Spaghetti Junction (England)
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- For other Spaghetti Junctions, see Spaghetti Junction (disambiguation)
Spaghetti Junction (officially Gravelly Hill Interchange) is junction 6 of the M6 motorway in Birmingham, England, and is so named for its impressive system of intertwined loops and ramps. It provides access to and from the A38 and local roads.
It was built in the early 1970s and has undergone major repair work many times since.
Underneath the motorway junction are the meeting points of local roads, canals, electricity lines, gas pipelines and railway lines. The importance of the site for so many services led to the belief that it was a strategic target for a Soviet nuclear weapon during the Cold War.
The junction featured in the Cliff Richard film Take Me High.
The Student Union of the nearby University of Central England in Perry Barr, has a monthly newspaper with the colloquial name of Junction 6.
There is a small select group of elite, mythological road junctions in the UK that are well-known outside the local area, of which this one is the Grand Daddy. Others include:
1. Hanger Lane gyratory (A40 and North Circular Road - nightmare design).
2. Magic Roundabout (Swindon) which is less known outside of Wiltshire, but is slightly known nationally. May the Force be with you, when getting from one side to the other.
3. Milton Keynes. Yes, the whole lot.
4. Scotch Corner, near Darlington.
See also
External links
- Another, close-up photo (http://www.birmingham-photos.co.uk/PB3/C4/PB3p56.htm)
- Local links to the junction. (http://www.philipjohnston.com/bham/spaghetti.htm)
- How the BBC described it. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/heritage/england/birmingham/article_2.shtml)
- University of Central England Students Union. (http://www.uceunion.com/DisplayPage.asp?pageid=6324)