A82 road
The A82 is a major road in Scotland that runs from Glasgow to Inverness via Fort William. It is one of the principal north-south routes in Scotland and is mostly a trunk road managed by Transport Scotland, who view it as an important link from the Central Belt to the Scottish Highlands and beyond. The road passes close to numerous landmarks, including Loch Lomond, Rannoch Moor, Glen Coe, the Ballachulish Bridge, Ben Nevis, the Commando Memorial, Loch Ness, and Urquhart Castle. Along with the A9 and the A90 it is one of the three major north–south trunk roads connecting the Central Belt to the North.
The route is derived in several places from the military roads constructed through the Highlands by General George Wade and Major William Caulfeild in the 18th century, along with later roads constructed by Thomas Telford in the 19th. The modern route is based on that designed by Telford, but with a number of improvements primarily dating from the 1920s and 30s. These include a diversion across Rannoch Moor, and another around Loch Leven which was subsequently replaced by the Ballachulish Bridge.
Several travel guides have praised individual parts of the road, such as the section from Tyndrum to Glencoe across Rannoch Moor, as providing memorable driving experiences. Tourists find the A82 a popular route because of its scenery, and it serves as a main artery for commercial and heavy goods traffic. Transport Scotland have publicly declared a commitment to improve congestion and safety along the road. Some sections are occasionally closed for maintenance, which has resulted in strong protest from the local community, and the road has been criticised for its poor accident record.
Route
At, the A82 is the second longest A-road in Scotland, after the A9, and has been described as the "slower but more scenic route" of the two. Initial sections of the road were built by General George Wade from 1724 onwards, though much of the current route was constructed by Thomas Telford in the 19th century.The A82 was one of the first trunk roads, which were created in 1936, and has historically been described in official government documentation as 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 section from Glasgow to the Dalnottar Interchange with the A898 was detrunked. The main length of the A82, as managed by Transport Scotland, is now described in statutory instruments and orders as the "Dalnottar – Inverness Trunk Road". From Glasgow to Dalnottar, the route is now the responsibility of Glasgow City Council and West Dunbartonshire Council in their respective areas.
The A82 runs through some of the Gaelic-speaking areas in Scotland, known as the Gàidhealtachd. In 2003, the Scottish Government announced that it would install bilingual signs on a number of trunk roads, including the A82 from Tarbet to Inverness. Transport Minister Lewis Macdonald hoped that the signs would improve the tourism experience in the Highlands, as well as improve awareness of Scottish Gaelic.
St George's Cross – Alexandria
The A82 begins in the St George's Cross area of central Glasgow, at a junction with the M8 and the A804. From here, it heads in a northwest direction along the Great Western Road for towards Anniesland Cross and passes a number of the city's terraces, including Alexander "Greek" Thomson's Great Western Terrace, constructed in 1867, and Devonshire Terrace before widening to dual carriageway at Kelvinside. The road here was originally built as a turnpike road in 1816 and widened to its current state in the early 1970s. All the trees along the route were preserved owing to environmental concerns. The Great Western Road has been described by Tam Galbraith as "the most noble entry to any city in Europe."The road continues beyond Anniesland Cross as an extension of the Great Western Road, which was constructed between 1922 and 1924, making it easier to widen to dual carriageway in the 1970s than the earlier 19th century section. It approaches a freeflow junction with the A898 from Erskine Bridge and becomes a high quality dual carriageway route through Dumbarton before running to the west of Alexandria and Bonhill on a bypass constructed in the late 1960s. This dual carriageway ends at the Balloch Roundabout near the western shore of Loch Lomond, where the road enters the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.
Alexandria – Crianlarich
The A82 follows the Luss Road along the western shores of the loch, through Arden to Luss. Toward Crianlarich, it follows the general route of the Old Military Road that runs along the shoreline in several places, but it generally keeps some distance to the west. Much of this section of the road was widened to a high quality single carriageway standard over the 1980s, at an estimated cost of £24 million,while Luss itself is now bypassed to the west of the village along a single carriageway bypass constructed between 1990 and 1992.
