The former A74, now B7076, with the Caledonian Railway crossing overhead via the Harthope Viaduct, on the West Coast Main Line in Dumfries and Galloway. One half of the former dual carriageway has been removed.
The A74, also known historically as the Glasgow to Carlisle Road, is a formerly major road in the United Kingdom, linking Glasgow in Scotland to Carlisle in North West England, passing through Clydesdale, Annandale and the Southern Uplands. It formed part of the longer route between Glasgow and London. A road has existed in this area since Roman Britain, and it was considered one of the most important roads in Scotland, being used as a regular mail service route.
The road received a substantial upgrade in the early 19th century under the direction of Thomas Telford, who made significant engineering improvements, including a new route over the Beattock Summit and the Metal Bridge just in England just south of the border. Engineering improvements continued throughout the century and into the 20th, and it became one of the first trunk roads in Britain in 1936. From the 1960s the road started to be replaced by a parallel motorway, largely designated the M74.[1] The last remaining section of all-purpose road on Telford's original alignment, the so-called "Cumberland Gap" between Carlisle and Metal Bridge, was replaced by a motorway in 2008 after years of delays due to a breakdown in discussions between the Westminster and Scottish governments. Currently the A74 is a suburban route of local importance that links the Gorbals and Broomhouse districts of Glasgow, via neighbourhoods in the city's East End.
The road was infamous for its allegedly high accident rate, being dubbed a "killer road", which exacerbated the need to provide an alternative motorway route. Several high-profile accidents occurred, most notoriously the debris of Pan Am Flight 103 in December 1988, which partially fell on the road near Lockerbie and caused several fatalities.
^M74 | Glasgow to Gretna, Glasgow Motorway Archive, March 2021
The A74, also known historically as the Glasgow to Carlisle Road, is a formerly major road in the United Kingdom, linking Glasgow in Scotland to Carlisle...
A74 or A-74 may refer to: A74road, a major road in the United Kingdom A74(M) and M74 motorways, another road in the United Kingdom that largely replaced...
was historically served by the A74road and the West Coast Main Line, however the road has since been upgraded to the A74(M) motorway and no longer passes...
The A75 is a primary trunk road in Scotland, linking Stranraer and its ferry ports at Cairnryan with the A74(M) at Gretna, close to the border with England...
of the motorway there were services on the old A74road there, one to serve each direction of the road. As with most of Annandale, the area is largely...
meets the A8 and A74, and converges with the other branch near Toryglen Park in Polmadie. Both branches continue along the same road south towards King's...
on April 13, 2023 Outside built-up areas, warning signs, except A18, A35, A74, A75 and A92, are usually placed from 150m to 250m before the danger. If...
Lockerbie. Before the opening of the Motorway service station, the old A74road was adjacent to the loch and farmland. The services were opened at Easter...
List of A roads in the zone 7 in Great Britain starting north of the Solway Firth/Eden Estuary, west of the A7 and south of the A8 (roads beginning with...
The A66 is a major road in Northern England, which in part follows the course of the Roman road from Scotch Corner to Penrith. It runs from east of Middlesbrough...
distance examples of this are the A1(M) in England, and the A74(M) in Scotland. It is possible for roads to be "de-trunked" – for example, when superseded by...
B roads are numbered routes in Great Britain of lesser importance than A roads. See the article Great Britain road numbering scheme for the rationale behind...
The A35 is a major road in southern England, connecting Honiton in Devon and Southampton in Hampshire. It is a trunk road for some of its length. Most...
The A303 is a trunk road in southern England, running between Basingstoke in Hampshire and Honiton in Devon via Stonehenge. Connecting the M3 and the A30...
The A34 is a major road in England. It runs from the A33 and M3 at Winchester in Hampshire, to the A6 and A6042 in Salford, close to Manchester City Centre...
The A31 is a major trunk road in southern England that runs from Guildford in Surrey to Bere Regis in Dorset. Its most well known section is the Hog's...
Junction 45 near Gretna. Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74(M) which continues to Glasgow as the M74. Its busiest sections are between...
The A701 is a major road in Scotland that runs from Dumfries to Edinburgh. The A701 leaves Dumfries and travels north to meet the A74(M) east of Beattock...
The A41 is a trunk road between London and Birkenhead, England. Now in parts replaced by motorways, it passes through or near Watford, Kings Langley, Hemel...
The A30 is a major road in England, running 284 miles (457 km) WSW from London to Land's End. The road has been a principal axis in Britain from the 17th...
part of the "London – Carlisle – Glasgow – Inverness Trunk Road" in which the A6 and A74 made up the rest of the route. On 1 April 1996, however, the...
Global Information
A8 
A728 at Gorbals, Glasgow
M74
A721 at Broomhouse, Glasgow
