M8 Closure for 10 weeks Baillieston Interchange

[Scrubs]

''Motorists warned to expect significant delays on M8/A8 corridor, M73 and local roads near Baillieston Interchange from 17 February 2017 for around ten weeks''


This is going to be a bloody nightmare.


I'm in Bishopbriggs and travel to Motherwell every other day. Public transport not an option, anyone offer me an alternative route away from the M8/M73?

[dxg]

Over the Kingston Bridge, out through Rutherglen and Glasgow Road, Get to East Kilbride then head along the A725. Then you'll just have the Raith Interchange to deal with...

[StescoG66]

I am just out the road from you in Lenzie. I would try out the Waterside Road in Kirkintilloch to Cumbernald (Broadwood). Go over Auchenkilns taking the A73 towards Airdrie. From Airdrie cut down past Newhouse, holy town and approach The Murrawell' from the Bellshill side

Edited by StescoG66 on Sunday 5th February 07:25

[stevie_a]

I will be a nightmare, i don't know if this will help as i have never tried it in rush hour

You could tweek the route to suit yourself

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Bishopbriggs/Mot...

[dxg]

Or this:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Bishopbriggs/Mot...

[stevie_a]

Or even this, but i know the 77 gets backed up in the morning and evening

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Bishopbriggs/Mot...

[S2red]

I'd be tempted to try heading out to Cumbernauld head then through Airdrie and into Motherwell via Newhouse or Holytown

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/''/Airdrie/Mothe...

Edited by S2red on Saturday 4th February 18:47

[Scrubs]

Many thank's for the replies, folks. Much appreciated. Will have a look through them as an alternative. Cheers.

[A.J.M]

Be warned, the Chapelhall flyover is a car park from 7am onwards as all the traffic crossing it, and coming from Holytown tries to get onto the M8, which also has the traffic from Newhouse coming down and trying to get on as well.
See it every morning when walking the dog.

It's going to be a total clusterfk for weeks as the normal roads are bad enough in the morning, throw a lot more cars in and it's just going to grind to a halt.

[StescoG66]

Edit to my post further up - I meant A73 up past Bartletts, not M73.

Alternatively there is a back road from Condorrat to Airdrie through Glenmavis might be worth a whirl - not a great road but probably quieter. Whichever way is going to be a nightmare as your destination is sandwiched between 2 major sets of works

Edited by StescoG66 on Sunday 5th February 07:42

Edited by StescoG66 on Sunday 5th February 07:46

[S2red]

Train?

[Humper]

[Craigie]

A.J.M said:

Be warned, the Chapelhall flyover is a car park from 7am onwards as all the traffic crossing it, and coming from Holytown tries to get onto the M8, which also has the traffic from Newhouse coming down and trying to get on as well.
See it every morning when walking the dog.

It's going to be a total clusterfk for weeks as the normal roads are bad enough in the morning, throw a lot more cars in and it's just going to grind to a halt.

I'll second that though to be fair, in the morning as I approach the Eurocentral roundabout from Holytown side, and sit in a queue for 15 mins, the traffic coming over from Chapelhall seems to be flying and don't need to brake as they hit the roundabout!
The planners have totally screwed this whole design up and I finally got to speak to someone at Scottish Roads Partnership on Friday (they have no direct way of the public contacting them, he pretty much said the road set up was the way that it was always going to be. The only possible saving grace is that the approach from Holytown has separate Gas roadworks at it and hopefully if they ever finish then the road may be widened a bit.
But the roundabout has no lines on it so you have no idea on joining whether the vehicle coming round is about to cross your path!
And then of course, you have the brainy idea of lets merge two onslips to the A8 together......

The cycnic in me says that these roads were justified because they claimed drivers would save x mins on the motorway journeys - that's only because they are preventing any other traffic getting on the motorway!!

However can I be controversial on a motoring site....... would be delighted if they kept the Average Speed Cameras along all these motorways. Makes for more relaxed rush hour commuting. Yes, it would be even better if they would switch them off in non-rush hour times which they won't, so I'd be happy to keep them on all times.