At Tarbet, the A83 branches west to Campbeltown while the A82 continues to the north end of the loch. This part of the road is currently of a lower standard than the sections further south. It is sandwiched between the shoreline of the loch and the mountains to the west, and it runs generally alongside the West Highland Line. The road narrows to less than in places and causes significant problems for heavy goods vehicles, which have to negotiate tight bends and the narrow carriageway width. At Pulpit rock, the road was single-track, with traffic flow controlled by traffic lights for over 30 years. The road was widened in 2015 as part of a £9 million improvement programme, including a new viaduct bringing the carriageway width to modern standards.
The north end of the loch is at Ardlui, after which the A82 continues to follow the Highland Line along Glen Falloch, a typical glacial valley, towards Crianlarich. The road runs to the west of Crianlarich village itself on a bypass completed in 2015.
Crianlarich – Glencoe
The A82 and A85 share the same route for between Crianlarich and Tyndrum. Although Crianlarich has a larger community, Tyndrum is equally well catered for motorists, particularly HGV drivers, and contains the Real Food Cafe, a transport cafe that stays open until 10 p.m. The cafe caters not only to motorists but also to walkers along the West Highland Way.The A82 enters bleak moorland at the western fringes of Rannoch Moor, to the north of Tyndrum. The road climbs across the moor and reaches a peak height of near Beinn Chaorach, the highest overall point on the A82. It meets the old Military Road near the Kingshouse Hotel next to the River Etive, and the road turns westward past Buachaille Etive Mòr down Glen Coe towards Glencoe village. This section of the A82 has been said to contain some of the most spectacular scenery in Scotland. The Guardians Simon Warren described it as "the most beautiful and spectacular location in the whole of Britain", though recent concern has been raised over the proliferation of tourist traffic. Coaches and HGVs in particular have caused significant problems with congestion. The road descends the Pass of Glen Coe and crosses the scenic waterfalls at the Meeting of the Three Waters. This section was the location for several outdoor shots in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, including the "Gorge of Eternal Peril" scene. Near the waterfalls is a footpath up to Coire Gabhall, the "lost valley" of Glencoe, where the Clan Donald hid stolen cattle.
The modern A82 splits from Telford's route just before the Clachaig Inn, a popular location for tourists due to its proximity to the site of the Massacre of Glencoe, as noted by a sign in the reception that reads, "No hawkers or Campbells". The A82 runs to the west of the River Coe and passes the modern visitors' centre before Glencoe village itself.
Glencoe – Fort William
The A82 continues along the south shore of Loch Leven beyond Glencoe and bypasses Ballachulish to cross the mouth of the loch via the Ballachulish Bridge. This bridge had been proposed since the mid-1960s, and construction began in late 1972 at an estimated cost of £2m. An arch bridge had been the suggested design, but an asymmetrical N-truss bridge was built instead. A bearing failure on one of the supports caused delays while the rest of the structure was examined to confirm its safety, and it eventually opened in December 1975. It contains individual spans of, and from south to north.At a roundabout, prior to the rise towards the bridge, the A828 continues south around the coast towards Connel and Oban. Just behind and to the left of the A82, as it commences to cross the bridge, is a monument to the Appin Murder that reads, "Erected in 1911 to the memory of James Stewart of Acharn, or James of the Glen, executed on this spot Nov. 8, 1752, for a crime of which he was not guilty."
After passing through North Ballachulish and Onich the A82 turns to run northward along the Great Glen, which it continues to do for the remainder of the route up to Inverness. It passes the A861 to the Corran Ferry over to Ardnamurchan in the west. The road here, as it was previously along Loch Lomond, is tightly situated between Loch Linnhe and the mountains up to Fort William, which is located about from the Corran narrows. Various hotels and bed and breakfasts are situated along the road approaching Fort William, indicating the area's esteem of tourism.
The route of the old military road rejoins the route of the modern A82, at the West End roundabout, just before the High Street in the town centre. The road follows a brief dual carriageway bypass along the shoreline of the loch before passing the modern station. A branch road runs east through Glen Nevis to Ben Nevis, while the A82 turns to cross the River Nevis. To the north of town the A830 "Road to the Isles" runs west to Glenfinnan and Mallaig.