Glasgow City Council’s executive committee has approved the move to begin the third and final stage of the East End Regeneration Route (EERR).

The £60m project will complete a four-carriageway link through the city’s east end to connect two of the country’s busiest roads, the M8/M80 and M74.

It is expected with a start date in spring and with available funding, construction could be completed by 2018.

The third stage of the EERR is planned to be 1.4km (0.9 miles) long, with four junctions at Biggar Street, Carntyne Road, Edinburgh Road and Provan Road.

The third and final phase is expected to cross the Queen Street/Airdrie railway line north of Biggar Street to connect with the former Riddrie railway line at Duke Street.

It will then extend north under Edinburgh Road and Cumbernauld Road to connect with Provan Road south of the M8/M80.

Like the previous stages of the project, it will cut through the east end, requiring an eight-span viaduct to take it across the Airdrie railway.

Phase one was completed in 2010 in the Oatlands area and phase two, which continues the route along Rutherglen Bridge and past the Emirates Arena, was completed in 2012. These stages have proved successful and have created land for business and residential use.

Councillor George Redmond, executive member for jobs, business and investment at Glasgow City Council, said: “The completion of this connection between the motorway routes will continue the ongoing regeneration of the east end, delivering jobs and economic investment to the area.

“The previous phases of this route have already unlocked the potential of what was derelict vacant land to bring new homes and workplaces, and this final phase can do the same for the heart of the east end. Finishing the East End Regeneration Route will be a great success for the local area and the city.”

It is expected the completed route will be a major boost to the regeneration of the east end, which has suffered from some of the worst social deprivation in the country for generations.