Transport in Birmingham - Roads

Roads

The M40 motorway connects to London via Oxford. The M6 motorway also connects Birmingham to London (via the M1) and the south, and the north-west of England and Scotland. Junction 6 of the M6 is also one of Birmingham's landmarks, and probably the most notable motorway junction in the UK, Spaghetti Junction, which is officially called the Gravelly Hill Interchange. Other motorways are:

• The A38(M) which links Spaghetti Junction to the city centre
• The M5, connecting Birmingham to the south-west of England
• The M42, which connects Birmingham to Tamworth and the East Midlands
• The M6 Toll, which enables through traffic on the M6 to bypass Birmingham and Wolverhampton.

Birmingham, unlike London and Manchester, does not have a single orbital motorway. Instead, three motorways form a box which surrounds most of the West Midlands conurbation- but not Wolverhampton, Walsall, Dudley and Stourbridge. These are:

• The M42 which forms the southern and eastern sections. In the middle, the M40 terminates, which has its junction built with priority for traffic going from the M40 to the M42 west, instead of M42 east-west priority. The M40 goes off south to Warwick, Oxford, High Wycombe and London.
• The M5 which forms the western section.
• The M6 which forms the northern section. The M5 terminates on the M6.

Other major roads passing through Birmingham include:

• The A34 from Manchester to Winchester
• The A38 from Mansfield to Bodmin
• The A41 from London to Birkenhead
• The A45 from Birmingham to Thrapston (formerly to Felixstowe)
• The A47 from Birmingham to Great Yarmouth
• The A4540 'Middleway' ring road
• The A4040 Outer Ring Road