Secrets of The Motorway - M77

#infrastructure #motorway #scotland

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Back in Scotland this week to look at the M77 motorway that runs from Glasgow to Fenwick. In Scotland. There's abandoned roads, motorway junctions and volcanoes!

In this series we aim to explore what our motorway network is hiding. As we drive along at 70mph..ish...we simply just wouldn't be aware of what we're missing. This series aims to uncover some of the hidden secrets our motorways have to offer.

[adamclark]

History, geography, urban planning and a motorway! What a great addition to a Sunday.

[fightfairfightfair]

He’s not exaggerating when he said the A77 was incredibly dangerous. It was a single carriageway with two lanes in each direction and nothing but a strip of paint between the two directions. There were lots of small junctions where turning right was allowed, so you’d have people stopped in the overtaking lane waiting for a gap in oncoming traffic to turn right. It was insane.

[dough]

I used to see a Range Rover with the reg M77SUX - I could feel his pain as he sat in the daily morning queue to the M8 that started at Junction 5

[egpx]

Another interesting M77 fact is that you often see deer from Pollok Park grazing on the embankments between junctions two and three having somehow discovered gaps in the fencing, the little scamps. On a more serious note, the 2004 extension from Newton Mearns to Fenwick finally occurred after many fatal accidents on the appalling A77, a four lane single carriageway death trap. One crash in particular, where an off duty senior Glasgow police officer died, seemed to be the one that finally persuaded the authorities to stop dithering and get a proper motorway built.

[KaitlynnUK]

I love how the house on the left @4:29 has it own access/slip roads :)

[PhilipMurphyExtra]

Starting the Sunday afternoon right with some Motorway action.

[spannerpasser]

As someone who uses the M77 all the time I found this informative and I’m impressed that you pronounced Fenwick properly.

[jbaldwin]

I was about to cycle down to Pollok Park but watched this instead. The M77 was and is hugely controversial as it cut the people of Pollock off from the park but nobody cared because that’s where the poor people lived. There’s a good overview of it in the book Poverty Safari. When you do the M8 there are some great videos from the 60s about how wonderful it will be knocking down bits of Glasgow to run a motorway right through the middle. It’s a mess.
I live here but need a satnav to get on and off the 77 and 8 as it’s all so… horrible

[nightwtchman]

Loving the Take The High Road theme. Used to go over the rest to see my auntie and the old intro used to remind me of her.

[CycolacFan]

Brilliant as usual.

If you look really closely you can see a couple of fields they haven’t yet built houses on…

[daviethomson]

I remember the M77 getting built.
My mate worked as groundsman in Pollok Park and on my days off, I would take my dog for a walk, and go up and see him.
Part of the route through the park, had been taken over by protesters, and called the Pollok Free State.
The protesters, where your usual non threatening, non violent tree huggers (Swampy, before people had heard of Swampy).
A MP by the name of Allan Stewart, who also happend to be number 2 in the Scotland office, one day decided to go and face them, accompanied by his son, who for reasons known only to him, brought his air rifle.
A confrontation of some sort took place, which resulted in the MP waving a pick axe handle at the protesters, and getting arrested for his troubles. A £200 fine later for him and his boy, ended his ministeral career.

[GPaint]

Worth mentioning that there was significant environmental protest at the 90s extension which ate into the edge of Pollok Park, leading to the site being occupied by protestors including the Birdman of Pollok up in the trees!

[dennisphoenix]

We do appreciate the time and effort you go to, especially framing the background with the outline of the man and the mountain. Well done that man 😆

[andrewkennedy]

I'm old enough that not only do I remember cows walking over the Patterton Farm bridge, but also the old A77 four-lane-no-central-divider road to Troon/Ayr....that road was something else! Four lanes, 70mph and only a pair of solid white lines seperating you from a driver on the opposite carridgeway falling asleep after a long

[erithromycin]

Friends of mine met in the climate camp protests during the m77 extension through Pollock park. Now that they drive they've admitted it is a useful road. Cowglen also had its own power generation and its chimneu was a local landmark. There is an equivalent banking complex for RBS out Edinburgh way.

[dazzlerbob]

Wow, the "Take the High Road" theme took me right back to simpler times. Wicked, Sweet, Awesome!

[starlight]

You know, it's always shocking to me how much green space we've lost over the years.
Course, I know it goes on everywhere but when you do the then and now aeriel views, it really brings it home ☹️

[seanrodgers]

With more than half of my family from Scotland, I appreciate the hint of bagpipes in the theme music.

[paulwheeler]

It's amazing how many motorway junctions in the UK have slip roads to nowhere thank you again for another wonderful interesting and informative episode it's not a motorway I've driven along yet but I will do so thank you

[davidhall]

And you finished with the theme from Take The High Road 😂🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