A38(M) motorway

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


A38(M) motorway
Length	2 miles 3.2 km
Direction	North - South
Start	Gravelly Hill
Primary destinations	Birmingham
End	Birmingham
Construction dates	1972 - complete motorway
Motorways joined	M6 J6

The A38(M) is a motorway in Birmingham, England. It is 2 miles (3.2km) long and was opened on May 24, 1972^[1]. It forms part of the A38 and is also known as the Aston Expressway.

1 Route
2 Junctions
3 Trivia
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Route

The A38(M) runs from the A5127 through Spaghetti Junction where the A38 joins and then shortly after traffic from the M6 motorway also joins. It then enters a tidal flow section with a total of 7 lanes. Lane use is controlled by means of electronic overhead signs, with one lane always closed to create a buffer between the two directions of travel - there is no central reservation. Access to the centre lane, which contains a drainage channel, is now forbidden to motorcycles because of a fatal accident which happened when one of the drainage covers dislodged^[2]. In the morning, there are normally 4 lanes for Birmingham bound traffic and 2 lanes for traffic northbound. In the evening rush hour, there are 4 lanes outbound and 2 lanes towards the city centre. At all other times, the road runs with 3 lanes in each direction.

The route is on a bridge as it passes through Aston; this section cuts through the grounds of Aston Hall^[3]. The road passes through its first junction after 1 mile. It then enters a cutting before reaching the second junction, where the tidal flow ends as does the motorway.

Due to the nature of the road, the speed limit is reduced to 50 mph (80 km/h), with no speed cameras.

[edit] Junctions

A38(M) Motorway
Northbound exits	Junction	Southbound exits
Road continues to Erdington as A5127	M6 J6 (Spaghetti Junction)	Start of Motorway
Lichfield, Tamworth A38		No Exit
The SOUTH, Coventry The NORTH WEST, Wolverhampton M6 Aston A5127		No Exit
No exit	Park Circus	Aston B4132
Start of Motorway	Dartmouth Circus	Handsworth, Ladywood, Aston, Small Heath A4540 (Birmingham Inner Ring Road)
Handsworth, Ladywood, Aston, Small Heath A4540 (Birmingham Inner Ring Road)	Dartmouth Circus	Road continues as A38* to Birmingham City Centre*

The traffic island at Dartmouth Circus houses a redundant Boulton and Watt steam engine.

[edit] Trivia

The motorway is crossed by a gantry which used to house a vinegar pipeline, carrying the condiment from one part of the HP Sauce factory to the other. Once, in the 1970s, this leaked, damaging the paintwork on several passing cars.
The motorway is curved in Aston to avoid an Ansells brewery. The brewery was demolished before the road was finished^[3].

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

	Motorways in the United Kingdom
Great Britain: M1 • M2 • M3 • M4 • M5 • M6 • M6 Toll • M8 • M9 • M10 • M11 • M18 • M20 • M23 • M25 • M26 • M27 • M32 • M40 • M42 • M45 • M48 • M49 • M50 • M53 • M54 • M55 • M56 • M57 • M58 • M60 • M61 • M62 • M65 • M66 • M67 • M69 • M73 • M74 • M77 • M80 • M90 • M180 • M181 • M271 • M275 • M602 • M606 • M621 • M876 • M898
A1(M) • A3(M) • A38(M) • A48(M) • A57(M) • A58(M) • A64(M) • A66(M) • A74(M) • A167(M) • A194(M) • A308(M) • A329(M) • A404(M) • A601(M) • A627(M) • A823(M)

	Northern Ireland: M1 • M2 • M3 • M5 • M12 • M22 • A8(M)	edit

Past: M16 • M41 • M63 • A18(M) • A40(M) • A41(M) • A102(M) • A6144(M) Unbuilt: M12 • M13 • M15 • M31 • M64 Future: M4 Toll