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A74 road

Bridgeton–Calton–DalmarnockGlasgow GreenGorbalsInfobox road instances in ScotlandParkhead
Roads in CumbriaRoads in ScotlandTransport in Dumfries and GallowayTransport in GlasgowTransport in North Lanarkshire
UK road A74
UK road A74

The A74 also known historically as the Glasgow to Carlisle Road, is a formerly major road in the United Kingdom, linking Glasgow in Scotland to Carlisle in the North West of England, passing through Clydesdale, Annandale and the Southern Uplands. A road in this area has existed 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, 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, 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 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 in December 1988, which partially fell on the road near Lockerbie and caused several fatalities.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article A74 road (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

A74 road
London Road, Glasgow Mount Vernon

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Wikipedia: A74 roadContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 55.83679 ° E -4.1556 °
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Address

London Road

London Road
G32 8HY Glasgow, Mount Vernon
Scotland, United Kingdom
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UK road A74
UK road A74
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Westburn Viaduct
Westburn Viaduct

Westburn Viaduct, also known as Carmyle Viaduct, is a disused railway bridge over the River Clyde between Carmyle in Glasgow (north side) and Westburn (Cambuslang) in South Lanarkshire (south side). It is constructed of a steel lattice frame with sandstone pillars and has three main spans over the water. The bridge was constructed in 1897 as part of the Glasgow Central Railway between Carmyle and Newton stations and linked to the Rutherglen and Coatbridge Railway. A further connection towards Kirkhill on the Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway was made in 1904. The passenger train services using the bridge ended in 1964, although freight services, mostly serving Clydebridge Steelworks and Clyde Iron Works, continued until 1983 when those facilities ceased operating.The bridge was officially closed and fenced-off, although for some years it was still accessible to pedestrians determined enough to overcome the barriers. After gang disorder involving youths from Westburn and Carmyle escalated into serious violence in 2012, the barriers were further reinforced to prevent the bridge being used by the youths to approach their rivals’ territory. Between 2013 and 2015 a project to add illumination to the bridge developed with input by pupils from local schools (Bannerman HS, Trinity HS and Cathkin HS) in an effort to build bonds between the communities on either side of the bridge.In early 2021, Sustrans Scotland announced a project to refurbish the bridge as a walking and cycling route across the river, inviting consultation from locals (with some residents on both sides objecting to the plans due to the recent history of violence associated with the route being accessible to rival youths).