The Edinburgh City Bypass, designated as A720, is one of the most important
trunk roads in Scotland. Circling around the south of
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, as the equivalent of a
ring road
A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...
for the coastal city, it links together the
A1 towards north-east England, the
A702
The A702 is a major road in Scotland, that runs from Edinburgh to St. John's Town of Dalry in Dumfries and Galloway. It is the last section of the route from London via the West Midlands and North West England to Edinburgh, which follows the M ...
towards north-west England, the
M8 through the
Central Belt
The Central Belt of Scotland is the area of highest population density within Scotland. Depending on the definition used, it has a population of between 2.4 and 4.2 million (the country's total was around 5.4 million in 2019), including Great ...
towards
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, the
A7 through south-east Scotland and north-west England as well as the
A8 leading to the
M9 for
Stirling
Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...
and the
Queensferry Crossing
The Queensferry Crossing (formerly the Forth Replacement Crossing) is a road bridge in Scotland. It was built alongside the existing Forth Road Bridge and carries the M90 motorway across the Firth of Forth between Edinburgh, at South Queensfer ...
.
The road is
dual carriageway
A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
standard throughout, including emergency laybys and hard shoulders in areas. The road is classed as a
special road
A special road is a road or highway (these terms have different meaning in different jurisdictions in the UK) in the United Kingdom reserved for use by ''special'' classes of traffic; such roads include but are not limited to motorways. For a ro ...
in legal terms. Every motorway in the UK is termed a special road in that specific regulations govern its use. Not every special road is classed as a motorway and this bypass is one of those roads.
The A720 forms part of
European route E15
The European route E15 is part of the United Nations international E-road network. It is a north-south "reference road", running from Inverness, Scotland south through England and France to Algeciras, Spain.Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...
, in northern Scotland, to
Algeciras
Algeciras ( , ) is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeci ...
, in southern Spain. North of Gogar, the E15 runs towards the
A90 and the Queensferry Crossing; and south of Old Craighall on the
A1.
History
A720 was built in sections between 1980 and 1989. The first section built was the Colinton section (A702 to Baberton) opened in 1981, with the Dreghorn junction opening circa 1985. Next up was the Sighthill section (Baberton to A8 at Gogarburn) which opened in late 1986. 1988 saw two sections open: the Burdiehouse section (A702 to A701) in the summer followed in the autumn by the section between the A68 at Sheriffhall and the A1 at Old Craighall. The last section was completed in 1989 around the Gilmerton junction.
Junctions
The A720 starts at the Old Craighall junction in the east where it meets the
A1, from which traffic can approach Edinburgh city centre from the east, or run past
Musselburgh
Musselburgh (; sco, Musselburrae; gd, Baile nam Feusgan) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It has a population of .
History
The name Musselburgh is Ol ...
and
Haddington on the way to England.
Junction 1: Millerhill
This junction comes shortly after the eastern start of the A720, which was completed in 2008 as the Dalkeith Northern Bypass of the
A68. This is a crucial route for traffic to south-east Scotland.
In 2013 the road between Millerhill and Sheriffhall was temporarily diverted for the construction of a new underbridge serving the rebuilt
Edinburgh-Galashiels railway line, as the original railway had been closed and was built over when the bypass was built.
Junction 2: Sheriffhall Roundabout
About 1.5 miles further is the most congested junction on the bypass. Whereas all the other junctions on the bypass are
grade separated
In civil engineering (more specifically highway engineering), grade separation is a method of aligning a junction of two or more surface transport axes at different heights (grades) so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other tra ...
, Sheriffhall is a traffic-light controlled
roundabout
A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...
and the traffic problems of forcing all through A720 traffic to halt is worsened by the importance of the roads which intersect here – the
A7 which leads north to the city centre and south to
Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...
, the former
A68 which now leads to Dalkeith and the A68, and the A6106. Traffic jams are common at most times of day. The junction was not built with grade separation because of a geological fault that crosses the bypass here, and the area having (at the time) active coal mining.
![Edinburgh City Bypass 2005-01-30](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Edinburgh_City_Bypass_2005-01-30.jpg)
In 2015, an upgrade for the Sheriffhall Junction was prepared, with four options for grade separation. In 2020, plans to add a grade-separated through route were costed at £120 million. The project was criticised by the
Scottish Greens
The Scottish Greens (also known as the Scottish Green Party; gd, Pàrtaidh Uaine na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Green Pairtie) are a green political party in Scotland. The party has seven MSPs in the Scottish Parliament as of May 2021. As of the 20 ...
