Secrets of the Motorway - M74

#infrastructure #motorway #scotland
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The M74 is a motorway that runs to Glasgow in Scotland... No, I'd not heard of it either, apparently there's a whole other country attached to the North of England... who knew.
In this weeks episode we'll be starting the process of working our way round the motorways across the mightily fine Scotland. There's much to discuss, such as neighbourhood gang warfare, old steelworks, viaducts and old junction designs. Thrilling.
In this series we aim to explore what our motorway network is hiding. As we drive along at 70mph..ish...we simply just wouldn't be aware of what we're missing. This series aims to uncover some of the hidden secrets our motorways have to offer.

[@dankicks]

“Nothing gets through fences as well as local youths” The amount of truth in this statement cannot be disputed 😂

[@Michael75579]

Look at 3:00 and you'll see people on the bridge.

[@gloriagayer4761]

@@Michael75579 Even from that distance they look a bit neddy.

[@ronniel5941]

@@gloriagayer4761 Not everyone may know what a “ned “ is - I do !

[@SportyMabamba]

@@ronniel5941for non-Scottish folk, a Ned is equivalent to a Chav or NEET

[@alexbarclay6597]

​@@Michael75579😅

[@ethzero]

Wait, hang on... A ghost slip road that got eventually used! 😮

[@llynellyn]

Was about to post the same thing xD

[@GaryB007]

So ghosts do exist.

[@willtricks9432]

Does that make it a "Zombie" slip road if it has reanimated?

[@JP_TaVeryMuch]

Don't mean to sound heavy man, but what a comment on the society of today that for reanimation, we go straight to Zombies with nary a mention of Christian resurrection.

[@Gordanovich02]

Yes, quite the rarity!

[@1800astra]

"Back in the day, when road-planners couldn't care less about anything.." It's quality writing like this that keeps us happy, Jon.

[@AutoShenanigans]

Glad to hear :)

[@dangerousandy]

Loving the Taggart theme 😂 No Mean City

[@KevinMarshallsay]

ah so it was the Taggart theme tune, i thought it was but wasn't 100% certain

[@willtricks9432]

I hitched to Glasgow and beyond a couple of times in the early eighties, once we were picked up near Carlisle by a Scottish lorry driver who was an amature opera singer, his practice spot was from Gretna Green onwards whilst driving he sang in Italian a full hour then stopped at a services ate a huge dinner while we watched hungrily. Back on the road never said another word. Still dropped us off in town, top man.

[@harrysingh6577]

Thank you for sharing

[@typhoon2827]

😂 quality memory 👏🏻👏🏻👍🏻

[@TheCabrooster11]

Especially like the Scottish specific theme tune and it’s good to se that road planning/ construction up here is as abysmal the rest of the country 😂 and the Taggart theme must always be followed by “ There’s been a muurrder!”😂😂

[@dxg999]

There's been a murder!

[@brimstone260]

Was that Taggart?

[@yellowbird8690]

I thought it was pronounced "mudder".

[@frankmoseley3214]

"Call the Polis"!

[@JP_TaVeryMuch]

​@@yellowbird8690 You'd have to ask DC of F1 fame. His "muhruz" is without equal.

[@stevewilson8467]

Hopefully the famous ski ramps will be covered with the M8 - now that's going to be a fun episode!

[@drmal]

...and the Teletubbies horn!

[@TheCptES]

He's going to have a field day describing J15-J19, which is a contender for the best example of the worst of British roadbuilding.

[@simonlloyd74sl]

All part of the proposed Glasgow Inner Ring Road, which was planned at the time of building the M8 through Glasgow

[@simonlloyd74sl]

@@drmal every time I drive past the horn I always day "Time for Tubbies bye bye"

[@dave_h_8742]

​@@TheCptES British or Scottish rd building ?🤷‍♂️

[@daviemaclean61]

The M74 extension, in my opinion, was much needed as it cut out the diversion onto the M8 through possibly its busiest section at Townhead. When I used to go up and down to Newcastle on a regular basis, it saved me about 30 minutes per journey.

[@David8n]

My wife used to work for Strathclyde Council. The M74 extension used to be shelved and resurrected regularly for decades. It used to be said, only half jokingly, that half the civil engineers in Scotland got their charterships on the strength of designing motorway structures for it that were ultimately never built.

