The M8 is the busiest motorway in Scotland and one of the busiest in the United Kingdom. It connects the country's two largest cities, Glasgow and Edinburgh, and serves other large communities including Airdrie, Coatbridge, Greenock, Livingston and Paisley. The motorway is 60 miles (97 km) long – excluding a 6-mile (9.7 km) gap between the Glasgow suburb of Baillieston and Newhouse – and is notorious for traffic jams, especially its Central Glasgow section.