, who stated that it would
induce demand. The flyover is expected to open in 2027, but is still subject to controversy.
Junction 3: Gilmerton
This is a small junction which is for the A772, that used to be the A7 until the mid-1990s. This road leads to Cameron Toll shopping centre as well as the A701 and the city centre. There is evidence that western slip-roads were considered at the roundabout to join the A772. This junction offers only connections to and from the west on the A720.
Junction 4: Lasswade
Just shortly after the Gilmerton junction, comes the
Lasswade
Lasswade is a village and civil parish in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River North Esk, nine miles (14.5 kilometres) south of Edinburgh city centre, contiguous with Bonnyrigg and between Dalkeith to the east and Loanhead to the west. Melville C ...
junction. Like the Gilmerton junction, this junction offers only connections to and from the west on the A720.
Junction 5: Straiton
This junction includes access to Straiton Retail Park, Costco, and IKEA. This junction also provides access to the
A701 and southern suburbs.
Junction 6: Lothianburn
This junction was the original eastern terminus of the road. This is a major junction with the
A702
The A702 is a major road in Scotland, that runs from Edinburgh to St. John's Town of Dalry in Dumfries and Galloway. It is the last section of the route from London via the West Midlands and North West England to Edinburgh, which follows the M ...
, which provides access to western England, via Abington and the
A74(M)
The A74(M) and M74 form a major motorway in Scotland, connecting it to England. The routes connect the M8 motorway in central Glasgow to the Scottish-English border at Gretna. In conjunction with their southward continuation, the M6 motorwa ...
to Carlisle and the
M6.
Junction 7: Dreghorn
This junction primarily provides access to the only
services
Service may refer to:
Activities
* Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty
* Civil service, the body of employees of a government
* Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a pu ...
on the bypass. Local roads including the B701, and
Dreghorn Barracks
Dreghorn Barracks are located in Edinburgh, Scotland. The barracks are situated at the southern edge of the city, south of Colinton, and adjacent to the Edinburgh City Bypass.
History
The present barracks complex was largely built in 1937–1939 ...
are also accessed from this junction.
Junction 8: Baberton
This junction was the original western terminus of the road. It provides direct access to the suburb of Baberton and indirect access to the
A70, for Lanark, or the centre of Edinburgh. This junction offers only connections to and from the eastern stretch of the A720.
Junction 9 & 10: Calder and Hermiston Gait
The centre of these junctions are within half a mile of each other, with a tangle of inter-weaving slips roads, flyovers, and underpasses between and either side of them. The
A71 meets the bypass at a roundabout over the carriageway, and the
M8 terminates at a roundabout under the carriageway, along with access to Hermiston Gait retail park.
The A71 provides one of the main routes into Edinburgh via Calder Road, and west to Livingston and Kilmarnock. The
M8 runs to Glasgow and provides direct access to the
M9 for Stirling, and via the M90 to the
Queensferry Crossing
The Queensferry Crossing (formerly the Forth Replacement Crossing) is a road bridge in Scotland. It was built alongside the existing Forth Road Bridge and carries the M90 motorway across the Firth of Forth between Edinburgh, at South Queensfer ...
.
Junction 11: Gogar Junction
Finally the road swings north to finish on the
A8 at Gogar Roundabout. The original junction was a simple roundabout connecting both roads, and access to South Gyle and Edinburgh Park. The roundabout now has an underpass for traffic on the A8. From this junction, traffic can proceed into Edinburgh City Centre by an alternative route through
Corstorphine
Corstorphine (Scottish Gaelic: ''Crois Thoirfinn'') ( ) is an area of the Scottish capital city of Edinburgh. Formerly a separate village and parish to the west of Edinburgh, it is now a suburb of the city, having been formally incorporate ...
, or can head west to
Edinburgh Airport
Edinburgh Airport is an airport located in the Ingliston area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was the busiest airport in Scotland in 2019, handling over 14.7 million passengers. It was also the sixth-busiest airport in the United Kingdom by t ...
and the
M9 for Stirling, with connecting roads leading to all places north.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:A720 Road (United Kingdom)
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Transport in East Lothian