The
A8000 is a short road in eastern
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, connecting the
Forth Road BridgeThe Forth Road Bridge is a suspension bridge in east central Scotland. The bridge, built in 1964, spans the Firth of Forth; connecting the capital city Edinburgh, at South Queensferry, to Fife, at North Queensferry...
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 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.
However, during September 2009 signs amending the numbering of the A8000 to the B800 have appeared at the start of the former A8000 and on the northbound slip road of the A90 at the Echline junction.
The
A8000 is a short road in eastern
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, connecting the
Forth Road BridgeThe Forth Road Bridge is a suspension bridge in east central Scotland. The bridge, built in 1964, spans the Firth of Forth; connecting the capital city Edinburgh, at South Queensferry, to Fife, at North Queensferry...
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 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.
However, during September 2009 signs amending the numbering of the A8000 to the B800 have appeared at the start of the former A8000 and on the northbound slip road of the A90 at the Echline junction. No confirmation seems to have been yet made on the Edinburgh Council website.
It is a two-way single carriageway road under the control of the City of Edinburgh Council, not a
Trunk RoadA trunk road, trunk highway, or strategic road is a major road—usually connecting two or more cities, ports, airports, etc.—which is the recommended route for long-distance and freight traffic...
under the control of the
Scottish ExecutiveThe Scottish Government , legally the Scottish Executive, is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive, from the extant Scottish Office, and the term Scottish Executive remains its legal name under section 44 of the Scotland Act...
. 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
A90The A90 road is a major north to south road in eastern Scotland, running from Edinburgh to Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire.From Edinburgh, it travels west and over the Forth Road Bridge, before turning into the M90 motorway. At Perth, the M90 again becomes the A90, now running north east to Dundee...
just south of the Forth Road Bridge at Echline Roundabout and heads east to Ferry Muir Roundabout. This busy junction provids access to
South QueensferryQueensferry , originally a Royal Burgh in West Lothian, is now part of the City of Edinburgh, Scotland...
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 3 km to a new north-facing junction on the A90 near Dalmeny.
Following extensive ground stabilisation work, construction of the M9 Spur Extension started on 17 May 2006 and the new road opened to traffic, initially in a southbound direction only, on 5 September 2007, a month ahead of schedule.
http://news.scotsman.com/edinburgh.cfm?id=1416402007
External links