Plans were drawn up in the 1960s for a new East Fife regional dual carriageway road starting at the M90 at Masterton (Junction 2), which would have mirrored what is now the A921 and B9157 to the Mossgreen area, before heading north-eastward to Chapel Level, connecting up with the Thornton By-pass.

During the 1970s the Scottish Development Department commissioned a new traffic study which concluded that the A92 should follow the more northern route to provide a better link for Cowdenbeath and Lochgelly[2] before connecting directly onto the Thornton Bypass,[3] which was completed by early 1983.

Starting at its junction with the M90 motorway near Dunfermline, it runs north east past Cowdenbeath, Lochgelly, Kirkcaldy, Glenrothes, Ladybank and Newport-on-Tay.

The 16-mile section of the road from Dundee to Arbroath was upgraded to dual carriageway standard in 2005 and significantly reduced the journey time between the two towns.

In 2024, work began to reduce the A92 within Arbroath to single-carraigeway as part a remodelling that will see a dedicated cycle path and additional green space added.