Forming part of the £500 million M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project, the demolition has enabled significant progress to be made on the construction of the new M8 between Newhouse and Shawhead.

The complex operation to demolish the bridge at Chapelhall was carried out over two weekends, which saw construction crews working round the clock to bring down the bridge in two halves, with only minimal disruption to the 100,000 vehicles per day that use Scotland’s busiest trunk road.

The old bridge, which crossed the A8, linking Chapelhall to Holytown (B799), was too narrow to accommodate the new M8 motorway which has now been constructed beneath. The new Bo’ness overbridge, which took approximately 12 months to construct, will span the new M8 motorway and A8 carriageways.

Following more than a year’s worth of complex engineering works on the existing A8, Transport Scotland is advising motorists of significant changes to traffic management, including contraflows and the closure of slip roads and junctions in the coming weeks.

Graeme Reid, project sponsor for the M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project, said: “Whilst we’re doing everything we can to minimise the disruption, changes to traffic management layouts will result in delays. Therefore we’re asking motorists to check the Transport Scotland and Traffic Scotland websites for updates, to plan their journeys in advance and to look at taking an alternative route if possible.”

Mr Reid added: “We are now seeing extensive traffic management on the A8 to allow the construction of the new M8 and to link the new carriageways and junctions to the existing road network – consequently, this will result in delays.”

When complete, the M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project will significantly reduce congestion across the central Scotland motorway network, shaving approximately 20 minutes off the daily commute from Glasgow to Edinburgh.