The project will see ten kilometres of online widening and eight kilometres of offline new motorway between Stepps and Haggs. The scheme is currently being designed by 65 professionals working from Grontmij’s Glasgow and Edinburgh offices. Road construction will begin immediately and the motorway will be fully opened in 2011.

Alleviating congestion on well-known bottleneck

Grontmij is the lead designer on the project for Highways Management (Scotland) Ltd.; a consortium of Bilfinger Berger / Graham Construction and Farran’s Construction. The scheme is a Transport Scotland Commission to build and maintain the motorway under a 30 year concession agreement.

The project, which has a construction value of approximately £260 million, will complete the strategic road network between the M73, the M80 and M876. This includes the Mollinsburn Interchange upgrade with the M73, which is a well-known bottleneck for commuter traffic into Glasgow. The upgrade will ease congestion in the area, ensuring smoother flow and quality road surface for the high volume of traffic.

Challenges and constraints

Alasdair Fowler, operations director at Grontmij said, “This challenging project takes into consideration a number of constraints in the Stepps to Haggs area including poor existing road alignment and difficult ground conditions. These improvements will significantly ease the pressure on these roads and benefit the local community. The route is the busiest road corridor in Scotland and we are proud to be taking a lead role on such a major scheme.”