Spaghetti Junction explored: A look beneath the roads
Spaghetti Junction is renowned as one of the most complex and recognisable road systems in the UK. But beyond its traffic-clogged lanes lies a hidden landscape of canals, rivers, and striking street art. We explore the history, the engineering, and the unique urban underworld that lies beneath.
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00:00So today we're on a tour of the areas underneath Spaghetti Junction, this icon of Birmingham.
00:07The tour began along the Birmingham-Faisley Canal, opposite Aston train station, providing
00:13an industrial backdrop as we walked towards Spaghetti Junction. The focus of the tour
00:19was on both the history and the impact on the local community. Throughout we learnt
00:24about the cultural significance of this iconic structure and its construction.
00:30So Spaghetti Junction is now over 50 years old, but it's known throughout the UK. One
00:36of the most complex pieces of motor infrastructure, but what people don't realise is that there's
00:41a really fascinating history that goes on underneath Spaghetti Junction as well, dating
00:47back from the 13th century actually on the tour, but we certainly talk about the canals
00:51from the 18th and 19th century and looking at some of the strange spaces that are created
00:57when you've got a complex water network, which you have a complex motor network above. So
01:03we look at the history of it and we look at some of the things that the junction has inspired
01:07as well. From the early plans in 1958 to its completion in 1972, Spaghetti Junction's development
01:14came at a social cost. More than a thousand families were displaced and whole communities
01:20were uprooted. Yet despite its devastating impact, the junction has inspired artists,
01:26filmmakers and even global names like Steven Spielberg. Those on the tour left with a new
01:32appreciation for both its architectural complexity and the history beneath its towering roads.
01:38I think people have had a deeper understanding of Spaghetti Junction itself and an appreciation
01:46for something which, to be honest, they've always taken for granted, but now they actually
01:50kind of recognise that there's a lot going on underneath it, but also an understanding
01:56of the history of the area and what it took to get Spaghetti Junction built.