Firstly, the M74 and A74(M) are infact the same road - the northern (older) part is known as the M74, whereas the newer southern section, completed in the 1990s, is the A74(M). The road begins at Gretna in southern Scotland, terminating off the A74 ( which is now just the Carlisle - Gretna road, but the A74 was formerly the Carlisle - Glasgow road). The motorway currently finishes abrubtly in the southern suburbs of Glasgow. However, plans are afoot to extend the M74 to join the M8 near the M77 junction.
After the M6 extension, which should be complete within the next decade, there will be continuous motorway from Glasgow to the M1 at Rugby; the M74 and A74(M) may be renamed the M6 - this is not that likely though, as the motorway is Scotland's longest, and has an identity of its own.
The motorway passes several of the principle population concentrations of Scotland: Glasgow, Hamilton and Motherwell.
|
