The A74, also known historically as the Glasgow to Carlisle Road, is a formerly major road in the United Kingdom, linking

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 ...

in Scotland to

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of 7,4 ...

, passing through Clydesdale, Annandale and the

Southern Uplands The Southern Uplands () are the southernmost and least populous of mainland Scotland's three major geographic areas (the others being the Central Lowlands and the Highlands). The term is used both to describe the geographical region and to col ...

. It formed part of the longer route between Glasgow and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. A road has existed in this area since Roman Britain, and it was considered one of the most important roads in Scotland, being used as a regular mail service route. The road received a substantial upgrade in the early 19th century under the direction of

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well ...

, who made significant engineering improvements, including a new route over the Beattock Summit and the Metal Bridge just in England just south of the border. Engineering improvements continued throughout the century and into the 20th, and it became one of the first trunk roads in Britain in 1936. From the 1960s the road started to be replaced by a parallel

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 ...

, largely designated the M74. The last remaining section of all-purpose road on Telford's original alignment, the so-called "Cumberland Gap" between Carlisle and Metal Bridge, was replaced by a motorway in 2008 after years of delays due to a breakdown in discussions between the Westminster and Scottish governments. Currently the A74 is a suburban route of local importance that links the

Gorbals The Gorbals is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, and former burgh, on the south bank of the River Clyde. By the late 19th century, it had become densely populated; rural migrants and immigrants were attracted by the new industries and e ...

and Broomhouse districts of Glasgow, via neighbourhoods in the city's East End. The road was infamous for its allegedly high accident rate, being dubbed a "killer road", which exacerbated the need to provide an alternative motorway route. Several high-profile accidents occurred, most notoriously the debris of

Pan Am Flight 103 Pan Am Flight 103 (PA103/PAA103) was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via a stopover in London and another in New York City. Shortly after 19:00 on 21 December 1988, the Boeing 747 "Clipper Maid of th ...

in December 1988, which partially fell on the road near

Lockerbie Lockerbie (, ) is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, located in south-western Scotland. The 2001 Census recorded its population as 4,009. The town had an estimated population of in . The town came to international attention in December 1988 when ...

and caused several fatalities.

Route

Original route

The original route as classified by the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

was published as "Carlisle (Kingstown)–

Gretna Green Gretna Green is a parish in the southern Subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, close to the town of Gretna, Scotland, Gretna, on the Scottish side of the English-Scottish border. It is accessed from the A74( ...

–

– Crawford–

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

–

Cambuslang Cambuslang (, from ) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th-largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a town hall, it may also be cons ...

–Glasgow". It started at the junction of Parkhouse Road and Kingstown Road to the north of Carlisle city centre, and followed a northwest route, crossing the River Esk at Metal Bridge and the

Caledonian Railway The Caledonian Railway (CR) was one of the two biggest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping. It was formed in 1845 with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively ex ...

at the Mossband Viaduct before crossing the Scottish border at the River Sark. After passing through Gretna and Gretna Green, it followed the general line of the Caledonian railway toward

and crossed the

River Annan The River Annan is a river in south-west Scotland. It rises on Annanhead Hill and flows through the Devil's Beef Tub, Moffat and Lockerbie, reaching the sea at Annan, Dumfries and Galloway after about 40 miles. Name The etymology of the R ...

over a bridge at Johnstonebridge. It followed the Annan valley into a rural area away from any settlements as it crossed the Beattock Summit between the Annan and Clyde valleys towards Elvanfoot. This section is on a different alignment from the Roman Road, which, as might be expected, took a straighter route across more mountainous terrain, particularly at the Roman signal station near Black Fell. At Elvanfoot it crossed the River Clyde on a span single-arch bridge, and continued to follow the Clyde Valley past the Roman Fort at Crawford towards Abington, where the Roman road to

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 ...

(now the A702) branched to the right. It left this sparsely populated section in the Southern Uplands and entered the Clydesdale communities of

Lesmahagow Lesmahagow ( ; or ''Lesmahagae'', ) is a small town in the historic county of Lanarkshire on the edge of moorland, near Lanark in the central belt of Scotland. Lesmahagow was also a civil parish. It lies west of the M74 motorway, M74, and sout ...

, Kirkmuirhill and

Larkhall Larkhall (, ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, around southeast of Glasgow. It is twinned with Seclin in northern France. Larkhall sits on high ground between the River Clyde to the East and the Avon Water to the West. Larkhall ...

, crossing the River Avon into Hamilton. Beyond Hamilton, it followed the Glasgow Road north-west, crossing the Clyde at the Dalmarnock Bridge. It ended at the junction of Trongate and Gallowgate in the east end of Glasgow city centre. According to a summary in a report by the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a Charitable organization, charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters ar ...

