South Lanarkshire Council has announced a number of motorway improvement projects taking place this week on the M8, M73 and M74.

As part of the £500 million improvement plan the M74 northbound off slip on approach to the Raith roundabout will be closed from 8pm on Friday 27 until 6am on Monday 30 March.

Traffic travelling to East Kilbride, Bothwell or Hamilton will be diverted via the M74 northbound, Junction 3A Daldowie via Junction 4 Maryville, A721 Glasgow Road, M74 southbound to Junction 5, Raith. Please follow the diversion route which will be signed.

In addition, traffic on the A725 Raith roundabout will be managed through a contraflow system. Please follow the diversion routes via the A725 to Bellziehill roundabout or the A725 to Whistleberry Toll roundabout which will be signed.

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Local traffic exiting Strathclyde Park at Raith roundabout will be diverted via the M74 southbound. Non-motorway traffic will be diverted via the south exit of the park at Motherwell.

As delays are expected, drivers are advised to plan journeys in advance and use alternative routes where possible.

The motorway project aims to tackle congestion problems on the A8/M8, M73, M74 and at key junctions including Raith (M74) and Shawhead (A725/A8).

Gordon MacKay, the head of South Lanarkshire Council’s Roads and Transportation Services, said: "We recognise the scale of the engineering challenges involved in the current works and the inevitable consequence of some disruption to normal travel patterns particularly during critical phases of the project.

"We would urge all road users to allow additional time for their journeys and refer to the Traffic Scotland website for details of forthcoming temporary traffic management arrangements."

(MH/CD)