A8000 road

to the B800 near Kirkliston.

It used to be the main road from the bridge to the M9 motorway and the M8 motorway until September 2007, when a new section of the M9 motorway which bypasses the A8000 was completed.

It was planned to downgrade the road and rename it as an extension of the B800 but this has not happened and the road remains as A8000, abeit that the road is now 'non-primary' as opposed to primary status before the works.

It is a two-way single carriageway road under the control of the City of Edinburgh Council, not a Trunk Road under the control of the Scottish Executive. Not withstanding its limited status, this 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.

Route

From the north, the A8000 leaves the A90 just south of the Forth Road Bridge at Echline Roundabout and heads east to Ferry Muir Roundabout. This busy junction provids access to South Queensferry and a retail park.

From Ferry Muir, the road curves south, back over the A90, and then straight on for about 1.5 miles where it used to meet a spur of the M9, at the Humbie roundabout. The roundabout has now gone, and the M9 passes overhead. At the overbridge, the A8000 ends and the road becomes the B800.

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 3km to a new north-facing junction on the A90 near Dalmeny.

Following extensive ground stabilisation work, construction of the M9 Spur Extension started on 17th May 2006 and the new road opened to traffic, initially in a southbound direction only, on 5th September 2007, a month ahead of schedule. [http://news.scotsman.com/edinburgh.cfm?id=1416402007]

External links

* [http://www.cbrd.co.uk/futures/new/a8000.shtml CBRD Futures Page - A8000]
* [http://download.edinburgh.gov.uk/traffic/A8000_upgrade.pdf City of Edinburgh Council Leaflet (PDF)]
* [http://www.feta.gov.uk/ Forth Estuary Transport Authority (FETA)]