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 ( ; 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 popu ...

at the M8 motorway at Kinning Park, and terminates near

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

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 which links Glasgow to

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; gd, An t-Sròn Reamhar ), also known as The Toon, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located in the historical parish of Inch in the historic county of Wigtownshire. It lies on the shores of ...

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

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the historic counties of Dumfriesshire, Kirkc ...

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 or beltway should not be considered a true spur route as it typically reconnects with another or the ...

which took traffic from the M8 motorway in the Kinning Park 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 and Newton Mearns by commuter traffic and heavy lorries (the A77 is the main route for ferry-bound traffic sailing to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

), saw an extension being built to the motorway in 1994 to bypass these areas, which was opened in 1997. 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. 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 A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

Allan Stewart (then the MP for

Eastwood Eastwood may refer to: Places ;in Australia *Eastwood, New South Wales **Eastwood railway station ** Electoral district of Eastwood *Eastwood, South Australia ;in Canada * Eastwood, Ontario *Eastwood, Edmonton, Alberta, a neighborhood ;in the P ...

, 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. ...

. The Conservatives lost the Eastwood seat in the next

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

in 1997. 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 ( ) is a village in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, situated about south of Glasgow, southeast of Newton Mearns and south of Clarkston, and southwest of East Kilbride. The 2011 census revealed that the village had 3,114 occupants, do ...

) 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 (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a rais ...

. 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

{, class="plainrowheaders wikitable" , - !scope=col, Council area !scope=col, Location !scope=col, mi !scope=col, km !scope=col, Junction !scope=col, Destinations !scope=col, Notes , - , rowspan="4",

, rowspan="4",

, 0 , 0 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , — , bgcolor="ffdddd" , -

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 ...

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

Dumbreck Dumbreck ( gd, An Dùn Breac, lit, the Speckled Fort) is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated south of the River Clyde. Dumbreck is a conservation area. The district is served by Dumbreck railway station. The only church i ...

Mosspark Mosspark ( gd, Pàirc na Mòna) 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 1 ...

, , - , 2.8 , 4.5 , 2 , B762 - Shawlands, Hurlet , , - , 4.2 , 6.7 , 3 , - Paisley, Hurlet
-

Thornliebank Thornliebank ( Scots: ''Thonliebank'', Scottish Gaelic: ''Bruach nan Dealgan'') is a suburban area in East Renfrewshire, in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. Part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation, it is located on the Auldhouse Burn about ...

, Giffnock , , - , rowspan="2",

East Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire ( sco, Aest Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù an Ear) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975, it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas ...

, rowspan="2", Newton Mearns , 5.8 , 9.3 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , 4 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , B7087 - Crookfur ( Newton Mearns) , bgcolor="ffdddd" , no Southbound entrance or Northbound exit , - , 7.7 , 12.4 , 5 , -

, Strathaven
- Newton Mearns, Giffnock,

, , - , rowspan="3",

East Ayrshire East Ayrshire ( sco, Aest Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir an Ear) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquar ...

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

, Newton Mearns,

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

, Newton Mearns,

B778 - Stewarton, Fenwick , bgcolor="ffdddd" , no Northbound exit , - , 16.3 , 26.3 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , 8 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , - Ayr, Stranraer
B7038 -

B7061 - Fenwick , bgcolor="ffdddd" , Southbound exit only, Northbound entrance only from 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 protest Newton Mearns Pollokshields

History

Junctions

See also

References

External links