
01Section
The M8, the Kingston Bridge and getting into the city
Everything hinges on the Kingston Bridge. Traffic from the M74 and the south, the M8 from the west and the M77 from Ayrshire all converge on it, and when it slows there is no truly good alternative. The Clydeside Expressway relieves the western approach; the Broomielaw and the Squinty Bridge help locally, and little else does.
Charing Cross, junctions 18 and 19, is the other place worth respecting. It is where the motorway meets the city and where a five-minute margin can disappear. Departure times for morning appointments are set with that in mind.
Because the motorway is central, the drive from many outer districts is genuinely quick. Bearsden, Newton Mearns and Paisley are all inside half an hour off-peak, which makes Glasgow easier to work from than its size suggests.
- Kingston Bridge treated as the governing constraint on timing
- Clydeside Expressway used for western approaches where it helps
- Departure set from the appointment, not from the postcode distance









