A38 (M) motorway

A38 (M) motorway in the UK
Basic data
Operator:	Highways Agency
Overall length:	3.2 km (2  mi )
Countries :	England
The A38 (M) just before Birmingham city center
Course of the road West Midlands Further than ((6))  Lichfield , Tamworth , Burton , The SOUTH , The NORTH WEST Aston B4132 ( HAS M6) Handsworth, Ladywood, Small Heath Further than

The A38 (M) motorway ( English for 'Autobahn A38 (M)'), also known as the Aston Expressway , is a short motorway in Birmingham , England . It's only two miles (3.2 km) long; Construction began in 1969 and was released on May 24, 1972 along with the then last section of the M6 . The expressway is very unusual in its design, as it has seven lanes over large parts without a median, the use of which can be regulated by dynamic traffic control systems. This short motorway forms part of the longer A road A38 .

Many 19th and 20th century homes in Aston were demolished to make way for the freeway.

course

The motorway begins as a continuation of the A38 and A5127 A-roads and immediately passes the Gravelly Hill Interchange , a spaghetti junction with the M6 Motorway . After the junction, the seven-lane section begins on a viaduct through the Aston district and takes up part of the grounds of Aston Hall Castle . After a mile the road reaches the first junction, which can only be used to and from the M6. Then it runs in a ditch before it the second junction with the inner ring road of Birmingham, where the seven-lane section and at the height of the junction also the motorway ends.

The Viaduct at Aston was built in a curve to avoid the grounds of the Ansells Brewery , but it was demolished before completion. A vinegar pipeline also ran over the motorway between the two parts of the HP sauce factory, which no longer exists today .

Dynamic traffic management

The A38 (M) motorway was the first road in the UK with dynamic traffic management. In the central part with seven unseparated lanes (without hard shoulder lanes) the traffic is directed via dynamic traffic signs; a lane between the two directions is always blocked for safety reasons. During the morning rush hour, four lanes into town and two lanes out of town are released, at evening rush hour the ratio is reversed and at all other times three lanes are released for each direction. Because of this traffic management, the speed is always limited to 50 miles per hour (80 km / h).

Regardless of the current traffic situation, motorbikes are not allowed to drive in the middle (red) lane under which a drainage pipe runs. This regulation was introduced after a fatal accident caused by a loosened manhole cover .

Individual evidence

1. ^ The Motorway Archive. A38 (M). The Aston Expressway ( Memento of the original from June 6, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English), accessed June 11, 2012 

Web links

• Information about the A38 (M) on cbrd.co.uk (English)
• A38 (M) on Pathetic Motorways (English)