Route
The A82 begins in the St. Georges Cross area of central Glasgow, at junctions with the M8 and the A804 (NS582663), before threading through the city's West End. Glasgow's "Boulevard" (known officially as Great Western Road), is also this urban section of the A82, passing a number of the city's finest terraces, including Alexander "Greek" Thomson's Great Western Terrace, and Devonshire Gardens. 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 (NN319044), the A83 branches off west to Campbeltown.
From Tarbet, the A82 then leads through Crianlarich and Tyndrum. From Crianlarich (NN384253) and Tyndrum (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 of 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 (NH673467).
The A82 North of Tyndrum and 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 though other research publicised in 2011 disputes this.
The Tarbert to Tyndrum stretch of the A82 follows the edge of Loch Lomond, frequently narrowing and including a number of hairpin bends. The road is squeezed between the railway line and the loch, with hill sides rising steeply, posing challenges to any road improvement plans.
In 2012, Pulpit Rock viaduct has been approved & it will begin in Spring 2013 & complete in 2014.
Read more about this topic: A82 Road
Famous quotes containing the word route:
“no arranged terror: no forcing of image, plan,
or thought:
no propaganda, no humbling of reality to precept:
terror pervades but is not arranged, all possibilities
of escape open: no route shut,”
—Archie Randolph Ammons (b. 1926)
“A Route of Evanescence
With a revolving Wheel—”
—Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)
“A route differs from a road not only because it is solely intended for vehicles, but also because it is merely a line that connects one point with another. A route has no meaning in itself; its meaning derives entirely from the two points that it connects. A road is a tribute to space. Every stretch of road has meaning in itself and invites us to stop. A route is the triumphant devaluation of space, which thanks to it has been reduced to a mere obstacle to human movement and a waste of time.”
—Milan Kundera (b. 1929)