Plan Ahead: Roads Impacted by Maintenance over Festive Period

December 19, 2025 71

As the festive season approaches, Amey has announced which trunk roads in South-West Scotland will be impacted by traffic management installations for essential maintenance between Friday 19th December 2025 until Monday 5th January 2026. Road users travelling for the holidays are encouraged to plan ahead and allow extra time for any journeys.

Routes with continuing traffic management over the festive period include:

M8 Hillington Interchange (J26): A 2+2 contraflow, 40mph speed limit, and average speed cameras will remain in place during the holidays. Braehead Shopping Centre and nearby retailers remain open for business with their own festive trading hours. Phase Three of major bridge refurbishments at this location is scheduled to commence in early January 2026.

M8 Woodside Viaducts (J16-J17): Phoenix Road and Garscube Roundabout closures remain in effect. Please note, no active work will be taking place at these locations over the festivities; however, traffic management remains in place to ensure the safety of road users and the sites.

Other notable maintenance projects will have traffic management removed for Christmas and New Year but will resume early 2026, including:

M74 (J7) Pier Protection
A78 Fairlie Footways
A78 Largs Seawall Repairs
A78 Skelmorlie Drainage Improvements
A77 Kilmarnock to Ayr Woodland Management
A77 Cairnryan Drainage Improvements
A75 Gretna to Dumfries Woodland Management
A75 Stranraer Footways
A75 Crocketford Footways

Updates to these projects will be provided via the free roadwork alert service on swtrunkroads.scot.

Motorists are also advised to drive weather aware and be prepared before setting off. Unfortunately, breakdowns can happen at any time and having an emergency travel kit in your vehicle can ease a stressful situation.

An emergency travel kit for winter should include:

De-icer

Ice-scraper

Torch

Spare batteries

High-visibility jacket

Warm clothes
Blanket

The below should always be in your vehicle in case of emergencies:

First aid kit

Jump start cables

Empty fuel can

Water and food

Shovel

Back-up phone battery/portable phone charger

Amey would like to thank all road users and those affected by road maintenance for their patience and understanding; and wish you all the best for 2026.

A free Road Work Alerts service is available from their website: https://swtrunkroads.scot/roadwork-alerts/

An email address is all that is required to sign up for the service.

Written by: Phil Briscoe

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