Permanent closure of M8 in Glasgow among options for ageing 55-year motorway viaducts

A hugely radical plan to permanently close a section of Scotland’s busiest motorway in Glasgow has been included in options for the ageing 55-year-old viaducts which carry the road along the northern edge of the city centre.

Under a third option unveiled by the Scottish Government’s Transport Scotland agency on Wednesday, through traffic on the M8 would be re-routed via the M74 through the south side of the city.

The other two options are to either repair or replace the two Woodside viaducts, which carry 150,000 vehicles a day and are undergoing protracted temporary overhauls expected to cost up to £152 million.

Temporary repairs to the Woodside viaducts will continue until next year | John Devlin/The Scotsman

Transport Scotland said a “permanent solution” was needed for the structures as a “priority project” because the areas supporting their spans had “deteriorated”, which had triggered the short-term work.

It said the current temporary propping had a limited lifespan, would require maintenance and take up extensive road space below the viaducts, so was “not an effective long-term solution”.

The repairs, which have continued since 2021, should have been completed two years later but have been extended to 2027 because of “previously unknown challenges”, as The Scotsman revealed last year.

This has narrowed the four-lane carriageways to two in each direction, with the speed limit reduced from 50mph to 40mph.

Get our brilliant weekly transport newsletter

The Scottish Government agency said the closure option came out of the “assessment of initial strategic options” and it was “only right” that it was included in the public consultation.

The Scotsman understands that closing that section of the M8 is not seen by officials as realistic or feasible because of the major and widespread impact on traffic flows. An industry source said repair was the most likely option.

However, the inclusion of closure among the three options was immediately seized on by campaigners who have sought to have the motorway removed from the centre of Glasgow.

The Replace the M8 group said: “Looks like option three plus sub options will be developed in detail and tested with all options against short and long term costs, revenue, health, environment.

“Transport Scotland would not build a motorway through town today so option three is serious.”

Marissa MacWhirter, newsletter editor of The Glasgow Wrap, said: “Of the 3 options presented by Transport Scotland, removing the concrete megastructure of the M8 was the only one with warnings attached - but its inclusion is a huge step for those who want a liveable modern city.”

Map showing traffic re-routed via the M74 (purple line at bottom) if the Woodside viaducts (red label) were removed | Transport Scotland

Colin Howden, director of sustainable transport campaigners Transform Scotland, said: “The bulldozing of the M8 through central Glasgow was a reckless act of urban vandalism and the city is still suffering from the scars of its construction.

“Other cities round the world have successfully demolished urban motorways and reclaimed valuable city centre land for more economically-productive use.

“In a city where more than half of households have no access to a car, serious consideration should be given to reclaiming the city centre for people rather than cars.”

The closure option is estimated to have a construction cost of less then £125m and take one to two years.

The repair option is costed at £125-200m and take one to three years, while replacement would cost £200-500m over three to four years.

An industry source told The Scotsman: “Realistically, repair is the only feasible solution due to its lower cost and shorter construction timeline.

“Replacement or removal of the viaducts would result in significant congestion across the west of Scotland, whether temporarily or permanently.

“Removing the M8 would set the city back 30 years and severely impede local, regional and national connectivity.

“It would also undermine resilience during incidents, large events or overnight works.

“It is likely that the bus, haulage, and broader business community will express deep concern for that reason.

“Some will advocate removal without fully appreciating the implications for the 150,000 vehicles that use the viaducts each day.

“Traffic continues to grow and is now at record levels. The M74 is already operating at capacity and experiences long queues during peak periods.”

A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “We are keen to hear the thoughts of the local communities and road users on the permanent solution for the M8 Woodside viaducts project.

“Public engagement events are being held to provide local communities and road users with the opportunity to learn more and to share their feedback on the options.”

These include a “public engagement event” at Woodside Halls, 36 Glenfarg Street on Wednesday March 4 from 10am to 5pm. Details of the options are online.

Visualisation of Woodside viaducts replacement option | Transport Scotland

The agency spokesperson said: “All options are considered during the appraisal process. Removing the viaducts is an option that came out of the assessment of initial strategic options and it is only right that we include this as one of the options to consider.

“The remove approach would reroute M8 traffic onto other roads on the network and is anticipated to have a major detrimental impact on traffic flows, connectivity, network resilience and journey time reliability.

READ MORE: Love it or loath it, Glasgow’s M8 needs a positive legacy

“The approach was one of three that came out of the initial strategic options assessment and it was concluded that it should be included as part of the high level comparison between the options being considered.”

Glasgow Labour MSP Pauline McNeill, who has campaigned for the temporary works to be accelerated, said: “This is a vital road for the west of Scotland economy and that must be recognised.

Visualisation of Woodside viaducts repair option | Transport Scotland

“Of the three options, option three is not acceptable that traffic would be diverted to the M74, and would not recognise the importance of this stretch of road.

“I believe it must therefore be one of the other options. The criteria should be the longest-lasting one and reducing the inconvenience to road users with value for money for the public purse.”

Glasgow Conservative MSP Annie Wells said: “Closure of the M8 would be a hammer blow to Glaswegians and yet another example of a disastrous SNP transport project.

“Anyone who uses this part of the motorway knows what a nightmare it is – and not just at rush hour.

“The SNP pledged to complete this upgrade by 2023, but in true Nationalist fashion, costs have spiralled and now this ageing stretch of road may be permanently closed.

“Commuters are sick of hellish traffic jams and delays. SNP ministers must get their act together and ensure that motorists have a road they can actually use.”