With around 900 people, working over four million hours, employed on site at its peak and over half a million tonnes of recycled materials used in its construction, the new M74 Completion in Glasgow is nearing completion.

Finance Secretary John Swinney today became the first non construction worker to travel the length of the new M74 between Fullarton and the Kingston Bridge.

Ahead of the opening in June, Mr Swinney visited the site of the new road to see the final preparations now that the route is physically joined up along its length from Fullarton Road to the Kingston Bridge.

However, he made clear that there was still a lot of work to do and there would be no let up in the next few months to ensure that it opened to traffic in June, almost nine months ahead of schedule.

Finance Secretary John Swinney said: “The M74 Completion is the biggest infrastructure project on the ground in Scotland and is providing vital jobs and investment for the hard pressed construction industry.

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“My officials at Transport Scotland have worked closely and effectively with the contractor and our local authority partners involved in the project’s delivery.

“The fact that the structures along the length of this complex scheme are now joined up is testament to the whole project team’s excellent stewardship of a scheme that has involved many challenging civil engineering operations.

“When it opens in June, ahead of schedule and on budget, the new route will provide improved access to economic, employment and education opportunities for the people of Scotland. It will also bring enormous potential for further urban regeneration programmes in the west of Scotland, many of which are already in development.

“Along with the M80 Stepps to Haggs scheme, which is due for completion in the Autumn, this Government is investing in the country’s transport infrastructure and providing robust project management to achieve best value for the public purse.

“Only last week Parliament endorsed our plans to complete the M8 between Glasgow and Edinburgh, a key section of our strategic road network, bringing benefits for businesses, motorists and the environment. It is intended to combine this scheme with work on the M74 Raith Interchange and further improvements to the M73 and M74 to complete the central Scotland motorway network.”

Interlink M74JV Project Director David Welsh commented: "This is a critical stage of the project when you feel you are almost at the finishing line. However, there are a lot of different aspects that need to come together to ensure all the objectives we have set ourselves are achieved.

“As Project Director, my focus is on ensuring that the teamwork that has got us to this strong position continues with the same fervour and discipline such that we can hand the completed motorway over to Transport Scotland this summer, with great pride in a job well done."

(GK/KMcA)