Secrets of the Motorway - A74M

#scotland #infrastructure #motorway #driving

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The A74M motorway is the gateway to Scotland from England, without it, you'd have no other options. It's a wonderful motorway that takes you through some of Scotland's finest scenery but whilst the views are nice, the history and story of the A74M is a little more complicated, it's possible that it wasn't supposed to be the A74M at all.

There's the usual selection of oddities, abandoned bridges, weird junctions and I'll explain why there's road signs for the M6.. on the A74M.

In this series I 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 will uncover some of the hidden secrets our motorways have to offer.

[geecars]

This whole series should be deadly boring, but it isn’t -I find myself looking forward to the next episode

[timdench]

I thought you handled the Lockerbie segment very sensitively Jon. Well done. Good quality video as always

[JakeRoot]

Bloody hell, the beep from the car. Perfect.

[bonetiredtoo]

About 1k from the very start of the M74(M) at Gretna is the site of the worst rail accident to occur in the UK at Quintinshill where, in 1915, due to appalling signalling errors, there were multiple rail collisions, one involving a troop train. 226 people were killed in the disaster.

[kgbgb]

Junction 22 (at 11:02) is weirder than you say. The northbound on-slip, over at the left-hand edge of your satellite view, starts off in the middle of Gretna Green without warning that that is what it is. The direction sign at the entrance is the normal black-on-white of local roads, with a motorway-blue patch indicating that you can get to Glasgow that way by joining the A74(M) later. (It says (A74(M)), _in brackets, _ not A74(M).) The road is clearly two-way, so you think you are still on a local road. Once committed, you pass a gate leading into a field, and _then_ a sign that that you are on the A74(M)! If you are not allowed on the motorway, your only legal option is to do a 3-point turn in the field gateway, and go back the way you came. It turns out that the only reason for the bi-directional road, and for the lack of motorway restrictions right from the junction back in Gretna Green, is for the farmer to be able to get farm machinery to that field and back without breaking motorway restrictions!

[sjprmc]

The gate is used to take traffic off the M74 in event of an accident and closure. Drove through it once for that exact reason.

[DavidAspden]

Good approach to the Lockerbie segment. Sat peacefully on the bench. It was highly relevant to the series and was good to see the original footage, though I don't think I'll ever forget it. Then you show the memorial and I think you got the tone right.

[starlight]

That was a great one Jon!
Very good.
That car behind you! 😂
Got me thinking....
Surely there must be a Secrets of the Motorway 'bloopers' vid in the effing? 😁
Ooops sorry, in the OFFing 👍🏻😂

[baldyhead]

And now I can't get "What's the story, Balamory?" out of my head. Thanks for that!

[davidb]

In December I and my parents drove past flight 103's crash site. There was a section of the fuselage, unrolled in the field to the west of the A74, with a line of windows. I have paid my respects to the memorial in the graveyard off the A709.

[simongreene]

Very well written, especially the bit about Lockerbie.

[mxg]

In the rural US, I’ve seen gates onto the Interstate between exits, in areas where it may be 8-10 miles between exits. It’s used by emergency vehicles to access the highway. In particular, it allows ambulances to get their passenger patients to the hospital a bit quicker then they could on local roads, without having to drive all the way to the official exit.

[fdotcameron]

The one I've been waiting for! It's always fascinating taking the B7076 and seeing the remnants of the A74, there are so many central reservations, carriageways and junctions still visible

[rossmathieson]

I remember driving the road while it was still under construction. The fragmentary nature of the construction meant that there were some sections where you would still be driving the old A74 dual carriageway (with the new motorway being built on another alignment), then further on find yourself on a section of 'old' A74 alignment which was finished its upgrade to motorway standard, then further on find yourself on the completely new road, etc. This situation continued for a number of years, and kept changing as new sections were completed, but for 'simplicity' it was decided to retain the A74 designation for whatever section of road was being used as the main route at any given time. When the final motorway section was open, and it became possible to designate the road as a motorway in its entirety, it was considered least confusing to give it the 'temporary' A74(M) designation. This would then have become the M6 when the final section from Gretna to Carlisle was complete. But politics happened in the intervening years, and we're left with the temporary numbering seemingly now permanent. It would be daft to change it really.

[driving_all_over]

One thing you did miss at Gretna Services was the M74 sign on the southbound on slip unless they’ve removed it

[seldom_seen_kid]

Great Scottish series Jon. You never mentioned the forest north of Crawford at junction 14 that looks like a big willy. When I see it I know I've only got half an hour to go until I get home.
Haste ye back.

[rangersineurope]

Who knew watching this 2 weeks ago would rescue me when there was an accident today just after J15. The only info board on road flashed up M74 closed Beattock just as I was approaching J15. Everyone else ignored breezed past the offslip got stuck for hours between 14/15. Just me a couple of Juggernauts flying up the old Carlisle / Glasgow road for 30 minutes with empty motorway below us then an empty motorway all the way to Hamilton. Eerie. Thanks for your work. (There was one of those gates lying open you couldve just nicked out onto an empty motorway halfway between 14/15 but thought better of it)

[sammymac]

The fact that I lived in Ecclefechan and didn’t even realise that the B7076 was part of the old A74. Drove down the B7076 hundreds of times. Thank you for the eye opener Jon

[tripnick]

I now have the Balamory theme song stuck in my head, thanks Jon!

[BeanoMark]

Thank you for the respect given for the Lockerbie part, nailed it.