west coast of the Rhins of Galloway. The parish is about in length and in br ...

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...

History

The original M77 was a short

spur route A spur route is a short road forming a branch from a longer, more important road such as a freeway, Interstate Highway, or motorway. A Bypass route, bypass or beltway is not considered a spur route as it typically reconnects with another or the ...

which took traffic from the M8 motorway in the

area of

, ending at a roundabout on Dumbreck Road close to

Bellahouston Park Bellahouston Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Bhaile Ùisdean'') is a public park in the Bellahouston district on the South Side of Glasgow, Scotland, between the areas of Craigton, Dumbreck, Ibrox and Mosspark covering an area of . The mai ...

, although prior to this there had been an unused spur running to roughly Ibrox telephone exchange on Gower Street. A large number of accidents and pollution problems caused in the suburban towns of

Giffnock Giffnock (; ; , ) is a town and the administrative centre of East Renfrewshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies east of Barrhead, east-southeast of Paisley and northwest of East Kilbride, at the southwest of the Greater G ...

and

Newton Mearns Newton Mearns ( ) is a suburban town and the largest settlement in East Renfrewshire, Scotland. It lies southwest of Glasgow City Centre on the A77 road, main road to Ayrshire, above sea level. It has a population of approximately 26,993, stre ...

by commuter traffic and heavy lorries (the A77 is the main route for ferry-bound traffic sailing to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

), saw an extension being built to the motorway in 1994 to bypass these areas, which was opened in December 1996. This was fiercely opposed by environmentalists, who set up a road protest camp, as it meant that the motorway would cut through the historic

Pollok Country Park Pollok Country Park is a country park located between Shawlands, Crossmyloof, and Pollok in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2007, Pollok Country Park was named Britain's Best Park, and in 2008 it was named the Best Park in Europe, beating competition fro ...

. Approval for the extension was granted and construction went ahead. A threatening visit in 1995 to the protesters of 'Pollok Free State' by the Conservative Member of Parliament Allan Stewart (then the MP for Eastwood, the constituency including Newton Mearns, which the new road would bypass), accompanied by his airgun-wielding son, resulted in a political shot in the foot, contributing to his subsequent resignation, and a fine for his son in

Paisley Sheriff Court Paisley Sheriff Court is a municipal structure in St James Street, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. The complex, which was the headquarters of Renfrewshire County Council and is currently used as a courthouse, is a Category A listed building. ...

. Stewart chose to stand down as MP for the Eastwood constituency in the next

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

in 1997, where the Conservatives lost the seat anyway to Labour. The latest upgrade was instigated in 2003, and involved extending the M77 a further south to the village of Fenwick, near

. This replaced the dangerous 4-lane single carriageway of the A77 that dropped to a two lane single carriageway for the bend just north of the very sharp Mearns Road turn-off, and the A77/B764 (

Eaglesham Eaglesham ( or , or ; ; ) is a village in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, situated about south of Glasgow, southeast of Newton Mearns and south of Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, Clarkston, and southwest of East Kilbride. The 2011 census reveal ...

) junction (causing vehicles to queue dangerously on the outside lane on a bend to enter the B764 from the south) which were prone to fatal accidents. The scheme also included the Glasgow Southern Orbital (GSO) which bypasses the B764 Eaglesham Moor Road to

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; ), sometimes referred to as EK, is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland, and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. Historically a small village, it was designated Scotland's first "new town" on 6 Ma ...

. This also resulted in the closure of junction 5 on its previous site at Malletsheugh and the creation of a new junction 5 slightly further south at Maidenhill. An old slip road still exists, but is closed. The works were completed in April 2005. In 2006, junction 2 was rebuilt in conjunction with the building of the adjacent Silverburn Shopping Centre. The northbound off-ramp and southbound on-ramp are now routed via the access roundabout to the shopping centre. In 2010 a relief lane was constructed between Plantation and Junction 1 southbound. The purpose of this was to ease the congestion that regularly occurs during peak rush hour. The original segment of the A77 between Newton Mearns and Fenwick that previously carried the traffic now accommodated by the M77 has been converted into a two-lane single carriageway with cycle lanes. The remainder of the road through Newton Mearns has been converted into a two-lane dual carriageway with cycle lanes. The cycle lanes end at Eastwood Toll in Giffnock.

Junctions

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, 0 , 0 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , — , 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 ...

, bgcolor="ffdddd" , no Westbound exit or Southbound entrance from West , - , 1.1 , 1.7 , 1 , B768 -

Dumbreck Dumbreck (; or ) is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated south 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 Uni ...

Mosspark Mosspark () is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated south of the River Clyde, in the southwest of the city. History Mosspark and the lands of East and Mid-Henderston were incorporated into Glasgow in 1909. They covered sev ...

, , - , 2.8 , 4.5 , 2 , B762 -

Shawlands Shawlands () is a Southside suburb of Glasgow, Scotland, located two miles south of the River Clyde. The area, considered the "Heart of the Southside", is known for its independent restaurants and cafés, art scene, public parks, period terrace ...

, Hurlet , , - , 4.2 , 6.7 , 3 , - Paisley, Hurlet
- Thornliebank,

, , - , rowspan="2",

East Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire (; ) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It was formed in 1996, as a successor to the Eastwood (district), Eastwood district of the Strathclyde region. The northeastern part of the council area is close to Glasgow and ma ...

, rowspan="2",

, 5.8 , 9.3 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , 4 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , B7087 - Crookfur (

) , bgcolor="ffdddd" , no Southbound entrance or Northbound exit , - , 7.7 , 12.4 , 5 , -

Strathaven Strathaven ( ; from ) is a historic market town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland and is the largest settlement in Avondale. It is south of Hamilton. The Powmillon Burn runs through the town centre, and joins the Avon Water to the east of the to ...

, , - , rowspan="3",

East Ayrshire East Ayrshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquarters of the council are located on London Roa ...

, rowspan="3", — , 12.8 , 20.6 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , 6 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , -

, bgcolor="ffdddd" , no Southbound entrance or Northbound exit , - , 15.2 , 24.5 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , 7 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , -

B778 -

Stewarton Stewarton (,
) is a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. ...

, Fenwick , bgcolor="ffdddd" , no Northbound exit , - , 16.3 , 26.3 , bgcolor="ddffdd" , 8 , bgcolor="ddffdd" , - Ayr, Stranraer
B7038 -

B7061 - Fenwick , bgcolor="ddffdd" , End of Motorway; continues as A77.
(''Fenwick NB & Kilmarnock SB exits are from A77 side. No additional entrances to M77 or A77.'') ;Coordinate list

References

External links

Glasgow Motorway Archive - The M77 Motorway

{{DEFAULTSORT:7-0077 Motorways in Scotland Transport in East Ayrshire Transport in East Renfrewshire Transport in Glasgow Anti-road protests in the United Kingdom Newton Mearns Pollokshields

History

Junctions

See also

References

External links