NationMaster - Encyclopedia: A77 Road

The A77 road is a major road in Scotland. It runs in a southwesternly direction from the city of Glasgow, past the towns of Newton Mearns, Kilmarnock, Prestwick, Ayr, Maybole, Girvan and Stranraer to the town of Portpatrick on the Irish Sea. It passes through the traditional counties of Renfrewshire, Ayrshire, and Wigtownshire. A typical rural county road in Indiana, USA, where traffic drives on the right. ... Royal motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within the UK Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 kmÂ² 1. ... Glasgow (or Glaschu in Gaelic) is Scotlands largest city and unitary council, situated on the River Clyde in the countrys west central lowlands. ... Newton Mearns is a small suburban town 7 miles southwest of Glasgow, Scotland. ... View from Kilmarnock train station onto John Finnie Street. ... The town of Prestwick is located in the central west coast of Scotland in the region of southern Ayrshire. ... Map sources for Ayr at grid reference NS337220 The royal burgh of Ayr (Scottish Gaelic, Inbhir Ã€ir) in the south-west of Scotland is a burgh situated on the Firth of Clyde. ... Maybole is a burgh of barony and police burgh of Ayrshire, Scotland. ... Girvan is a burgh in South Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of about 8000 people. ... Stranraer (An t-SrÃ²n Reamhar in Gaelic) is a town in the south of Scotland in the west of the region of Dumfries and Galloway and was formerly in the county of Wigtownshire. ... Hanging on to the extreme south-westerly tip of mainland Scotland, cut into a cleft in steep cliffs, is the village of Portpatrick. ... Relief map of the Irish Sea. ... The traditional counties of Scotland are historic and cutural divisions of Scotland. ... Renfrewshire (Siorrachd Rinn FriÃ¹ in Gaelic) is one of 32 unitary authority regions in Scotland. ... Ayrshire (Scottish Gaelic, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir) is a traditional county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. ... Wigtownshire is a small traditional county in the south west of Scotland. ...

It has full trunk road status from the terminus of the M77 motorway in Fenwick to the junction with the A75 in Stranraer. A trunk road or strategic road is a major road, usually connecting one or more cities, ports, airports etc, which is the recommended route for long-distance and freight traffic. ... The M77 motorway is a motorway in the United Kingdom. ... Fenwick is a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland, UK. As of 2001, its population was 863. ... The A75 is a major road in Scotland, heading west along the south coast of Scotland from its junction with the A74(M) motorway at Gretna. ...

The A77 is a crucial link from Glasgow to one of its two major airports, Prestwick Airport, and to the three main ferry terminals at Stranraer, Cairnryan, and Troon for sailings to Northern Ireland. As a result, the road has been subject to a busy mixture of commuter, tourist and heavy goods vehicle traffic which has hastened upgrades to many sections. Glasgow (or Glaschu in Gaelic) is Scotlands largest city and unitary council, situated on the River Clyde in the countrys west central lowlands. ... Glasgow Prestwick International Airport (IATA: PIK, ICAO: EGPK) is a facility situated north of the town of Prestwick in Ayrshire, Scotland. ... The Pride of Burgundy, a P&O Ferries car ferry on the Dover-Calais route A ferry is a boat or a ship carrying passengers, and sometimes their vehicles, on scheduled services. ... Cairnryan is a small Scottish village overlooking Loch Ryan and is notable today for its large modern ferry port, operated by P&O, which links Scotland with Larne in Northern Ireland. ... Troon is a town in South Ayrshire, Scotland. ... Dieu et mon droit (Royal motto) (French for God and my right)3 Northern Irelands location within the UK Official languages English, Irish, Ulster Scots Capital and largest city Belfast First Minister Office suspended Area - Total Ranked 4th 13,843 kmÂ² Population - Total (2001) - Density Ranked 4th 1,685...

Bypasses for Ayr and Kilmarnock were built in the 1970s, and the M77 motorway replaced the Glasgow to Newton Mearns section in two stages, in the mid-to-late 1990s, but not without controversy as a section fo the motorway sliced through Pollok Country Park. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive, the last decade of the 20th Century. ... Pollok Park The White Cart River running through the park Pollok Country Park is a large country park located in Pollok, south Glasgow. ...

This still left, for many years, the notorious north Ayrshire stretch of the road. The majority of this section was an unsegregated, 4-lane single carriageway between Kilmarnock and Newton Mearns - widely appearing in statistics as one of the most dangerous and accident-prone sections of road in Scotland. The speed limit of 60 miles per hour was widely ignored, resulting in a number of fatal crashes. The Scottish Executive took the decision to replace the entire section up to the Kilmarnock bypass with an extention of the M77 after pressure and campaigning from West Sound Radio. The term Scottish Executive is used in two distinct but closely related senses. ... West Sound Radio Network Part of Emap and formerly Scottish Radio Holdings, the West Sound Radio Network is a collection of 3 radio stations in South West Scotland. ...

Construction of the motorway was unusually swift, given the eagerness to replace the A77 after another fatal crash in 2003 claiming a top-ranking police officer, and the motorway was opened in April 2005. This completed a continuous dual carriageway road from Glasgow to Ayr. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In an effort to prevent a repeat of the fatalities on the southern section of the road. July 2005 saw the A77 become host to the largest automatic speed limit enforcement system in the whole of the UK. Based on the digital SPECS system rather than the traditional fixed post GATSO film cameras; gantries with automatic numberplate recognition cameras are sited on the road at intervals of between 1 and 5 miles. The enforced zone stretches from the Dundonald/Tarbolton junction at the northern end of the single-carriageway section, down to Girvan in the south, around 30 miles. These cameras measure the average speed of vehicles passing between any two camera sites, however only one or two pairs of cameras will actually be active at any given instant. July is the seventh month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ...

There have been continued efforts to improve the road in the south. One such project, the Turnberry Climbing Lane, opened in 2005, has enhanced guaranteed overtaking opportunties on the single carriageway section.

See also