[@boola6969]

The M74 extension was a welcome addition, as it means I can travel on dual carriageway from Ayr to York near enough all the way. (This will change when they dual more of the A66) Especially since they build the A/M77 ( which I worked on)

[@jonathancook4022]

The m74 south of Abbington is an amazing bit of civil engineering, it goes over such harsh and wild terrain!

[@ruaraidhmcdonald-walker9524]

It's like a wild and woolly version of Outrun!!

[@OldSonyMan]

I remember in the late 80s there was an M74 laboratory somewhere in the bit between the M6 and the M74 (proper) and I remember thinking "How hard could it be ?" !

[@markcf83]

​@@interpolpirate I agree. It's stunning.

[@WeeNessieMonster4085]

My grandad was involved in the construction of the original part aka the A74 in the late 50s/early 60s. He'd probably be amazed at what it looks like now since he unfortunately passed in 1988.

[@almac414]

there's a really good old film on here from BTS (I think) which covers the building of it at the time.

[@aetch77]

I'm surprised you missed the "M6 South" sign at the DVSA Weighstation (Southbound) exit between junctions 14 (Crawford) and 15 (Moffat) when you did the M6 bit.

[@roderickmain9697]

42 miles from the actual M6. (visible on google street view)

[@ruggedscot69]

@@roderickmain9697 M6 muliplex....

[@TheGiff7]

I was surprised he missed that as well. Also the M74 sign at Gretna Services rather than A74(M)

[@egpx]

It’s on the A74(M) rather then the M74 so maybe it will get a mention when he does the Secrets of the A74(M).

[@rogerduerden373]

Great to have an exciting episode on my local Motorway! Incidentally, everyone refers to the A74(M) section as the M74 - I don't know why they don't just change the name.

[@DKane95]

If you look on street view at the DVSA weight station near Biggar, you'll see an M6 South road sign on the exit road.

[@albertperks3476]

Nice inclusion of the McTaggart sound track - "thurz bin a mareder".

[@TheGoodShepherdsSheep]

Definitely the most random thing I have watched this week but well worth the time spent 😂

[@AutoShenanigans]

Thrilled to have you, thanks for watching

[@GaryB007]

Shock - a new theme.

[@ethzero]

The Scaryland version.

[@Coxswain]

Absolutely shocking

[@robertwilloughby8050]

The bagpipes make it.... Weirdly proggy sounding!

[@pauldudeuk]

That’s the Christmas bagpipe version 😊

[@cyberleaderandy1]

Very ..... Scottish 😊

[@MartinvonBargen]

This was even more fun than the comic section of a 1980s Sunday Post!

[@SimonProctor]

Looking forward to the M8 even more now.

[@stephenduncan3605]

That'll probably have the theme tune to Rebus lol

[@drmal]

​@@stephenduncan3605 I thought that to, but it's pretty obscure (sorry Ian Rankin). The only others I could think of would be The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, or Trainspotting. Incidentally there's currently a film crewed based in Cameron Toll car park working on a new Rebus adaptation.

[@groeacht8525]

You could do a full video on the B7076 and B7078, those are the remainder of the old A74 dual carriageway. Its practically a motorway and almost abandoned, and theres plenty of completely abandoned parts of the old single carriageway Telford road.

[@WeAreThePeople1690]

Yes from Lesmahagow south you can see where they turned one side into a cyclepath

[@Mike-H_UK]

I think I can speak on behalf of all 91k subscribers to say that we are thoroughly looking forward to the third M6 video that will no doubt cover the access points from the Charnock Richard services and also the excellent junctions for Wigan and Parbold, Standish & Chorley. Or perhaps this is being saved for a 'summer special' like the Beano and Dandy had in days of yore? In any case, this was a fine video on the M74, and I hope you drank a pint of heavy at the end of a hard day's filming....

[@cyberleaderandy1]

Or is he a Tennants light man ? 🤔

[@stephenyates962]

Jon did mention at the end of the previous video (M6 part 2) the rest would be saved for a later date, and he would be exploring another motorway in between

[@willtricks9432]

Spent 6 hours in Charnock Richard Services waiting for a lift. never been so happy to get into a strangers car.

[@dave_h_8742]

Hate Parbold slip rd as no cnt will let you onto the motorway. Wigan is Ok if taken slowly and the slip rd off the M6 is a pain for diks trying to force in the slow lane at the last second and try forcing you too fast for the curve.

