Spaghetti junction

The Gravelly Hill Interchange in Birmingham, England – the originally coined 'Spaghetti Junction'

Spaghetti junction is a nickname sometimes given to a complex or massively intertwined road traffic interchange that is said to resemble a plate of spaghetti. Such interchanges may incorporate a variety of interchange design elements in order to maximize connectivity.

Etymology

The term was originally used to refer to the Gravelly Hill Interchange on the M6 motorway in Birmingham, United Kingdom. In an article published in the Birmingham Evening Mail on 1 June 1965 the journalist Roy Smith described plans for the junction as "like a cross between a plate of spaghetti and an unsuccessful attempt at a Staffordshire knot", with the headline above the article on the newspaper's front page, written by sub-editor Alan Eaglesfield, reading "Spaghetti Junction". Since then many complex interchanges around the world have acquired the nickname.

Throughout North America, this type of interchange is widely referred to as a spaghetti junction, mixing bowl, knot, or maze, often including the name of the freeway, city, or notable landmark near enough to the interchange.

By country

Australia

New South Wales

Victoria

Queensland

Botswana

  • Thapama Interchange at the junction of A1 / Blue Jacket Street and A3 in Francistown.

Canada

Alberta

  • The interchange of Deerfoot Trail, Bow Bottom Trail, Anderson Road and 15 Street SE in Calgary. Maps were published in local newspapers to assist drivers with navigating the complex interchange when it opened in 1982.

Ontario

Quebec

China

Germany

Indonesia

Malaysia

The Netherlands

  • The Ridderkerk interchange, connecting the A16, A15 and A38. Both the A16 and A15 are split into two carriageways in both directions, serving as separate through-traffic and collector/distributor carriageways.

New Zealand

South Africa

United Kingdom

United States

A complicated interchange between I-96, M-5, I-275, and I-696 in Novi, Michigan

California

Florida

Georgia

The Tom Moreland Interchange in DeKalb County, Georgia, a five level stack with frontage roads 33°53′31″N 84°15′33″W / 33.892070°N 84.259110°W / 33.892070; -84.259110

Illinois

Aerial photo of the Jane Byrne Interchange, (formerly the Circle Interchange), looking southwest, Chicago

Indiana

Kentucky

Massachusetts

The South Bay Interchange in Boston

Minnesota

Missouri

Nevada

New Jersey

New York

Pennsylvania

Tennessee

Texas

  • Spaghetti Bowl, where I-45, Allen Parkway, Memorial Drive, Houston Avenue, McKinney Street, Dallas Street, and Pierce Street meet in Downtown Houston.
  • Spaghetti Bowl, where I-10, I-110, and US 54 meet just east of Downtown El Paso, Texas.

Utah

Virginia

See also

References

Uses material from the Wikipedia article Spaghetti junction, released under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.