M80 Stepps to Haggs scheme: EIR release

Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004


Information requested

Please can you provide me average journey times from Stirling to Cumbernauld both now and before upgrading M80.

Response

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested in this part of your request.

The Scottish Government does not hold specific information on datasets for average journey times from Stirling to Cumbernauld.

Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government cannot provide information which it does not have.

However, Transport Scotland assess the impact of each road improvement scheme and compare conditions after the schemes have opened with predictions made during their design and development. The main areas that are evaluated include:

  • Operation
  • Environment
  • Safety
  • Economy
  • Integration
  • Accessibility and social inclusion
  • Cost to government
  • Scheme objectives

Although we do not have specific metrics for the locations requested you may find the following information useful:

The M80 Stepps to Haggs scheme consists of 18 kilometres of new motorway, completed in August 2011, which ties in with the existing M80 at Junction 2 (Robroyston) and north of Haggs.

With regard to the M80 Stepps to Haggs, the 1-year after opening - project evaluation report is shown here:

https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/6382/m80-stepps-to-haggs-1ya-final-report-19-november-2015-19-november-2015.pdf.

The following two table (3.5 a & b) are copied below from the report for ease and represent the change in vehicle speeds between pre and post opening of the new section of motorway.

Table 3.5a: Observed AM Mean Vehicle Spot Speeds (mph)

Location

Direction

Pre

Opening

(2008)

Post

Opening

(2013)

Difference

M80 Stepps to Haggs Section

M80 J6a (Castlecary)

Northbound

59

63

4

– M80 J7 (Haggs)

Southbound

64

60

-4

M80 J6 (Old Inns) –

Northbound

60

59

-1

M80 J6a (Castlecary)

Southbound

60

62

2

M80 J5 (Auchenkilns)

Northbound

58

57

-1

– M80 J6 (Old Inns)

Southbound

64

61

-3

M73 Merge –

Northbound

60

61

1

M80 J4a (Low Wood)

Southbound

61

65

4

M80 J3 (Hornshill) –

Northbound

-

65

-

M80 J4 (Mollinsburn)

Southbound

-

66

-

Moodiesburn Bypass

 

 

 

 

A80 Cumbernauld

Northbound

36

41

5

Road at Moodiesburn

Southbound

37

41

4

M80 South of Scheme Extents

M80 J2 (Robroyston) -

Northbound

50

62

12

M80 J3 (Hornshill)

Southbound

59

56

-3

M80 J1 (Provan) -

Northbound

60

56

-4

M80 J2 (Robroyston)

Southbound

58

42

-16

Table 3.5b: Observed PM Mean Vehicle Spot Speeds (mph)

Location

Direction

Pre

Opening (2008)

Post

Opening (2013)

Difference

M80 Stepps to Haggs Section

M80 J6a (Castlecary)

Northbound

60

56

-4

– M80 J7 (Haggs)

Southbound

59

60

1

M80 J6 (Old Inns) –

Northbound

61

61

0

M80 J6a (Castlecary)

Southbound

52

57

5

M80 J5 (Auchenkilns)

Northbound

59

58

-1

– M80 J6 (Old Inns)

Southbound

60

57

-3

M73 Merge –

Northbound

57

60

3

M80 J4a (Low Wood)

Southbound

57

64

7

M80 J3 (Hornshill) –

Northbound

-

64

-

M80 J4 (Mollinsburn)

Southbound

-

67

-

Moodiesburn Bypass

 

 

 

 

A80 Cumbernauld

Northbound

27

40

13

Road at Moodiesburn

Southbound

39

41

2

M80 South of Scheme Extents

M80 J2 (Robroyston) -

Northbound

46

59

13

M80 J3 (Hornshill)

Southbound

61

60

-1

M80 J1 (Provan) -

Northbound

57

54

-3

M80 J2 (Robroyston)

Southbound

57

40

-7

Based on these figures the scheme has improved journey times and reliability, with a 30-40% reduction in journey times during peak travel, equating to a reduction of approximately 15 minutes for people using the route, For further details on the scheme itself these can be found here:

https://www.transport.gov.scot/projects/m80-stepps-to-haggs/m80-stepps-to-haggs/

Transport Scotland and the contractor will continue to monitor the operation of the route, and any notable operational issues arising would be included in subsequent evaluations as part of the on-going evaluation programme of the M80.

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Contact

Please quote the FOI reference
Central Enquiry Unit
Email: ceu@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000

The Scottish Government
St Andrews House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
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