[@OldSonyMan]

@@willtricks9432 well I slept the night under a staircase at charnock Richard services (back in '87) Never hitch-hike with a 'Girlie' unless she's a 'Stunner' !

[@TheMightyKinkle]

I can't believe you missed Treenis/Penis Hill near Abington services! It's a load of trees on the hill that look like a giant phallus!

[@AutoShenanigans]

Not just me that thinks that then.. I did notice it but couldn't find anything good to talk about. Other than it looks like a pen1s :D

[@kierangoddard2198]

Great to see some Scottish motorways covered.

[@interstellaraudiodnb]

Nice touch with the bagpipe version of the theme song

[@tripnick555]

Great use of Taggart theme music for the Glasgow episode.

[@dxg999]

You missed the really twisty bit a bit further south (or maybe that's for the A74(M). Two of the best bends in the whole network!!!! And, if you're lucky, you can race a train along that valley...

[@MatthewLee8383]

I love racing that train 😂

[@WeAreThePeople1690]

Best views ever on that stretch, shame those bloody wind turbines are starting to ruin it though.

[@acciid]

They motorway itself is probably more of a scar.

[@AutoShenanigans]

The amount of times I've driven up there wanting to "race" a train... I've never seen one!!

[@deekfaeglasgow]

Watch oot for the traffic polis, the trains go a bit faster than the M74 speed limit 😎

[@davidhall7744]

I remember before jct 12 was amended for the A70 to go under it, previous to that the 74 and 70 were a crossroads and it was like whacky races getting across it 😱

[@ianstewartorr8455]

I remember trying to get to Douglas was a bloody nightmare

[@nialloftheninedevils]

Perhaps you could investigate why the M6 and A1(M) terminated at Greta and Newcastle respectively? Why it took until 2008 to connect Glasgow to the south with a motorway and why there is still no motorway south from Edinburgh to Newcastle?

[@frogandspanner]

"no motorway south from Edinburgh to Newcastle" That's because the English think that Glasgow is the capital of Scotland so ignore Edinburgh. The relatively new dual stretches of the A1 have motorway rules, so perhaps the idea was that they could be re-designated motorways in future.

[@David8n]

I think that is down to transport in Scotland being a devolved matter. Scotland's road system is financed, built and maintained by Transport Scotland under the direction of the Scottish parliament who set priorities which may be different to the English authorities.

[@S.ASmith]

If you drive along the A1 from Edinburgh to Newcastle, the terrain doesn't lend itself well to being a motorway. I think most of it is likely a funding issue as a result. Edinburgh has part of the A1 (about a 15 mile section) as an expressway, marked with 70mph signs (not national speed limit) and vans are permitted to go at 70mph and lorries at 60mph on this section, like a motorway; traffic types are also restricted the same as a motorway. Through Berwickshire and near Dunbar, you'd struggle to follow the A1 route and would need to build the motorway another way and re-designate the existing A1 as a different A road.

[@maybenot6075]

Because the SNP dont want another connection to England 😂

[@AlpakaWhacker]

@@David8n It'll be slightly more complicated than that but essentially you are right. If there was any attempt to upgrade the A1, It'll also be likely come down to trying to get Westminster to partially pay for the project as improving the A1 would benefit those travelling south to England as well as North to Scotland. It's possible that that is why extending the M6 North from Carlisle to the border took so long to be built. The same situation is definitely partially responsible for it taking so long for the A8 to be upgraded to Dual carriageway in Northern Ireland.

[@spiderbootsy]

The map of the proposed motorway at 5:42 has an error. that is the M8. the M77 would be the other direction. The a725 upgrade at Junction 5 is a massive improvement. traffic was a nightmare. It would be nice if there was a motorway here as it would link the M77 the m74 and m8 together bypassing Glasgow and all the roundabouts at East Kilbride. Would serve much of the south of glasgow as well as EK, Bellshill Coatbridge would be fastest route from Edinburgh to Ayrshire. Would just make sense and if you look on the map there is room to squeeze it in

[@NiallMcKenzie]

Was just about to comment the same thing. However, they are currently upgrading Airbles Road in Motherwell and have installed a new bridge under the WCML to create a dual carriageway from junction 6 of the M74 up to Eurocentral on the M8.

