Birmingham Spaghetti Junction is officially known as Junction 6 of the M6 Motorway or the Gravelly Hill Interchange. The name Spaghetti was derived due to the junction's complicated system of interconnecting and from an Aerial map, the junction does have similarities to that of a large plate that is partially covered by a handful of spaghetti.
The Birmingham Spaghetti Junction, following its opening, quickly became known as a driver's worst nightmare with most drivers viewing it as the country's most intimidating road junction and many drivers happy to bypass it altogether.
The junction itself covers approximately 30 acres, plus 2.5 miles of slip roads and links to 18 routes, including the A38(M) Aston Expressway running to and from Birmingham City centre, the A38 Tyburn Trunk road and the A5127 road to Lichfield. It also interconnects to a number of unclassified localised roads. The length of the M6 across the junction is a mere 0.6 miles or 1,056 yards. It is built on 559 concrete columns or pillars, with some reaching up to 26yds 15.5 inches in height and has five different levels of construction. The motorway and Junction 6 at this point is elevated over a distance of 13.5 miles in order to accommodate its crossing of two rivers, two railways and three canals.
The construction of the interchange was initially approved in 1968 by Richard Marsh the then Minister of Transport and the actual build was expected to take approximately three years at an estimated cost of £8m and the actual build commenced in the same year. This followed the commissioning in 1958 of the engineering firm Sir Owen Williams & Partners by the Ministry of Transport to investigate the possible routes and design requirements to connect the proposed M6 and A38(M) motorways.
Construction work started in 1968 and the junction eventually opened in 1972 at an actual cost of £10.8m, which is equivalent to somewhere in the region of £89m today. In its opening year the vehicle flow at the junction was around 40,000 per day and some thirty years later the figure had reached 140,000. Today it is carrying excess of 160,000 vehicles daily.
The junction was distinctive as it was the largest in Europe and a British first free flowing interchange as it did not involve roundabouts and traffic lights. The journey through this junction, be it M6 continuation or access to and from Birmingham etc., is usually very slow and tedious, due mainly to its close proximity to the junction 8 M5/M6 heavily used motorway link. Morning and evening rush hour traffic is virtually bumper to bumper with only slight improvements experienced during other times. Thank heavens for the M6 toll road, although deemed too expensive by many it considerably reduces journey time and fuel costs by bypassing the heart of the Black Country.
Initially it was claimed by construction management that the junction structure would last for at least 50 years without any problems, unfortunately this time span was somewhat wide of the mark with repair work commencing only 10 years after it was first opened to traffic and it has experienced important surface repairs many times since, caused mainly by the exceedingly high volume of traffic using this section of motorway and the exit and access roads of its junction at this point. There have also been suggestions that some forms of cost saving activities, to its detriment, were also introduced during its creation.
The other reason for what appeared in many drivers' eyes to be a continuous and ongoing roadwork's problem, is that some of the concrete columns, deck supports and crossbeams have crumbled because of road salt and grit penetration, plus damp impregnation caused by the high water table which is continuously being fed by the canals and brooks which run directly below the junction. The continuing salt and damp penetration has also affected the columns, supports and beams reinforcing bars causing them to corrode and expand, which in turn causes stress in the surrounding concrete thus helping to cause the crumbling which is known by many as concrete cancer.
These ongoing problems have also caused deterioration to the asphalt & tarmac road surface resulting in even far more resurfacing activities, thus causing major problems to the road users. The same applies to the sections of M6 which approach the junction. In 2007, the underbelly of the access road onto the Expressway from the M6 northbound carriageway had to be temporarily supported due to a section of crumbling. This initially led to 24 hour surveillance by engineers on hydraulic platforms and other specialist access equipment. This temporary support is in the throws of being replaced.
During the ongoing concrete columns, beams and supports renovation work, the reinforcing steels are also being repaired and will be guarded by a cathodic protection system to prevent any possible future corrosion problems.
Let us hope that when the repair work is finally all finished, this section of the M6 will be at long last trouble free, but don't hold your breath, we at Activ Birmingham aren't.
Accommodation
Art and Entertainment
Automotive
Beauty
Charities
Community Clubs
Education
Estate Agents
Fastfood
Health and Medical
Heritage and Attractions
Leisure and Fitness
Local Services
Nightlife
Pets
Professional Services
Public Services and Government
Pubs And Bars
Religious Organisation
Restaurants
Shopping
Sports Clubs
Tradesman
Travel
