Gravelly Hill Interchange, Road interchange in Birmingham, United Kingdom
Gravelly Hill Interchange is a multi-level road junction on the northern edge of Birmingham, where several major routes meet and separate across different levels. The roads are stacked and looped so that traffic can move in many directions without crossing the same surface as other vehicles.
Work began in 1968 after Birmingham's roads were struggling to handle the growing number of vehicles, and the junction opened in the early 1970s. It was part of a broader effort to keep through traffic moving around the city rather than through its centre.
The nickname 'Spaghetti Junction' came from a Birmingham Evening Mail article in 1965, which compared the planned road layout to tangled pasta. Locals still use this name today, and it has become the way most people refer to the interchange rather than its official name.
The interchange is open at all times as a working road, so there is no entry fee or set visiting hour. The clearest view of the full structure comes from nearby elevated spots or simply from driving through it.
Beneath the roads, the structure crosses several canals, railway lines, and rivers that were already in place before construction began. Each one required its own crossing solution, which is part of what made the engineering so demanding at the time.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