[@RicardoPetrazzi]

Maryhill road in glasgow from city centre to canniesburn toll should have been a motorway and the start would have been the mysterious dead-end slip road that would have left from the off-side lane next to Stow College building! Can you imagine! So many houses would have been demolished in the process

[@samholdsworth420]

Bollocks

[@graememckay9972]

I remember Blue Peter covering the M74 build because there was a new machine called a "road train" which built new road as it travelled along.

[@DisasterLieveldeOfficial32]

Got jumpscared by M6😂

[@drmal]

Welcome to Scotland! Nice Taggart reference.

[@scottyg7284]

You should do a video of the old A74 route lots of old dual carriageway sections still there , also a great driving road too.

[@bobmcdermott9535]

I regularly drive under the 74 at Draffen, we live about a mile away!

[@isaacplaysbass8568]

Jon I wanted to highlight that both the detail, and the delivery of information was superb! (were? was? Errr...)

[@pgskink]

Another bit of M74 trivia you missed, originally it was numbered south to north, with Draffan being J1. When they started to build southwards it was reversed, with the Raith staying as J5. There also used to be a sliproad off the northbound A74 at Kirkmuirhill onto Strathaven Road. Great to see the old Draffan loop sliproad by drone, and there used to be a railway bridge over the A74 nearby

[@daviethomson5707]

I grew up in the gorbals and the amount of propossed routes through the area was stupid. One had it going through Glasgow Green on an elevated section, then when everybody hit the roof somebody decided to to dig a tunnel under the green. Then somebody came up with the idea of running it along the clyde (My school got shut for the propossed route, it's still standing 40 years later, and is now a sports center). The next plan said it would be an elevated route along Caley Road, before being ditched for the final route. The whole thing was a farce, where a lot of people in the know, made a hell of a lot of money buy and selling land.

[@martinhughes2549]

The junctions on the M74 where reversed until the early 1980s( going north you joined at junction 1). Then they decided to extend south. When that happensd in 1986/87 they reversed the junction numbers. The Tory party's Scottish manifesto in 1987 promised a motorway link to England. So from 1990 the route was upgraded South and North. A section was built north.and opened in 1993 I think ( from memory). The completion scheme in 2011 joined this section to the M8&M77. So the existing M74 is the 1960s motorway, the 1980s extension south, the 1990s upgrade south to Gretna ( asM74& A74(M)) and the 1990s extension north, and finally the 2011 completion.

[@davidyardley512]

Closing in on 100k subscribers John - wicked sweet awesome!

[@typhoon2827]

I always think of this as the M6 but with a big identity crisis. A bit like your unmarried uncle who has been M6 for most of his life but got to his mid forties and started getting a bit glam (A74M) then comes out as your new post-op Aunty M74, if you see what I mean.

[@leeriddick7]

I drive part of this on my commute 5 days a week. I was wondering when you’d cover some Scottish motorways. Looking forward to you covering the M8 and M77.

[@simpleminded1uk]

From what we see at 5.40, those might be the same video!

[@JonBowe]

How the M74 has changed since my 1st journey up that way in 1991, with no such thing as a Sat Nav, or mobile phone, going too and from Inverness. Spent 11 years on and off navigating the M80, M73, M74, and remember the roundabouts on what is now the M80.

[@AndyHullMcPenguin]

The M80 is a complete patchwork of cobbled together bits and bobs. It probably took the best part of thirty years to complete. I drive all of these roads regularly, and used to be based in sunny Coatbridge, which was great for access to all of the major roads of the central belt. Now I'm based just off the A9 which I believe is finally going to be upgraded to full dual carriage way standard somewhere round the year 2099 (or just after the earth melts into the sun. One or the other, I'm not sure which).

[@marktickner7160]

That car must be clocking up a bit. 😂

[@VeroniaStudios]

I'm a yank that's been watching all your vids for a few months and I still have absolutely no idea how your road system is actually supposed to work but I know I'm never trying to drive on it.

[@VeroniaStudios]

inb4: Americas isn't better by any means. We're stroad hell everywhere. But at least it's predictable. o.O

[@KidarWolf]

@@VeroniaStudios Oh yeah, stroads for days, but I will say the US Interstate network is robust and logical, and actually makes it easy to navigate most of a journey without even needing GPS, road atlas, or a map/compass to do so.

