16 lanes, four carriageways, three motorways – and 50 years of Glasgow motorway history!

In this special anniversary episode of the Scottish Roadscast, Stuart Baird and Duncan MacKnight celebrate 50 years of the M8 Renfrew Motorway, which officially opened on 15 October 1976.

Stretching from the Kingston Bridge to Hillington, this remarkable section of motorway completed a vital missing link in Glasgow's road network and became one of the city's most impressive engineering achievements.

But its construction was far from straightforward!

Discover how the 1973 oil crisis almost brought the project to a halt, why an unexpected £11 million funding windfall transformed the plans, and how engineers managed to squeeze an extraordinary 16 lanes of motorway into the Plantation Interchange.

Along the way, Stuart and Duncan explore forgotten motorway proposals, unusual junctions, hidden engineering features and the remarkable efforts made to fit this enormous road into Glasgow's urban landscape.

From ambitious 1960s planning to the challenges of modern-day traffic, it's a fascinating look at the people, decisions and engineering that shaped one of Scotland's busiest motorway corridors.

Plus: Historic archive discoveries, memories of the motorway's grand opening, and a few mysteries that we'd love our listeners to help solve!

Whether you're passionate about roads and engineering, interested in Glasgow's history, or simply curious about the motorway you've driven along countless times, join us for another journey into Scotland's transport past.

Explore the Scottish Roads Archive: https://www.scottishroadsarchive.org/roadscast

Scottish Roadscast – Exploring the history of Scotland's roads, bridges and motorways.

The Pass of Killiecrankie presented one of the most demanding challenges in the enormous reconstruction of Scotland’s A9 between Perth and Inverness. With the road, railway and River Garry all squeezed into a steep-sided Highland gorge, creating a modern high-standard road through the pass required some extraordinary engineering.

In this episode, we explore the story of the A9 at Killiecrankie and the construction of the Killiecrankie Viaduct — a remarkable piece of road engineering that carries the A9 through the pass.

The Killiecrankie section was the final part of the 130-mile Perth-to-Inverness A9 reconstruction to be completed, opening to traffic in 1986. The project involved difficult terrain, major structures and a series of engineering challenges, with a 615-metre section of dual carriageway ultimately carried on the viaduct.

We look at the history behind this important section of the A9, the challenges faced by those designing and constructing it, and why Killiecrankie remains such a fascinating chapter in the story of Scottish road engineering.

Whether you have an interest in Scottish roads, transport history, civil engineering, bridges, road construction or the history of the A9, this episode offers a fascinating journey back to one of Scotland’s major twentieth-century infrastructure projects.

🎧 Listen now and discover the story behind one of the most distinctive sections of the A9.

With Duncan Macknight, Stuart Baird and Darren Donaldson.

#A9 #Killiecrankie #KilliecrankieViaduct #ScottishRoads #RoadEngineering #CivilEngineering #TransportHistory #ScottishHistory #RoadConstruction #HighlandHistory

Get ready for a special episode of the Scottish Roadscast as Stuart and Duncan celebrate an incredible sixty years of the Tay Road Bridge! To mark this landmark anniversary, they’ve headed along the Tay to Dundee to chat with Bridge Manager Alan Hutchison. Join us for a fascinating deep dive into the history, legacy, and lasting appeal of this much-loved east coast icon.

With Stuart Baird and Duncan Macknight.

Released August 2026.