Take a look at Glasgow's abandoned M8 inner ring road - in pictures
Have you ever wondered what the unfinished sections of the M8 were originally for?
By The newsroom
Published 18th Oct 2021, 15:31 BST
Updated 19th Oct 2021, 10:04 BST
The M8 was Glasgow' s most ambitious engineering project since the introduction of the railways, cutting the city in two and providing a vital link between east and west, but parts of it never came to fruition.
The history of the M8 can be traced back to the Bruce Report of 1945 which envisaged a rationally-planned, modern utopia encircled by a ring of dual carriageways and arterial roads splaying outwards from all four corners of the inner city.
Much of the report - including the wholesale destruction of Glasgow city centre - was ultimately shelved, but subsequent planning dossiers brought the road proposals back to life.
Here we take a look at one particular part of the M8 that was planned, and in some areas started, but never finished – the inner ring road.
A version of this article first appeared in our sister title, The Scotsman.
Much of the report - including the wholesale destruction of Glasgow city centre - was ultimately shelved, but subsequent planning dossiers brought the road proposals back to life.
5. The 'ski jump'
Just south of the Kingston Bridge at Tradeston, is one of the most famous, commonly referred to as the “ski-jump”; an incomplete junction which rises into the air before terminating abruptly. The ski-jump had been intended to link with the south section of the ring road. Instead, it hangs forlornly, waiting for a connection which will never be built. Photo: TSPL
6. Maryhill Motorway
In an alternate universe, the ghost road at St George’s Cross would have led to a completed Maryhill Motorway. Photo: Google Maps
7. The Townhead 'stub'
At Townhead, and St George’s Cross, there are more dead ends; slip roads which dart off suddenly before coming to a sudden stop. Photo: Google Maps
8. The bridge to nowhere
The Anderston Footbridge or bridge to nowhere as it was named, was initially built to connect a new housing estate to a retail complex, which was never built, and hung over the Marriot Hotel car park until it was converted in 2013. It was located south of the Charing Cross Podium. Photo: Glasgow Motorway Archive