[@Gordanovich02]

It's not so bad once you have a little experience, but even as a native I've found myself increasingly using GPS. One problem is that we have a lot of new or enlarged roads rammed into places they were never originally intended for, and it can mean lots of off-ramps very close together. Believe it or not the planned urban motorway network in and around Glasgow was heavily influenced by studying Los Angeles. Where of course there are never any tailbacks..........

[@thesloaneranger1]

Back in the day, I spun my mk2 Ford Orion on the infamous loop at the Maryville Interchange...... never have I needed clean pants more! lol! The M74 extension was badly needed, as the Kingston Bridge just couldnt cope with traffic and Townhead was a bottleneck at the best of times. Removing a lot of traffic that was wanting to head south helped cut journey times by a fair chunk. I hope you enjoy your trip to Scotland - Im sure Ill spot you checking out the M898 :)

[@ronniel5941]

The sides of the approach embankment to the “temporary “ bridge at that loop were so steep that it had to be constructed of layers of lean concrete, designed by, er, me, and intended to be relatively easy to remove. Had reinforced earth technology been around at the time, it would probably have been used instead.

[@DerekHarkness]

The map of all the possible planned motorways and trunk roads in Glasgow seems to be using a lot of old railway alinements. For example, the route to the west of Paisley that then curves around the south of the town to head towards Barrhead and Giffnock is an abandoned rail line. I used to play on it as a kid. The A road from the centre of Paisley heading east appears to be the canal line that was disused when I was a baby but reopened for passenger trains when I was a teenager.

[@mtgcardzandreview2756]

Some bricked up those doors and windows in the tower at the end.

[@darthhideous3623]

Could have played the Rab C Nesbitt theme, but thought the better of it..."Shee uuu! Shtick urr em shix ap urr jaaz drrum an geba ta eatn crrompets, ya wee £@%$#*?!" 😂

[@garyneilson1833]

I used to drive down the M74/A74 to visit my brother in Dumfrieshire a lot and remember these extensions to the M74 being built

[@acciid]

Me too, although I was a kid at the time. I remember them doing a bit about it going past Lesmahagow on Blue Peter.

[@AlpakaWhacker]

5:41 The road on the right is the M8, not M77

[@creepingjesus5106]

Totally agree about the A725 - it should link M8, M74 and M77 better than it does. Coming from the east, and not necessarily having to go through Glasgow (say heading down south, or down to Stranraer for the ferry) it would be a winner. Same for something better than the A701 from Abington to Edinburgh.

[@WeAreThePeople1690]

The road from Larkhall towards Ayr is the shortcut going to Stranraer. But aye the southern motorway on that pic should have definitely been built, even if it was to bypass a lot of traffic from going though Glasgow that would have made sense. That EK expressway is rotten. That wouldn't be a problem if it existed.

[@Tsurnari]

@5:43 You've got the M74 marked correctly but you marked the A8 as the M77. The M77 is on the southside of Glasgow.

[@paulalexander8874]

Think it's supposed to be M73 as its on the line of the current A73 and that already has loads of areas that were originally planned to be motorway... but it never got done. They've only recently raised the railway bridge every double decker lorry would hit while trying to avoid the Raith interchange 😂

[@AutoShenanigans]

Yeah messed that one up a bit.

[@graemeorr3859]

Been a regular traveller on this route since the 1960's and remember well its many iterations. See if you can spot 'the bells' a string of bells at a farm railway crossing to alert any over height farm traffic about the overhead wires. About a mile or so north of the Beattock depot where the railway is very close to the road. Once we get there we know we have about another hour to get to our relatives.

[@jimdieseldawg3435]

Ah yes, the A74 section that one basically fell off the M6 onto; dual-carriageway and one frick of a bottleneck. Straight from cruising at motorway speeds to having agricultural vehicles (usually Ford TWs with hyawge twin-axle trailers) popping out from the curly sliproadettes to run at 37mph. Despite being a closet greenie I did welcome the direct M6 to M74 transition when it happened to eventually be built, and the old road is now a scenic bucolic alternative to dicing with reps in S-line A4s and M-sport (yeah, course Gavin) 318i’s. Nice.

