A75 road

A75 road
Barholm Wood, between Castle Douglas and Newton Stewart
Route information
Part of
Length:	95.4 mi[1] (153.5 km)
Existed:	1923 – present
Major junctions
East end:	Gretna
	J22 → A74(M) motorway A780 road A709 road A701 road A76 road A780 road A712 road A745 road A713 road A711 road A762 road A755 road A712 road A714 road A747 road A751 road A77 road
West end:	Stranraer
Location
Primary destinations:	Carlisle, Gretna, Dumfries, Stranraer
Road network
Roads in the United Kingdom Motorways A and B road zones

The A75 is a Primary Trunk Road in Scotland, linking Stranraer and its ferry ports at Cairnryan with the A74(M) at Gretna, close to the Border with England and the M6 Motorway.

Route

Heading west along the south coast of Scotland from its junction with the A74(M) motorway at Gretna it continues past Eastriggs, Annan, Dumfries, Castle Douglas, Gatehouse of Fleet, Newton Stewart, Kirkcowan and Glenluce before ending at Stranraer.

The majority of the road is of single-carriageway standard, although a few short dual carriageway sections exist, including a one-mile section past Gretna, a section past Collin (just east of Dumfries,) a two-mile section just west of Dumfries and a 1-mile section at Barlae (Between Glenluce and Newton Stewart.)

There are also numerous 3 lane, Overtaking sections which allow overtaking in one direction or on some occasion both directions. The road is currently being re-routed at Carrutherstown (near Dumfries) and a bypass has been constructed to avoid the village of Dunragit and the frequently struck Challoch Railway Bridge, which has earned the title of "most hit bridge in the UK^[2] ".

There are only two service stations on the A75: one at Collin on the eastern edge of Dumfries, and one at Castle Kennedy to the east of Stranraer.

The road forms part of the international E-road, European route E18.

The majority of Heavy Goods Vehicles which cross the short sea route of the North Channel via Cairnryan utilise the A75, with a much as 90% of HGV Traffic using the A75.^[3]

History

The single-carriageway road has been upgraded to a very high standard in recognition of the heavy freight traffic it carries between the A74(M)/M6 and the ferry ports for Northern Ireland at Cairnryan, and only two settlements are now not bypassed by it (at Springholm and Crocketford, both lying around 10 miles west of Dumfries).

The 1.3 mile stretch of Dual Carriageway and associated 1 mile westbound overtaking lane 1 mile west of Dumfries opened in 1999, which replaced the previous bottleneck road which snaked up a wooded glen and afforded no overtaking opportunity by way of Solid Double white lines for its duration, locally known as "The Glen.^[4] " The new section claimed the title after the previous road was declassified and closed at the western end, allowing only local access to residential property and agricultural land.

Transport Scotland has six projects which were announced in 2008 to improve stretches of the A75, two of these projects (Dunragit Bypass & Hardgrove Project) are still under construction, with the remainder completed.^[5]

1. Barfil to Bettyknowes Project - westbound overtaking opportunity over a length of 875metres and re-alignment.
2. Cairntop to Barlae Project - eastbound overtaking opportunity of 2.5 kilometres, utilising the line of a disused railway line.
3. Dunragit Bypass Project - bypass of the village of Dunragit, to the east of Stranraer, through which the A75 runs at present.
4. Hardgrove Project - the construction of a new 3.6 kilometre stretch of the A75, between Carrutherstown and Upper Mains Farm in Dumfries and Galloway, providing improved overtaking facilities in both the east and westbound directions.
5. Newton Stewart DAL Project - westbound overtaking opportunity over a length of 375 metres.
6. Planting End to Drumflower Project - eastbound overtaking opportunity over a length of 1 kilometre

Previously the road ran between Dumfries & Gretna further south than its current locale, The previous road which is identified locally as the "low road" can be recognised from the B721 and B724 roads. A large majority of the remaining road previously ran through towns & settlements which have been bypassed over time, large sections of the A75 have been straightened, bypassed and re-aligned, with the majority still visible as minor roads and easily identifiable by studying Ordnance Survey maps of the area. One of the earliest bypasses on the route is that of Kirkcowan, which is believed to be the first village, town or settlement to have been bypassed by the original A75.

It is also classed as one of the most dangerous roads in Scotland.

A fifteen-mile stretch of the A75, between Annan and Dumfries, is reported to be haunted.

Reports of haunting

1957

A lorry driver ran into a couple crossing the road arm-in-arm in front of his lorry, but when he stopped the accident victims had vanished: sometime in 1957.

1962

Derek and Norman Ferguson were driving along the A75 near Kinmount, around midnight, when a large hen flew towards their window screen, but vanished on the point of impact. The hen was followed by an old lady who ran towards the car waving her outstretched arms. She was followed by a screaming man with long hair and further animals, including 'great cats, wild dogs, goats, more hens and other fowl, and stranger creatures', who all disappeared. The temperature then dropped, and when the brothers stopped the car, it began to sway violently back and forth. Derek got out of the car and the movement stopped. He climbed back in and then, finally, a vision of a furniture van came towards them before disappearing.^[6]

1970s

A group of Eastriggs women saw a 'weird' looking phantom or creature' on the Kinmount straight.

1995

Garson and Monica Miller of Annan were driving east on the Kinmount section of the A75, near Annan, when they saw someone in their path. It was the figure of a middle aged man, wearing a hessian sack folded over his head and his hands were outstretched towards the direction of the car, with what looked like a rag in his hand. Driving at 60 mph the couple was convinced they had hit the man, and reversed back to the spot, but the figure had gone. The incident was reported to the police in Annan.^[7]

1997

Donna Maxwell, 27, was convinced she had hit a man in the road whilst driving along the A75 near Swordwellrig with her two children. Travelling at 50 mph she saw the man jump out in front of her, about two feet in front of her car. He was in his 30's, with short hair, wearing a red top and dark trouser. She braked hard, involuntarily closing her eyes and bracing for impact. When she opened her eyes, the car had stopped but there was no sign of the man. She contacted the police and the area was searched but there was no evidence of an accident. A description of the accident issued to the media a week later failed to provide any further explanation of the accident.^[8]

References

1. "Driving directions to A75". Google. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
2. "Challoch is 'most hit' bridge in UK". The Galloway Gazette. 2010-08-05. Retrieved 2014-03-21.
3. http://www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/roads/publications/a77%20maybole%20100305.pdf
4. "McLeish announces award of £7 million package of improvements to A75 at the Glen". Scotland.gov.uk. 1998-03-23. Retrieved 2014-03-21.
5. Road Projects Search Results A75
6. Cohen, Daniel; Marchesi, Stephen (1992). "The Annan Road Horrors". Railway Ghosts and Highway Horrors. London: Apple. pp. 61–66. ISBN 0-590-45423-4.
7. "A75, Kinmount Straight". Retrieved 15 May 2013.
8. rale (18 June 2010). "The Four Most Frightening Roads You Can Travel". Weird Worm. Retrieved 27 January 2011.

External links

• A75 route description at SABRE

Coordinates: 54°57′38″N 3°54′50″W / 54.96042°N 3.91388°W