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| Route information | ||||
| Length | 37.9 mi[1] (61.0 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  A702 near Abington55°31′08″N 3°41′08″W / 55.5190°N 3.6856°W | |||
  M8 / A8 near Chapelhall | ||||
| North end |  M80 in Cumbernauld55°56′37″N 4°00′49″W / 55.9435°N 4.0136°W | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United Kingdom | |||
| Constituent country | Scotland | |||
| Council areas | South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire | |||
| Road network | ||||
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The A73 is a former trunk route in Scotland, that connects the M74 at Abington, Jct. 13 to the M80 motorway at Cumbernauld. Running for approximately 37 miles (60 km), it passes through the towns of Lanark, Carluke, Newmains, Chapelhall and Airdrie. Formerly a main route connecting the north of Scotland to England it has less importance these days, and is now merely a local feeder to the two motorways with which it connects.
The sections between Abington & Carluke and Cumbernauld & Newhouse were the first sections to be downgraded from a trunk route to a secondary route, following the construction of the shorter M73 further west, which connected the M74 at Jct. 4. This motorway removed the need for vehicles from the north to use the A73 to reach England.
Following this downgrading, the remaining section of A73 between Carluke and Newhouse remained a trunk route for vehicles travelling between Glasgow and Peebles. For this reason, two new sections of dual carriageway were built between Bellside & Newmains and Bogside & Law, as well as a new bypass for the town centre of Carluke, where the trunk route continues as the A721.
Eventually though, the M74 was completed and it became easier for vehicles travelling from Peebles to Glasgow, to use the A702 trunk route instead, which also joins the M74 at Abington.
For this reason, the entire length of the A73 was downgraded to a secondary route, although it is still heavily trafficked, especially between Lanark and the M8 at Newhouse.
Junction list
| Council area | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Lanarkshire | Roberton | 0.0 | 0.0 |  A702 to A74(M) – Biggar, Edinburgh, Carlisle | Southern terminus |
| Covington | 7.2 | 11.6 |  A72 east (Biggar Road) to A702 – Symington, Biggar, Edinburgh | Southern terminus of A72 concurrency | |
| Carmichael | 12.7 | 20.4 |  A70 west – Ayr | Southern terminus of A70 concurrency | |
| Lanark | 13.1 | 21.1 | A70 east – Carstairs, Edinburgh | Northern terminus of A70 concurrency | |
| 15.5 | 24.9 |  A743 east (St Leonard Street) to A70 – Carstairs, Edinburgh | Information signed southbound only; western terminus of A743 | ||
 A706 north (Hope Street) – Whitburn, Linlithgow | Southern terminus of A706 | ||||
| 15.9 | 25.6 | A72 west (Kirkfieldbank Brae) – Hamilton | Northern terminus of A72 concurrency | ||
| Carluke | 21.1 | 34.0 |  A721 southeast (Glamis Avenue) to A70 – Peebles | Southern terminus of A721 concurrency | |
| Carluke– Cambusnethan boundary | 23.3 | 37.5 | A721 northwest (Wishaw Road) / Hyndshaw Road – Wishaw | Northern terminus of A721 concurrency | |
| North Lanarkshire | Newmains | 24.4 | 39.3 |  A71 west (Overtown Road) – Kilmarnock, Overtown, Waterloo | Southern terminus of A71 concurrency |
| 24.8 | 39.9 |  A71 north (Morningside Road) / A722 west (Manse Road) to Bonkle Road / B717 – Edinburgh, Shotts, Wishaw, Bonkle | Northern terminus of A71 concurrency; eastern terminus of A722 | ||
| Newhouse | 28.8 | 46.3 |   A775 west (Edinburgh Road) / B7066 (Glasgow and Edinburgh Road) to A723 / B7069 – Holytown, Motherwell, Harthill, Salsburgh, Whitburn | Eastern terminus of A775 | |
| Newhouse– Chapelhall boundary | 29.0– 29.2 | 46.7– 47.0 |   M8 / A8 to M73 / M74 – Edinburgh, Glasgow, Coatbridge, Eurocentral | To M74 and Eurocentral signed northbound only, To M73 southbound only; M8 junction 6 | |
| Airdrie | 31.8 | 51.2 |   A89 (Clark Street / Forrest Street) – Airdrie, Coatbridge, Plains | ||
| 32.5 | 52.3 |  A8010 southwest (Black Street) / Burnhead Road (B8058) to A89 – Glasgow, Coatbridge | Hospital signed southbound only; northeastern terminus of A8010 | ||
| | 35.2– 35.7 | 56.6– 57.5 | To B8039 – Cumbernauld | Junction; no northbound entrance | |
| Cumbernauld | 37.9 | 61.0 | M80 to M73 – Glasgow, Carlisle, Stirling, Kincardine Bridge B8048 – Kirkintilloch, Kilsyth, Cumbernauld | Northern terminus; M80 junction 5 | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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References
- 1 2 "A73, Biggar ML12 6RG, UK to 31 Auchenkiln Holdings, Cumbernauld, Glasgow G68 9AU, UK". Google Maps. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
External links
Media related to A73 road (Scotland) at Wikimedia Commons
A roads in Zone 7 of the Great Britain road numbering scheme | ||
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