[@Woody93185]

Also really looking forward to your take on the M876 motorway.. oh and I’ll be very disappointed if you don’t do a full episode on the M898 lol 😂

[@AutoShenanigans]

Yes I'm still undecided on what to do with the M898. It needs a video, but... yeah how crap will that be.

[@LB1973]

@@AutoShenanigans there is a good video on here somewhere of the Erskine bridge being built which could be mentioned. as well as the oil rig hitting it. Then there was the old toll booths at the end of the M898 which looked like reliant robins :P and umm they have done some rebuilding on the junction with the M8 yeah that one is gonna be hard

[@hoffwell]

Don't know if is deliberate, or you were just feeling tired but I am appreciating the slightly slower delivery in this video, helps my small brain absorb the facts more easily. You don't need to gabble, you've plenty of good stuff to say. Thanks as always.

[@timbounds7190]

Are you going to do the A74M? There seem a few oddities even I've spotted....eg at J15, there is a mile gap between the Southbound off and on slips, and at the very southern end (J45 of the M6, the Northbound entry slip and Southbound exit slip roads exist - but aren't accessible, which is very strange!

[@dangerousandy]

Junction 5 is a bloody nightmare. I tend to avoid the M74 and use the M77 and A726 to travel to/from work

[@euanmoo]

Meet someone from Lanarkshire. say the words "Raith Interchange" and observe the look of fear/confusion/anger on their face.

[@dxg999]

@@euanmoo I use to commute Blantyre to Edinburgh five days a week. I used to leave the house at 6:30am to avoid the worst of it. *Shudder*

[@WeAreThePeople1690]

​@@euanmoo the Raith as its called on snyde1 😂

[@johnm5092]

It’s not that bad really. It’s when people get impatient and block the roundabout for the now green lights because they were too impatient to wait 20 feet further back for another cycle of red lights

[@BkSMedia]

Yesss, Jon is now in home country! Looking forward to the M8 and M9 episodes, you're gonna have a blast with those 🤣

[@HighlandMike325]

The M898 the video could be shorter than the advert

[@defender1006]

Just loved the use of the 'Taggert' theme at the end, very fitting!

[@MrGreatplum]

That is the most convoluted set of motorway junctions ever.

[@BigSmartQuiz]

Oooooh, new intro music! Excitement :)

[@MrMistoffelees]

I hate to think how many times I've crossed J6 without noticing how elaborate the slip roads are. The need for a link from there to the M8 was negated by the existing link from J5 which functioned perfectly well until traffic levels jumped around the turn of the century. The increase in commuter traffic was another unforeseen consequence of the closure of the west of Scotland's heavy industry.

[@Woody93185]

I fricking love this motorway.. my memory of it is that is was a very crisp shiny new looking motorway. Then the second it becomes the M6 over the border it looks like an absolute dump lol

[@toxictony4230]

Hell, you stole my thunder with the M6 bit and the extension into Scotland.

[@ulazygit]

Although I’ve never driven on the M74, I have been driven on it, for a short distance where it splits at the M77/M8 today … was a long time ago and remember very little - so this video was like watching a Motorway I’ve never visited! Splendid!

[@ubergeekian]

At the time it was said that there were political issues with having an "English" motorway (the M6) in Scotland, hence the cobbled together A74(M)/M74 business. The obvious answer would have been to use the missing M7 designation since England has the A1-A6 and M1 - M6 and Scotland has the A7-A9 but only the M8 and M9.

[@HighlandMike325]

Would have but there are rules up here that a motorway gets the number of the road that it is relieving/replacing. Hence the weird M898. So the M7 would be a Carlisle to Edinburgh route.

[@jdp]

Ooh, nice dronie at the end, one of your best yet!

[@AutoShenanigans]

The building lent itself well to the shot I think.

[@David_Crayford]

91.9K Nearly there! Silver button being pressed as we speak.

[@markyoung2059]

Taggart! ❤ Love it you're in my neck of the woods now. Junctions 5 & 6 for Hamilton... Great video!

[@rorysandison7954]

Love the Taggart theme at the end!

[@Cadcare]

I'm becoming dyslexic in anticipation for your video on the A47 Norwich Bypass. Alan.

