Whether it was for the greater good or not, the motorway changed areas of Glasgow beyond recognition. Buildings were demolished and long-established communities were displaced forcing friends, neighbours and relatives to spread out far and wide.
Glasgow city engineer Robert Bruce delivered his First Planning Report to The Highways and Planning Committee in March 1945. His radical proposals would transform Glasgow - how people would live, where they would work, how the city centre could be developed, and how people could travel across the city. In June 1965, Scott, Wilson, Kirkpatrick and Partners produced A Highway Plan for Glasgow - a definitive outline for the city’s road network for decades to come. The Glasgow inner city section of the M8 was constructed between 1968 and 1972 The once heavily-populated areas of Townhead, Cowcaddens, Charing Cross, Anderston and Kinning Park would never be the same again.
Here we take a look at those areas and how the M8 changed them forever.
5. Townhead
Taking in historic landmarks such as Glasgow Cathedral and Provand’s Lordship, Townhead is one of the oldest parts of the city. In 1962 the decision was taken to make Townhead a Comprehensive Development Area to allow for the construction of the M8 and the expansion of Strathclyde University. A great number of streets, and ancient road layouts, including the kilometre-long Parliamentary Road, vanished in the process. Photo: Scottish Roads Archive
6. St George's Cross
Today, the M8 cuts a deep canyon through the heart of Charing Cross, continuing north towards another barely-recognisable old junction, St George’s Cross. Photo: TSPL
7. Charing Cross
Providing a link between Sauchiehall Street and Glasgow’s upmarket West End, the formerly bustling crossroads once boasted some of the finest architecture in the city. Photo: TSPL
8. Charing Cross
Just west of Charing Cross Mansions was the Grand Hotel, a stunning Victorian edifice which provided the base for many a Glasgow wedding reception during its lifespan. Despite the best efforts of student activists and heritage campaigners, the Grand Hotel and hundreds of other widely-admired buildings were pulled down in the late ‘60s. Photo: TSPL