, the length was .

Current route

The original road has been largely downgraded and renumbered and now only one short stub remains outside the Glasgow area; within the city boundaries it contains various remnants of a project from the 1930s that rerouted the road to run from Hamilton to Glasgow via

Uddingston Uddingston (, ) is a small town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is on the north side of the River Clyde, south-east of Glasgow city centre, and acts as a dormitory suburb for the city. Geography and boundaries Uddingston is located to t ...

and the King's Bridge. According to contemporary

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

mapping, the A74 starts in the

as Ballater Street, meeting the A8 (the A728 also starts here) and crosses the Clyde at the King's Bridge, runs through

Glasgow Green Glasgow Green is a park in the east end of Glasgow, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde. Established in the 15th century, it is the oldest park in the city. It connects to the south via the St Andrew's Suspension Bridge. History In ...

and into the East End suburbs ( Bridgeton,

Celtic Park Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...

football stadium /

Parkhead Parkhead () is a district in the East End of Glasgow. Its name comes from a small weaving hamlet (place), hamlet at the meeting place of the Great Eastern Road (now the Gallowgate and Tollcross Road) and Westmuir Street. Glasgow's Eastern Necro ...

, Lilybank,

Braidfauld Braidfauld is a small area of Glasgow, Scotland which is in the East End of the city slightly north of the River Clyde and south of the Tollcross, Glasgow, Tollcross area.Foxley and

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...

, all as London Road), then becoming Hamilton Road and running eastwards as far as Broomhouse where it ends at the Black Bear Roundabout, a feeder for the M74 Junction 3A ( Daldowie). The road continues as the dual carriageway A721 for a short distance underneath the elevated lanes of the M73 Maryville Interchange until a small roundabout towards either Birkenshaw (B7001) or Uddingston – the latter route becomes the A74 again (on its original alignment) for a matter of a few hundred yards to Powburn junction, where New Edinburgh Road eastwards then takes on the A721 designation leading on to

Viewpark Viewpark is an area in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. Situated immediately north-east of Uddingston (but on the other side of the M74 motorway), Viewpark is west of Bellshill. It has an estimated population of 13,916 in 2016, a figure which also ...

and

Bellshill Bellshill (pronounced "Bells hill") is a town in North Lanarkshire in Scotland, southeast of Glasgow city centre and west of Edinburgh. Other nearby localities are Motherwell to the south, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton to the south ...

, while Uddingston Main Street southwards downgrades to the B7071.

History

19th century

The A74 evolved from the Glasgow – Carlisle mail route. Originally, this followed the course of

Roman roads Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

, but by the early 19th century, this had become impractical as a fast through route for mail coaches. The problem had been exacerbated by the ineffective use of turnpike tolls, most of which consisted of little more than trying to fill potholes with stones. After an accident at a bridge crossing Evan Water, which killed two horses and destroyed a coach, the Post Office became fed up with trying to improve the route through the turnpike system and, considering it to be one of the most important roads in Scotland, decided to seek alternative means to improve it. Thomas Telford stated that "the existing road is in such as ruinous state as to occasion much delay", and he managed to obtain a grant under the guise of the Commissioners of Highland Roads and Bridges, to design engineering improvements to the route. Telford was particularly concerned about being able to reduce gradients and improve drainage on roads, and recommended an improved route of a width no less than 34 feet, the central 18 feet being

metalled A road surface (British English) or pavement (North American English) is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past, gravel road surfaces, macadam, ho ...

, and the remainder being two gravel verges. The route was surveyed by William Alexander Provis in 1814–15, and commenced construction in 1816. The project was completed in 1825 at a total cost of £50,000, and like the earlier route, it was tolled. While the various turnpike trusts retained control for a few sections, the vast majority was rebuilt under the direction of Telford. Eight new toll-houses were constructed – one of these, at Dinwoodie Lodge near Johnstonebridge still exists today, and became a

Grade I Listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

in December 1988. Notable engineering feats included taking the road over the Beattock Summit, construction of the original Metal Bridge just south of the Scottish Border in 1820, and carrying the road over

Cartland Craigs Cartland Craigs (known locally as Cartland Crags) is a woodland on the outskirts of Lanark, South Lanarkshire, in Scotland. It is a national nature reserve and is one of six areas which together form the Clyde Valley Woodlands (the other five bei ...

by a 130-foot viaduct. According to author Frederick Mort, the Glasgow to Carlisle road "became a model for future engineers."