[@Singlej13]

The bridge at Lesmahagow over the river Nethan sags slightly. The engineers apparently didn’t allow for the weight of the tarmac, etc when they put the steel in. Or so I was told when I worked on the 10 mile extension south from Blackwood in the mid 1980s. 5 miles of that stretch was built as continuous concrete pavement (no longer there) and cost £1m per mile. Couldn’t build a footpath for that now! It was really interesting to watch the train that laid the concrete in action. A very slick operation. Just a shame the carriageway made such a racket when you drove along it.

[@garrymcdonald1288]

No mention of the archaeological work done on the final M74 stretch to join the M8 The ski jump ramps that were originally built to link with the inner ring south loop The council landfill site north of J3-J3A/4, why the area actually stinks The old site of Calderpark Zoo at J4 How many times the M74 crosses the Clyde? It's a lot more than you think! Loads of things he could have mentioned

[@brimstone260]

Great that M6 motorway, especially the bit that runs from Carlisle to Glasgie.

[@egpx]

Although the upgraded A74 south of Douglas is officially the A74(M) anyone I speak to about simply calls it the M74. The original plan was indeed for it to become an extension of the M6. I remember when it was being built in the 90s that there were signs up for M6 Construction Traffic. However nationalism apparently got in the way and the Scots stated that they didn’t want an English motorway and the existing M6 south of the border could just as easily be renamed the M74. That is true of course but a bit petty IMO. So M6 was dropped and the overly wordy A74(M) used instead. Arguably, the A74(M) is more of a motorway than the M74. It’s a six lane road for a start, much of the M74 is only four lanes. Heading North, you enjoy a relatively empty six lane A74(M) and as soon as you approach civilisation and the inevitable increase in traffic, you find yourself on a barely adequate four lane M74. All of which has got little to do with this video as the M74 still starts or ends near Douglas and I’m hoping there will be an A74(M) episode soon.

[@WeAreThePeople1690]

Yeah and the lights stop after Hamilton. Always found that a bit strange the way they just end there.

[@bobbyclark6116]

Nothing to do with nationalism. Scottish rules state a motorway has to be numbered the same as the A road it's replacing, hence it can't be either M6 or M7 as neither is the Carlisle to Glasgow Road.

[@mikecawood]

An excellent informative video as usual.

[@yoowan3437]

im from glasgow and yes more motorways please

[@PipiGlue]

yes i had a good week ty !

[@AutoShenanigans]

That's what I'm talkin' about!

[@andybarker3943]

Hope you go off topic and cover the remains of the A74 and all the different roads it has become.

[@comedyhunter]

You always ask if Ive had a good week and I start to tell you but its like your not listening at all 🤣🤣

[@scottishcarenthusiastsandtrain]

Another fascinating video Jon, only really know the M74/A74M from Junction 13 heading south so nice to learn more about the Glasgow Bound section.

[@kgbgb3663]

John, when you do the A74(M) (if you haven't got it in the can already), have a look at Glasgow Road, Gretna Green. In the middle of the village, 100 yards west of the anvil, there's a road junction with one arm labelled "GLASGOW EDINBURG" in black on a white background, with a blue patch saying "(A74(M))". So that's a local road leading to where you can access the motorway if you want to, right? WRONG! In effect, it is itself the motorway slip-road, but not yet under motorway regs! To add to the confusion, the road is clearly not one-way. What they don't tell you is that the other direction of traffic (and the lack of motorway regulations) is only provided so that a local farmer can get back from a small field of his without going onto the motorway. Once you go past the gate to that field, the road becomes one-way (I assume, though there is nothing to indicate it!) and you are committed to joining the motorway. There is a blue sign announcing "A74(M)" within view of the gate, but not close enough to it to warn non-motorway traffic that the gate and a tiny lay-by opposite it are their last chance to do a 3-point turn to avoid breaking the law. The only good thing about the arrangement is that any non-motorway traffic fooled into breaking the law only has to do so for a couple of hundred yards, as they can re-join the local road network by coming off at Gretna Services.

[@markopolo-1]

You should come look at the A8/M8 running alongside Coatbridge, used to be pretty simple, A8 ran alongside Coatbridge and there were no real dramas, then they decided to make a whole load of changes which meant the main M8 would no longer come onto the A8 but instead they created a new road where the M8 would then run straight through, no longer goes onto the A8. Great idea in principle, but they left the A8 high and dry along with Coatbridge. Before, you could easily get in and out of Coatbridge using the A8 as it joined into the M8, now coming into Coatbridge from the East you have to come off some few miles beforehand and negotiate a road running parallel with the new M8, hitting roundabouts and confusing lane changes, coming West you have to come off earlier than you would normally too and drive through residential streets and pretty much all the way through Coatbridge to get to the other end (as opposed to having came off at the normal junction before which you now cannot). It's improved nothing, on paper it might looks great but in reality it's a joke.

