The B800 is a short road in eastern

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, connecting 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 ...

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 motorway. The A8000 was under the control of the

City of Edinburgh Council The City of Edinburgh Council is the local government authority for the city of Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. With a population of in mid-2019, it is the second most populous local authority area in Scotland. In its current form, the counci ...

, not a Trunk Road under the control of the Scottish Executive. Despite this, it was one of the most important strategic routes in the east of Scotland, carrying traffic from Fife, and further north, to the central Scotland motorway network, and the City of Edinburgh Bypass. During the morning and evening rush hours it was often jammed nose-to-tail for its entire length. It was replaced in this function in September 2007, when a new section of the M9 which bypasses the B800 was completed. During September 2009 signs amending the numbering of the A8000 to the B800 appeared at the start of the former A8000 and on the northbound slip road of the A90 at the Echline junction.

Route

From the north, the B800 leaves the A9000 (formerly part of the A90) just south of the Forth Road Bridge at Echline Roundabout and heads east to Ferry Muir Roundabout. This busy junction provides access to

South Queensferry Queensferry, also called South Queensferry or simply "The Ferry", is a town to the west of Edinburgh, Scotland. Traditionally a royal burgh of West Lothian, it is administered by the City of Edinburgh council area. It lies ten miles to the n ...

and a

retail park A retail park is a type of shopping centre found on the fringes of most large towns and cities in the United Kingdom and other European countries. They form a key aspect of European retail geographies, alongside indoor shopping centres, standal ...

. From Ferry Muir, the road curves south, back over the A9000 and A90, then continues for about 1.5 miles where it previously met a spur of the M9, at the Humbie roundabout. The roundabout has now gone and the M9 spur, now redesignated as M90, passes overhead.

Downgrading

The Scottish Executive and FETA (Forth Estuary Transport Authority) jointly agreed to fund a replacement of this road. The new road is built along a completely new route, extending the current M9 spur for about 3 km to a new north-facing junction on the A90 near Dalmeny. Following extensive ground stabilisation work, construction of the M9 Spur Extension started on 17 May 2006 and the new road opened to traffic, initially in a southbound direction only, on 5 September 2007, a month ahead of schedule.http://news.scotsman.com/edinburgh.cfm?id=1416402007
''news.scotsman.com''

References

External links

CBRD Futures Page - A8000City of Edinburgh Council Leaflet (PDF)Forth Estuary Transport Authority (FETA)
Roads in Scotland Transport in Edinburgh {{Scotland-road-stub