M8 Glasgow - J20 Kingston

Junction 20 is at the south end of the Kingston Bridge.

It was originally designed as a triangular junction, connecting the west flank and the south flank of the Inner Ring Road with the Renfrew Motorway, but was only part completed.

These photos were taken in May 2003 when the West Street On-ramp was closed for works on the bridge.

Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. Looking west along Cook Street towards the M8 access at J20.

The large yellow signs indicate traffic prohibited from the Clyde Tunnel - including the rare No Explosives sign.  Normally this traffic is diverted over the Kingston Bridge, but since this access is now closed, it has to follow an alternate diversion route through the City Centre instead.

 

Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. Cook Street approaching the junction.  Normally there are two lanes straight on for M8 West, but for the duration of the works, the lane markings have been changed, and two lanes instead turn right.
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. Diversion lights active!  The normal signposting to the motorway entry has been taped over.
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. The junction of West Street and , with the motorway access coned off.
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. Start of the West Street on-ramp, showing altered signposting for the works.   The motorway signs have been taped over.  Works access is the gap in the cones at left.
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. The most notable feature of J20 is this pair of ghost ramps rising out to the east. 
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. View up the West Street on-ramp.

There's normally no access from here to the M8 motorway proper - only to the J19 exit for the A814 Clydeside Expressway and the J18 exit to the A804 and the City Centre. 

Lane 2 across the bridge was closed in the 1990s to allow works at J20 and to reduce loading on the bridge structure.  The improvement in traffic flow was such that the closure was made permanant once the works were completed.  There's now a steel barrier between lanes 2 and 3 right across the bridge.

The small sign at the right is a 10 mph speed limit for the works.

Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. View west, with the southbound carriageway from the bridge in the foreground being joined by the outer carriageway at J21.  The trucks are on the inner eastbound carriageway heading towards the bridge.
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. The separation of the motorway carriageways in the foreground was to allow for the eastbound access from the Renfrew Motorway to the south flank of the Inner Ring Road.
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. Looking S from the West Street On-ramp.  Replacement of the bridge parapets includes the approach ramps.
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. The view north along the Kingston Bridge, with the J20 West Street on-ramp descending to join the motorway on the left, and the West Street off-ramp as a double lane-drop at far right.
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. View down the ramp to the bridge. 

The works in progress involve replacing the reinforced parapet, hence the two large white steel structures cantilevered out around the edge of the structure.  The sliproad itself is being used as a car park, and fabrication yard for the new steel reinforcing.

Works are expected to take 12-18 months for this side of the bridge, followed by the same on the southbound side.

Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. Looking East from the on-ramp. 
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. The 'ski-jump' ramps, with the proposed route of the south flank of the Inner Ring Road beyond.
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. Looking east, showing gap between carriageways and surface streets below.  Again the broad gap between the carriageways would have allowed the other eastbound carriageway to cross right over the top and descend to join the rising motorway
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. Typical reflector stud on the ramp.  This is on the right side of the carriageway, with amber, and red for wrong-way traffic.
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. Looking NE at J20, with the on-ramp sweeping over the mainline.
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. Workmen preparing the steel reinforcing for the new bridge parapet.  (Don't show this one to HSE!)
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. The end of the road!

The carriageways here would have been joined on either side by carriageways from the Renfrew Motorway.

Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. Emergency telephone, with two more displaced during the works.  
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. The new mounting is on an angled post behind the barrier; the original mounting was an integral part of the barrier.
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. Alternative style telephone on the ghost ramp.  This one looks older considerably older than the others, although the BT logo suggests that it was still in use until recently.
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. The unused ramps from J20 were used as a site for investigation into the bridge parapet structure and possible replacements.  On the right side is an original section, showing the cracked lower corner.  To the left is a section which has been partially replaced. 

In the middle distance at left is an area of bridge deck that has been excavated to check problems with drainage.

Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. View east from the end of the 'ski-jump'.  The buildings directly opposite would have been demolished had the south flank of the Inner Ring Road been built.

The splay on the slip roads would have allowed the carriageways from the Renfrew Motorway to close in with the extended carriageways from the Kingston Bridge. 

The M74 extension will terminate on the M8 just to the south of this point, and will not connect with the incomplete J20.

Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. View west from the end of the ramps..
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. View west from the SE corner of the ramp. 

The area is used for storage of sections of the bridge edge. 

Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. View west from the NE corner of the ramp.  Two lanes of traffic descending to West Street.
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. Trial section of new parapet.  Barriers have been installed, but subsequently removed.
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. New parapet, with an older section for comparison.
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission.
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. View down the West Street on-ramp and along Cook Street.
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. The end of the road for the Glasgow Inner Ring Road, looking through to the buildings which would have been demolished had it been completed.

The Comprehensive Development Area, which allowed the M8 to be built in the first place, ended at West Street.  The neighbourhood beyond was considered suitable for piecemeal redevelopment.  The older buildings are now considered a valuable part of Glasgow's architectural heritage, and demolition would now be completely impractical.

Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. End of the ramps, showing the barriers continued across the end.
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. I doubt that the engineers who designed and built the ramps would have expected that they'd need renovation before extension.
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. Traffic descending to West Street.  This is the point that the eastbound link from the Renfrew Motorway would have crossed over to join the south flank of the Inner Ring Road.
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission.
Copyright 2003 David D Miller.  Please do not reproduce without permission. A sign of things to come!

Attached to a lamp standard in Cook Street is the official notice of the M74 extension.  Deadline for objections was 12 May 2003 - so it's too late now!  (Objections have been received, but it's not clear what effect they'll have.)

The two minor parties in the Scottish Parliament - the Scottish Green Party and the Scottish Socialist Party - are both opposed to the new road and will attempt to have it cancelled in the Scottish Parliament.  The Executive and the four major parties in the Parliament are in favour of the project.

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