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© Courtesy of Birmingham Central Library.
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The construction of the junction had a considerable impact on Birmingham and the country as a whole at the time: it linked to every motorway in the country, and thus, in theory, brought every corner of the UK together. It also cut down the travelling time considerably.
This, however, this came at a cost to the local area. A number of properties were demolished to make way for it: 160 houses, a factory, a bank, a block of flats and the Erdington Arms pub. Also a gas main, 3 water mains and a 24-way Post Office cable duct were among the many utilities diverted during the construction.
© Yvonne Bell.
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Spaghetti Junction continues to have an influence on Brummies today. Not only is it Birmingham's most famous landmark, with an entry in the Oxford English Dictionary no doubt, but also the University of Central England Students' Union have named their official student paper after it.
Birmingham cathedral has also paid homage to it. Designer Yvonne Bell was commissioned to create a new set of vestments. She used an aerial photo to make an abstract of the junction.
Did you know?- The Romans used concrete extensively, but their secrets had been lost until the 19th century.
- It was rediscovered by Joseph Aspdin from Leeds in 1824.
- At the peak of the construction of Spaghetti Junction, over 300 tonnes of concrete was mixed every hour.
- 13,000 tonnes of steel reinforcement and 134,000m3 (175,000 cubic yards) of concrete were used during the construction.
- 559 concrete columns were constructed, the tallest one being 24.4m high.
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