[Dr_Rick]

I come in from Edinburgh to Eurocentral each day and despite being 4miles from Baillieston I reckon it's going to back up all the way. From experiences over the last few months, McNeil Drive is a bottleneck caused by Chapelhall. Newhouse is still a little sketchy on the new roads and 10wks is going to be an absolute nightmare.

Apparently, it all going to be worth it. THink we're going to be looking into temporary working from other offices if it gets too much.

[Craigie]

Dr_Rick said:

I come in from Edinburgh to Eurocentral each day and despite being 4miles from Baillieston I reckon it's going to back up all the way. From experiences over the last few months, McNeil Drive is a bottleneck caused by Chapelhall. Newhouse is still a little sketchy on the new roads and 10wks is going to be an absolute nightmare.

Apparently, it all going to be worth it. THink we're going to be looking into temporary working from other offices if it gets too much.

This is a factor - I wonder how many of us who are office based, say based on a 40 hour week, how many of those hours could you do from home?
I reckon I could probably do 3 out of 5 days from home. Or another way, I could get up in the morning, work on my PC to around 10am, commute into Glasgow in less than 30 mins and then leave office again about 3pm and come home and switch PC back on?

[Dr_Rick]

Craigie said:

This is a factor - I wonder how many of us who are office based, say based on a 40 hour week, how many of those hours could you do from home?
I reckon I could probably do 3 out of 5 days from home. Or another way, I could get up in the morning, work on my PC to around 10am, commute into Glasgow in less than 30 mins and then leave office again about 3pm and come home and switch PC back on?

And there in lies the rub; I drive past our Edinburgh office every single morning on my way to Eurocentral. I've walked it and it takes 30mins. My drive on a clear day takes me 45mins. Allied to a huge reticence by my employer to allow any working from home despite having the 'flexible working / family friendly' mantra and the equipment to facilitate my working effectively from home (event o a point of being able to remote onto my workstation and connect directly to data and processing servers). Not ideal.

That being said, I may mention at the next opportunity the suggestion of delayed visits to the office with remote working at either end. Last time Eurocentral got snarled up they cancelled the core hours requirement for us to be in the office.

And today of all days, overrunning works on the A725 caused the entire mix of trunk and arterial roads round here to gridlock. It will only get worse.

[A.J.M]

For a wee taster of this carnage to come.

They closed the Eurocentral road to lay new tar, but didn't put up many signs to warn anyone about this.

The roads vanished up their own arse with the traffic which didn't clear up till 10:30.

So i expect when they really close the area, it will collapse and die.

Also.
Who the fk signed off the Chapelhall flyover. It's cracking up and breaking already and it's not even a year old!

[AMD87]

A.J.M said:

For a wee taster of this carnage to come.

They closed the Eurocentral road to lay new tar, but didn't put up many signs to warn anyone about this.

The roads vanished up their own arse with the traffic which didn't clear up till 10:30.

So i expect when they really close the area, it will collapse and die.

Also.
Who the fk signed off the Chapelhall flyover. It's cracking up and breaking already and it's not even a year old!

You should see the road at the end of the bellshill bypass! Huge holes even your disco would hate.

[Dr_Rick]

I designed the drainage - nothing to do with the concrete. Time will tell as to whether they actually build what I designed, but I'm still quite proud of that project.

I know I've set myself up for some abuse if it floods, but it can't be as bad as the outside lane of the M8 westbound near the Cutty Sark rail bridge. That bit was regularly a small lagoon.

[A.J.M]

I suspect, once they put a top coat of car and bring the road to the same level of the drains it should be fine.
Currently the Chapelhall side floods as the road isn't level with the drains...

The pavement has 3 large cracks that run the full width, and a crack full width of the road deck.
The kerb stones have stepped in 2 ares because of the sinking of the bridge.

Also, there are no lamp posts on the bridge. And no lamp posts on the pavement side of the road going to eurocentral.
Makes walking the dog over the bridge unpleasant at night.