[@caf407]

The abandoned buildings were part of Jimmy Wilsons farm, he built them as follys for his kids and the way they look now was exactly as intended. Rumour has it that he rode up and down the M74 in his horse and cart to protest it being built through his farm.

[@xr6lad]

@ 7:54. It s the futur of motoring they said. Not one of the regular EV (8) chargers is being used and only 2 of the Tesla. Meanwhile every one of those ICEs in the carpark could be filled from empty by the adjacent petrol station by 8 fuel pumps in 39 minutes for the entire car park. Lol.

[@nathanthomas8222]

Wicked, sweet, awesome!

[@AutoShenanigans]

Cheers mate

[@nathanthomas8222]

@@AutoShenanigans 👍🏻

[@gordon1545]

The best thing about the northern extension of the M74 to the south end of the Kingston Bridge is that it paves the way to close the M8 through the centre of Glasgow. This is an idea that has been growing for a long time and has finally reached the mainstream. The economic, social and environmental benefits around the north and west of the city centre would be huge, but it probably wouldn't be feasible if the M8 and the M74 weren't connected south of the river.

[@Ozbert]

Ha-ha-ha 😂 ending on the Taggart theme tune. Good one John

[@bigpete2378]

Taggart theme tune…wicked sweet awesome😁👍

[@joeweston3252]

Thanks

[@aftergrowth]

excellent use of the MGS sound clip

[@womblemessiah]

Commuted past that abandoned building at j3 for 3 years and wondered what the heck it was, thanks for showing it up close. Looking forward to the M8..... planned as Scotland's only freeway with on and off ramps on the overtaking lanes, ghost slips, and of course the General Accident building.....👍👍

[@frxserw]

Was hoping this would be part 3 of the m6 but I love all of these weirdly 😂

[@QuarrybankSecretary]

It was a kinda part 3 of the M6 as during construction and for a while afterwards it was indeed the (Scots) M6 but as convention meant all roads in Scotland have a 7 designation the M6 was curtailed at the border 🤷‍♂️

[@TheRip72]

Jon did say in part 2 that he would take a break from the M6, but the M74 is an extension of the M6...sort of.

[@sh4dowchas3r]

It's a secret slip road to a part 3.

[@frxserw]

@@QuarrybankSecretary I sometimes drive the m6 that goes past the Lake District and thought it’d be that but yes I know the m74 is sort of a part of the m6

[@frxserw]

@@TheRip72 it is sort of will have to wait for the actual part three in while then

[@fredyellowsnow7492]

I used to work in Clydebridge steelworks in the early 70s. That shot of the rolling mill is so evocative of a lot of pics I shot inside the works.

[@googa319]

Nice drone shot of castle dangerous in Douglas at the end.

[@Churchill250267]

Nearly up to 100k subscribers! Great effort!

[@AutoShenanigans]

It's amazing and I never thought it would get this far. 100K video in the works :D

[@trevorsidley7697]

Nice work Jon. The ouror music reminds me that Taggart (there's bin a muuurdah) is available on the STV Streaming channel - rather fun to watch with dedicated Sots Ads.

[@andyandrew1257]

I’m sure the roadwork signs used to say “A74 upgrade to M6” or something like that… I drove the road often during that period, and did wonder relatively recently what happened with the name change.

[@aetch77]

I think politics blocked it.

[@TerrenceIII]

Johhnnyy!!!!!!!! you crazy son of a b****!!!!! you did it again!!! GOOD STUFF!!!!!!

[@auldfouter8661]

Sad to think that Westburn , Cambuslang was a well known farm in the history of the Ayrshire dairy cattle breed , under the Montgomerie family who also had Lessnessock, Ochiltree.

[@ProLGL]

I’ve been subbed to you since like 5k and wow has your channel taken off! Keep on rockin man, great content as always!

[@AutoShenanigans]

Thanks for sticking around.

[@kieranbeecroft8414]

Love the bagpipe intro