Health impacts of the M74 motorway extension

A new five-mile section of the M74 motorway opened in south Glasgow in 2011. GCPH was a partner in a three-year National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) funded research study (running between 2013-2016) which set out to examine whether and how this motorway extension affected key aspects of health and health-related behaviour in the local population, building on baseline research carried out in 2005 during the motorway construction. 

The study was led by the MRC Epidemiology Unit under the auspices of the Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR). Other collaborators were the MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, the Public Health group at the University of Glasgow, the University of East Anglia, and the University of Edinburgh. 

Building new roads in urban areas has the potential to reduce injuries from road traffic accidents, to improve people’s access to amenities and opportunities, and to help regenerate disadvantaged communities. However, it may encourage car use in ways that degrade the local environment, harm people’s health and wellbeing, and widen inequalities. There is little good evidence about these impacts that can be used to guide transport policy and planning.  

We wanted to find out more about road traffic accidents, activity patterns and wellbeing in the local area, and to explore if and how these changed as a result of the motorway. We used a combination of research methods to investigate how people’s health and health-related behaviour changed over time and how these changes may have been related to the new motorway. We also analysed official statistics on travel and road traffic casualties, and spoke with a variety of community organisations and local people who had not taken part in the research. 

We found that on balance, the new motorway appeared to have promoted car use. We found no evidence that it had reduced road traffic casualties or increased active travel. Although it did help to connect some local residents, particularly those with access to cars, with amenities and people in other places, those living nearer to the motorway tended to experience poorer mental wellbeing over time than those living further away. 

The findings of our study are available here or you can read a summary here. 

Community engagement 

We were also responsible for leading a programme of community engagement in relation to the study with the help of the Scottish Community Development Centre and for leading the interface between the research team and the wider stakeholder community.  

Our community engagement activities and events found that different communities, different audiences and different individuals had very different opinions about the motorway ranging from positive to neutral to negative views. The report and summary from this are available below.