164-mile Midland . Motorway Plan T HE proposed line of a further
Page 83
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
164-mile length of the Midland motorway links was published by the Minister of Transport last week. It extends from the present northern terminus of the proposed Bristol-Birmingham motorway, just north of Lydiate Ash, to join the proposed Coleshill-Dunston section of the Birmingham-Lancaster motorway at Great Barr, just south of Walsall.
It is proposed that the new motorway link should run from Lydiate Ash northwards, passing to the west of the villages of Frankley and Woodgate, to enter the Birmingham conurbation near Quinton. A feature of the road would be a 3-milelong viaduct over the Western Region railway be t wee n the BirminghamWolverhampton Road (A4123) at Causeway Green through Smethwick and Oldbury to the south of West Bromwich. The motorway will be built on a viaduct to minimize disturbance to property.
From the Birmingham Road (A41) in West Bromwich to the junction with the proposed Coleshill-Dunston motorway, south of Walsall, the route is substantially the same as that previously advertised in the original draft scheme for the Birmingham-Preston motorway.
The terminal junction near Walsall, it is proposed, should be triangular in shape, so that traffic from the south-west could proceed either northwards to the Black Country or Lancashire or eastwards to Birmingham without reducing speed. Access to the new road would be restricted, but a limited number of two-level junctions with main roads crossing the route would be 'provided. Proposals for these will be advertised later.