20th century

In 1916, Telford's original metal bridge was replaced by a modern concrete structure at a cost of £16,000. A small section of the original bridge was housed in Tullie House Museum in Carlisle. Roads started to be classified with route numbers in 1921, with the Glasgow – Carlisle road receiving the number A74, mostly following the route as designed by Telford. On 16 May 1936, the road was diverted away from Telford's route to run from Glasgow to Motherwell via

— it is a portion of this realignment that forms the modern A74 route within Glasgow. It became a trunk road when the act was first published in 1936. A contemporary report also suggested renumbering the entire A74, along with the A82 as an extension of the A6 to

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

, matching the London — Carlisle — Glasgow — Inverness trunk road as used in internal Ministry of Transport documentation, but this was rejected as the cost of replacing signs would be prohibitively expensive. Due to its continued status as one of the most important connections between England and Scotland, talks began in the 1950s to improve its quality to cater for modern motor traffic. While a section of dual carriageway had already been completed before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Tom Steele, then MP for

Lanark Lanark ( ; ; ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a populatio ...

, was particularly keen on the entire route from Carlisle to Uddingston being dualled before the mid-1960s. On 2 August 1956, he received a memo from the Secretary of State for Transport about the matter, which stated "the plan is to complete the conversion in about 10 years. When this work is completed there will be a dual carriageway leading from the Border to Uddingston with no built-up areas along its length." By the early 1960s, these plans had changed to consider building a motorway in preference for the more straightforward online upgrades. The original section of the M74 in the mid-1960s ran from just north of Kirkmuirhill in South Lanarkshire, connecting to an earlier dual carriageway bypass, to

. It was completed northwards in two stages, initially to Bothwell Bridge, and then Uddingston. In 1987, the then Secretary of State for Scotland,

Malcolm Rifkind Sir Malcolm Leslie Rifkind (born 21 June 1946) is a British politician who served in the cabinets of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1986 to 1997, and most recently as chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament from 2 ...

, announced the intention of completing the M74 from Glasgow to Carlisle. This commenced with a series of "fast track" road improvements, the initial two being between Abington and Millbank, then from Kirkpatrick Fleming to Gretna. By 2008, the A74(M) motorway extended southwards to the northern terminus of the M6, at the Scottish border, and was extended northwards in the mid-1990s as far as the Glasgow suburbs of

Carmyle Carmyle (; ) is a suburb in the east end of Glasgow, Scotland, directly north of the River Clyde. It is in an isolated location separated from the main urban area of the city and has the characteristics of a semi-rural village. Administratively, ...

and Tollcross. In 2011 it was further extended to meet the M8. The parallel road which was the A74 has been mostly downgraded in two sections as the B7076 and B7078.

Cumberland Gap

The Cumberland Gap (named after the historic county of

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, now part of

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

) was the of A74 between the northern terminus of the M6 at Carlisle, and the south end of the A74(M) at the Scottish border. It existed as an isolated stub from 1992, when the A74 was improved to motorway standard around Gretna, to 2008, when the M6 was extended northwards. Scottish ministers had previously expressed disappointment at slow progress over the border; in 1964,

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

MP Hector Monro stated "there is widespread feeling in the south of Scotland that the advance south over the Border of this important new road is being delayed because England is dragging her feet." Mossband Viaduct and Cumberland Gap Plaque - geograph

Mossband Viaduct and Cumberland Gap Plaque - geograph

When the M6 was complete around Carlisle in 1971, a new section of dual carriageway A74 was created to tie in with the original road running from Kingstown. The 1916 Metal Bridge also had to be replaced, in order to accommodate the increased traffic levels. An offer from the Scottish Executive to build the road to meet the M6 was not accepted by the English

Highways Agency National Highways (NH), formerly Highways England and before that the Highways Agency, is a government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving motorways and major A roads in England. It also sets highways standards u ...

. This left a remnant of the old A74 as a stretch of two-lane dual carriageway between two long, three-lane

s. Lex Gold, the director of the Scottish

Confederation of British Industry The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is a British business interest group, which says it represents 190,000 businesses. The CBI has been described by the ''Financial Times'' as "Britain's biggest business lobby group". Incorporated by roy ...

, said "We are very disappointed indeed by this part of the programme revision. This will mean that for now and many years, road users will face a six-mile .6 kmdual carriageway between an excellent Scottish motorway and before the road widens for the existing M6." On 1 July 1999, following

devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territori ...

, control of the A74 improvements passed over to the Scottish Parliament, meaning that they could only improve the route as far as the border. After years of political battles between the English

and the

Scottish Executive The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in t ...

