Benefits

The M74 Completion scheme will provide a wide range of benefits from helping to grow Scotland's economy and bringing new jobs along the route, to reducing road accidents and improving the environment.

Wealthier and Fairer
The M74 Completion will improve journey times and reduce traffic congestion on roads across Glasgow and South Lanarkshire, see Traffic. It will help grow Scotland’s economy by improving transport links in the west of Scotland, as well as to other parts of Scotland and to the UK more generally, see Economic Regeneration.  The project will bring new jobs, particularly along the route but also across the west of Scotland, help with the regeneration of the south and east of Glasgow, Rutherglen and Cambuslang, and play a key role in Scotland’s delivery of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 2014, see Community Regeneration. 

Healthier
The M74 Completion will improve air quality in the Glasgow City Centre Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) by removing traffic and congestion from the M8 Kingston Bridge, see Environment.

Safer and Stronger
The M74 Completion will improve road safety by reducing road accidents by 25 to 35 each year on average in the 20 years after opening, see Road Safety.

Greener
The M74 Completion will provide the opportunity to treat and make safe a number of areas of existing ground contamination and act as a catalyst for other developers to do the same, see Environment.