The M9 is a major

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 i ...

in Scotland. It runs from the outskirts 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 ...

, bypassing the towns of

Linlithgow Linlithgow (; gd, Gleann Iucha, sco, Lithgae) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a ...

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

Grangemouth Grangemouth ( sco, Grangemooth; gd, Inbhir Ghrainnse, ) is a town in the Falkirk council area, Scotland. Historically part of the county of Stirlingshire, the town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkirk ...

and

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 ...

to end at

Dunblane Dunblane (, gd, Dùn Bhlàthain) is a small town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links ...

History

The first section was Polmont and Falkirk Bypass which opened on 28 August 1968 This was followed by the Newbridge Bypass which opened on 25 November 1970, the third section Lathalllan to Muriehall (

), which joined the two together opened on 18 December 1972https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QdA9AAAAIBAJ&sjid=AUgMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4095%2C3524605

Route

The road is approximately long, and runs in a roughly north-west direction from the M8. It meets the A8 at Newbridge – a traffic blackspot before the junction was

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 ...

. Its next junction is with the M90, the first part of which used to be a

spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to back ...

of the M9 towards the

Forth Road Bridge The Forth Road Bridge is a suspension bridge in east central Scotland. The bridge opened in 1964 and at the time was the longest suspension bridge in the world outside the United States. The bridge spans the Firth of Forth, connecting Edinbur ...

. This spur ended at the single carriageway

A8000 road The B800 is a short road in eastern Scotland, connecting the Forth Road Bridge to Kirkliston. It is a two-way single carriageway road. It was formerly known as the A8000, when it was the main road from the bridge to the M9 motorway and the M8 mo ...

short of the bridge, but was extended in September 2007 to meet the A90 at Scotstoun. The road shares space with of the M876 en route to the

Kincardine Bridge The Kincardine Bridge is a road bridge crossing the Firth of Forth from Falkirk council area to Kincardine, Fife, Scotland. History The bridge was constructed between 1932 and 1936, to a design by Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners, Consulting En ...

east of Stenhousemuir, at this point the motorway has 3 lanes in each direction, making it the most northerly stretch of motorway in the UK to be 3 lanes wide. At Stirling it meets the M80 (junction 9 of both motorways), taking over the main route through the Carse of Lecropt to the final roundabout at Dunblane. From there, the A9 runs all the way to

Thurso Thurso (pronounced ; sco, Thursa, gd, Inbhir Theòrsa ) is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. Situated in the historical County of Caithness, it is the northernmost town on the island of Gre ...

. Moto services are located at the M9/M80 junction, accessed via a roundabout which allows access to all routes.

Junctions

References

External links

City of Edinburgh Council Leaflet (PDF)

{{DEFAULTSORT:9-0009m Motorways in Scotland Transport in Edinburgh Transport in Stirling (council area) Transport in West Lothian

History

Route

Junctions

See also

References

External links