A82 road

The A82 is a trunk road in Scotland, and is the principal route from Lowland Scotland to the western Scottish Highlands, running from Glasgow to Inverness. It is also the second longest primary A-road in Scotland after the A9.

Route

The A82 begins in the St. Georges Cross area of central Glasgow, at junctions with the M8 and the A804 (gbmappingsmall|NS582663), before threading through the city's West End. Glasgow's "Boulevard" (known offically as Great Western Road), is also this urban section of the A82. The road runs northwest through the city, through Kelvinside, Anniesland, Blairdardie, Clydebank and Dumbarton, before turning north to head up the western shore of Loch Lomond. At Tarbet, Argyll and Bute (gbmappingsmall|NN319044), the A83 branches off west to Campbeltown.

From Tarbet, the A82 then leads through Crianlarich and Tyndrum. From Crianlarich (gbmappingsmall|NN384253) and Tyndrum (gbmappingsmall|NN325307), respectively, the A85 runs east to Perth and west to Oban.

The A82 continues north and passes the western fringes of Rannoch Moor and through the spectacular Glen Coe. The road then crosses Loch Leven and runs along the side Loch Linnhe to Fort William. From Fort William it follows the line of the Great Glen (through which the Caledonian Canal also runs) northeast through Fort Augustus and up the western shore of Loch Ness before ending at junctions with the A9 in Inverness (gbmappingsmall|NH673467).

The A82 over Rannoch Moor was built in the 1930s using unemployed labour, in an attempt to provide work.

Some statistics seem to indicate that the A82 between Tarbet and Tyndrum is the third most dangerous road in Scotland. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1824466.stm "Danger road report 'misleading'", BBC News, 18 February 2002, accessed 3 September 2008] ] [ [http://www.eurorap.org/road_lookup?search=y&map_type=risk&country=GB&road=a82 A82 assessment, European Road Assessment Programme website, accessed 3 September 2008] ] While the high level of accidents on some roads is open to debate, the cause on this stretch of the A82 is fairly evident. The road follows the edge of Loch Lomond and is frequently narrow with many hairpin bends. Drivers unfamiliar with the road often do not realise that they cannot share these bends with any vehicle larger than their own. Because this is a major tourist route, there is no shortage of drivers unfamiliar with the road, and large vehicles such as coaches to share it with. Unfortunately, the road is squeezed between railway and loch, with hill sides rising steeply. Any improvement of the road will therefore be costly, and meet with objections on environmental grounds.Fact|date=February 2007

References

External links

* [http://www.road-to-nowhere.co.uk/route-guides/A82.htm Road to Nowhere: A82]
* [http://www.a82.org/ The A82 Partnership TAP "Demand an A82 Upgrade"]
* [http://www.eurorap.org/road_lookup?search=y&map_type=risk&country=GB&road=a82 EuroRAP Road Lookup]