Glasgow Inner Ring Road
Posted: Mon May 17, 2004 5:37 pm
The swinging sixties, the time of mini-skirts, the pill, new towns, flat roofs, tower blocks and urban motorways!
Glasgows Inner Ring Road was a product of the age of "the white heat of technology" and where would we be without it?
Stuck in a traffic jam!
The M8 cuts a swathe through the city of Glasgow and some of its best known areas. Originally proposed
at the end of WWII, it wasnt until the the 1960's thats plans were finalised to coincide with the post-industrial
regeneration of the city through its pland of Comprehensive Development Areas (CDA's).
Hailed as the blueprint for urban motorways, and the first of its kind in Britain and probably Europe; where
no standards existed, they were simply invented!
Lucky they ran out of money!
South Flank (unbuilt)
From Kingston Bridge
West Flank (uncompleted)
Townhead Interchange
The blight of construction (1969)
The end result (1974)
Although un-finished (and much hated) the IRR plan did bring benefits to Glasgow. An evaluation carried out
in 1980 stated traffic speed had increased from 18mph in 1961 to 50mph. time savings were of about 20%.
Fuel savings of app 9%, and road fatalities were astonishingly cut from 16.5 per million vehicle-miles to 0.8 in 1971!
So what does the future hold for Glasgow... more roads it seems.
The latest stage of expansion is already underway and can be viewed here, its also got a fanshy virtual fly-over!!!
Glasgows Inner Ring Road was a product of the age of "the white heat of technology" and where would we be without it?
Stuck in a traffic jam!
The M8 cuts a swathe through the city of Glasgow and some of its best known areas. Originally proposed
at the end of WWII, it wasnt until the the 1960's thats plans were finalised to coincide with the post-industrial
regeneration of the city through its pland of Comprehensive Development Areas (CDA's).
Hailed as the blueprint for urban motorways, and the first of its kind in Britain and probably Europe; where
no standards existed, they were simply invented!
Lucky they ran out of money!
South Flank (unbuilt)
From Kingston Bridge
West Flank (uncompleted)
Townhead Interchange
The blight of construction (1969)
The end result (1974)
Although un-finished (and much hated) the IRR plan did bring benefits to Glasgow. An evaluation carried out
in 1980 stated traffic speed had increased from 18mph in 1961 to 50mph. time savings were of about 20%.
Fuel savings of app 9%, and road fatalities were astonishingly cut from 16.5 per million vehicle-miles to 0.8 in 1971!
So what does the future hold for Glasgow... more roads it seems.
The latest stage of expansion is already underway and can be viewed here, its also got a fanshy virtual fly-over!!!