THE GLASGOW URBAN MOTORWAY NETWORK - 25 YEARS ON

In 1965 Glasgow City Corporation published a highway plan for Glasgow which recommended a new network of primary roads to divert traffic fro m the surface streets. This objective was never achieved due to reduct ions in the financial resources available to the City since 1975. Of t he major routes proposed only the M8 was completed and, consequently, it has had to carry significantly more traffic than anticipated. Maint enance of this urban motorway route with a two-way flow of up to 155 0 00 vehicles per day poses severe problems with respect to traffic disr uption. This is of particular relevance as the carriageways are now ap proaching their failure condition and the road structures on the route have reached the age when significant maintenance work is becoming ne cessary. As there will be no measurable relief for traffic congestion within the next 15 years, an integrated programme of carriageway stren gthening, upgrading of capacity and bridge refurbishment has been acce pted by Strathclyde Regional Council for implementation in the short t erm and is now underway.