, followed by a lengthy design and public enquiry phase, the "M6 Motorway Extension Carlisle to Guards Mill" became part of the government's targeted plan of improvements in 2002, with the intention to start work around 2005–06 at a cost of £65 million. Due to delays with the G8 Conference in 2005, construction work started on 25 July 2006, and included a replacement for the 1971 Metal Bridge, and a new VOSA testing site. The new stretch of road was officially opened by Lord Adonis on 5 December 2008, the 50th anniversary of the opening of the first motorway in the UK, the Preston Bypass, now also part of the M6. It subsequently became one of the finalists for the Prime Minister's Award for Better Public Building (losing to Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College).

Safety and accidents

The old A74 dual-carriageway at Lesmahagow - geograph

The A74 drew regular criticism over its perceived lack of safety. Some motorists had criticised the A74 as being a "killer road" due to its perceived high number of accidents. MPs, however, were keen to stress that the rate of accidents was no different from any other road of comparable traffic size. In 1976,

Frank McElhone Francis Patrick McElhone (5 April 1929 – 22 September 1982) was a Scottish Labour Party politician. McElhone was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Gorbals in a 1969 by-election. He served until the constituency was abolished ...

, then the Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, stated that "the A74 has gained a bad reputation. Whether this is justified in comparison with other roads is to some extent a matter of opinion." By the 1970s, following completion of the M6 to north of Carlisle, the remaining all-purpose section of the A74 was becoming increasingly outdated and unsafe, and so a special speed limit of ( for HGVs) was imposed. Hector Monro MP was particularly concerned about the speed of heavy goods vehicles along the road, and wanted to erect signs reminding lorry drivers of what the correct limit for that class of vehicle was. He claimed that they did not realise they were driving on an all-purpose route and ignored the different speed limits. On 16 June 1975, an articulated lorry travelling southbound in heavy rain crossed the central reserve of the A74 near Beattock, hitting a coach that was travelling northbound. Ten passengers travelling in the coach were killed, including the driver, and twenty were seriously injured. Since the accident involved traversing a grass-covered central reserve, concerns were raised about retrofitting

crash barrier Traffic barriers (known in North America as guardrails or guard rails, in Britain as crash barriers, and in auto racing as Armco barriers AK Steel (formerly Armco) genericized trademark) keep vehicles within their roadway and prevent them from co ...

s along the entirety of the road. On 22 December 2004, a major road accident occurred on the Cumberland Gap section of the A74 near Metal Bridge, after high winds tipped a lorry travelling southbound onto the opposite carriageway, causing it to collide with two other goods vehicles. Because one of the lorries carried chemicals, the entire road had to be shut for 24 hours, causing widespread congestion across the area.

David Maclean David John Maclean, Baron Blencathra, (born 16 May 1953) is a Conservative Party life peer. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Penrith and The Border from 1983 to 2010. Early and later life Born in Scotland, Maclean was educated at ...

, MP for

Penrith and The Border Penrith and The Border was a constituency in Cumbria represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Throughout its existence it elected only members of the Conservative Party. The seat was abolished prior to the 2024 general electio ...

, said "I'm fed up nagging about the Cumberland gap", adding "I know the government considers railways to be a higher priority, but Cumbria cannot survive without decent roads." In August 2008, when the A74 was still an all-purpose road across the Cumberland Gap, the Highways Agency took out a special order to ban cyclists and pedestrians from the route, advising them to use the A7 to Longtown instead. Despite warning signs for cyclists being erected, traffic officer Glenn Lamont still found that "some cyclists are ignoring this and with the roadworks and contra flow in place there is a really high risk of an accident".

Pan Am Flight 103

In December 1988, the A74 around

received international media attention, when

was destroyed by an explosive device above the town, scattering debris around the local area. The wing section of the aircraft landed in Sherwood Crescent, which runs parallel to what was then the A74 Lockerbie Bypass, destroying houses and striking several vehicles. According to eyewitness reports, the resulting fires caused cars to be set alight on the road, and took "a huge bite out of the southbound lane". In 1994, the Prime Minister,

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...

, said the government would take civil action against Pan Am for the damage caused to the A74. He stressed the action was concerned with negligence by the company over its aircraft and had no connection with the ongoing investigation of terrorism.

References

External links

SABRE – A74
– includes strip maps and further information about specific projects along the road.
Scottish Roads Archive - A74 Glasgow to Carlisle road
{{DEFAULTSORT:7-0074 Roads in Cumbria Roads in Scotland Transport in Dumfries and Galloway Transport in Glasgow Transport in North Lanarkshire Parkhead Bridgeton–Calton–Dalmarnock Gorbals Glasgow Green