A71 road
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| A71 road | |
| Direction | East-West |
| Start | Edinburgh |
| Primary destinations1 |
Kilmarnock |
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| End | Irvine |
| Roads joined |  M8 motorway M74 motorway A70 road A72 road A73 road A76 road A77 road A78 road A704 road A706 road A719 road A720 road A721 road A722 road A723 road A735 road A737 road A759 road A899 road |
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The A71 is a major road in Scotland linking Edinburgh with Lanarkshire and Ayrshire. It adjoins the Livingston Bypass A899.
It runs south west from Edinburgh for approximately 70 miles, through Saughton, Wilkieston and south of Livingston, Whitburn and Wishaw, then by way of the Garrion Bridge, Stonehouse, Strathaven, Darvel, Galston, Hurlford and Kilmarnock to Irvine on the North Ayrshire coast.
Formerly a trunk route from the east to the west coast of Scotland it has since been downgraded to a mix of primary and secondary routes. From Edinburgh to Darvel, it is now a secondary route, a fact which is obvious from its poor state of repair in some places such as its section to the south of Wishaw, and the poor road conditions through the village of Ashgill. From Darvel to Irvine, it has retained its primary route status.
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[edit] Route
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This section is written like a personal reflection or essay and may require cleanup. Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style. (December 2007) |
[edit] Edinburgh - Livingston
The A71 almost parallels the M8 between the A720, Edinburgh City Bypass and the junction with the A73 at Newmains. As the A71 leaves the congested City of Edinburgh, it passes into leafy countryside, with the newest section of the M8 visible to its north. Passing through the picturesque village of Wilkieston and onto the Mid Calder bypass, which leads the A71 into the new town of Livingston. The A71 follows a very straight and obviously re-aligned course through Livingston with several grade separated junctions, unusual for a single carriageway road.
[edit] Livingston to Darvel
From here the A71 turns sharply south west, bypassing Shotts and Newmains to and then to Wishawthe north and descending steeply into the Clyde Valley, over the recently re-built Garrion Bridge at the junction with the A72, which up until recently had been one of the worst traffic bottlenecks in Lanarkshire. As the A71 climbs the western side of the Clyde Valley on a newly built road, which it shares for a short section with the A72, it commands a view over most of the valley, stretching as far as Coatbridge and the Campsie Hills. When the A71 finally peaks at the top of the valley, it meets the M74 at Jct 8 (a junction known locally as Canderside Toll), before turning towards the village of Stonehouse and the A71's newly built bypass, taking traffic to the north of the quiet and narrow village roads, before descending yet again into the Avon valley and into the conservation village of Strathaven. This village has a few traffic problems of its own, at a meeting of the A71, A723 and A726, it provides a link to East Kilbride and Paisley, as well as to Lanark, Hamilton and Motherwell. But to get to any of these places, you need to negotiate a maze of narrow streets. This is the last centre of population before Darvel (almost 15 miles west).
[edit] Darvel to Irvine
The A71 then becomes a narrow and winding road with some treacherous bends across moorland, as the road ascends to the head of the Avon valley. At the highest point is Loudoun Hill, an ancient site of human occupation, and the road here follows the route of a minor Roman road which once linked the Clyde Valley and the coast. The road descends into the Irvine Valley, passing the weaving towns of Darvel, Newmilns, Galston and Hurlford. At Darvel, the A71 becomes a Primary Route for the rest of its length to Irvine, and widens slightly, with a straighter alignment until its junction with the A77, south of Kilmarnock. The A71 remains as a dual-carriageway until its terminus in Irvine town centre. Recently a crash barrier was constructed along the central reservation of the dual-carriageway by East Ayrshire council from the A77 to the boundary with North Ayrshire at Dreghorn. Regettably North Ayrshire council has not followed suit on their 1 mile long section of dual carriageway, and the council seems not to consider the A71 as a primary route. The east-bound carriageway of the A71 between Irvine and Dreghorn is also in dire need of resurfacing.
[edit] External links
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