The Glasgow areas changed forever by the construction of the M8 in the 1960s as council backs plans for demolition

Whatever the intended benefits, the motorway reshaped vast parts of Glasgow almost beyond recognition. Entire streets were cleared, historic buildings torn down, and long-standing communities broken apart, scattering friends, neighbours, and families across the city and beyond.

In March 1945, Glasgow’s city engineer, Robert Bruce, presented his First Planning Report to the Highways and Planning Committee. His ambitious vision set out a dramatic blueprint for the city’s future — redefining how Glaswegians would live and work, how the city centre would evolve, and how movement across the city would be transformed.

Two decades later, in June 1965, Scott, Wilson, Kirkpatrick and Partners published A Highway Plan for Glasgow, establishing a comprehensive road strategy that would shape the city for generations. The inner-city section of the M8 was subsequently built between 1968 and 1972.

Neighbourhoods once dense with life — Townhead, Cowcaddens, Charing Cross, Anderston and Kinning Park — were changed irrevocably, their character and communities forever altered.

In recent days, Glasgow City Council backed plans to demolish a key stretch of the M8 at Woodside Viaducts.

Here are the Glasgow areas changed forever by the construction of the M8 in the 1960s as council backs plans for demolition.