Talk:Spaghetti Junction, Birmingham

Chromatic Aberration
The suffers horribly from Chromatic aberration. It seems the photo was taken by a wikipedia user who is no longer on very often. This can be fixed easily if the RAW data is available, but I doubt we will be able to get it. Suggest someone local get a better shot of the location to replace the current photo. Gtwy (talk) 00:47, 27 August 2014 (UTC) I've done a quick fix on it for the time being. Mighty Antar (talk) 12:40, 27 August 2014 (UTC)

'soviet target'
Is the 'soviet target' relevant? Surely that would have applied to most strategic routes in the UK? Is this text repeated in the descriptions of the Houses of Parliament etc? Or more up-to-date, a handly list of terrorist targets in the UK? I need to flag my scarcasm here. However, the IRA did leave a small semtex device under the M6 near this junction in April 1997. Fortunately the bomb was safely defused, which is why the occasion has been largely forgotten.--217.42.93.182 18:14, 13 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Add an image
Any junction that "is so named for its impressive system of intertwined loops and ramps" deserves an image Ae-a 22:56, 24 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Not a tourist attraction
Although it generated a lot of interest when it first opened - as the first such junction in England, it's not a tourist attraction in the 21st century. Hence I removed it from Category:Visitor attractions in Birmingham, England.

What do you mean? I see hundreds of caravans parked up there every bank holiday weekend...--135.196.104.154 (talk) 07:28, 13 April 2012 (UTC)

Gravelly Hill Interchange or Junction
I've reverted the header from Gravelly Hill Junction to Gravelly Hill Interchange (twice now) for the following reasons:

-- Tivedshambo (talk) 16:41, 1 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Although "Gravelly Hill Interchange" is more of an Americanism, it is more widespread in usage (390 hits on Google, against 4 for "Gravelly Hill Junction". It is also the official name.
 * I live only 2 miles from it, and never hear of it described as "Gravelly Hill Junction". (Spaghetti Junction is the usual name).
 * "Gravelly Hill Interchange" is the title of the article, and the header should reflect this.


 * Is there any reason this article isn't at something like Spaghetti Junction (Birmingham) anyway? Morwen - Talk 20:02, 23 September 2006 (UTC)


 * None that I can think of, if you're willing to update any redirects and redirects that will arise if you move the page. One title is the official name, the other is common usage. I think either would be acceptable. Spaghetti Junction, Birmingham already exists as a re-direct. &mdash; Tivedshambo (talk to me/look at me/ignore me) &mdash; 13:46, 24 September 2006 (UTC)
 * I think I prefer to use the official name in this case, as it better includes the rail and canal network that passes underneath the road junction. DWaterson 13:24, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Since "traffic circles" are less common in the US, these highway interchanges, when more complex, are also referred as "Circle interchanges", which in Chicago, gave the original "U of Illinois "Congress Circle Campus" ('60s) later known as Chicago Circle Campus ('70s-'90s), and now UI-Chicago (UIC) it's official name. Should reference to an "Expressway Circle {Highway interchange}" or something similar, also be indexed on this page? ChgoJohn (talk) 18:31, 6 November 2022 (UTC)

Satellite images
A map or aerial photograph would be very useful on this article. However, please ensure that any sources comply with Wikipedia's copyright policy. This excludes screenshots taken from Google Earth for example.– Tivedshambo (talk) 12:49, 26 February 2007 (UTC)

I just made my first edit to Wikipedia (that I can remember) and it was to add links to both Google satellite and the Live.com Bird's Eye view. There's no copyright issue with links is there? Thegallery 05:16, 23 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Not a problem - it would only be an issue if you (for example) uploaded a screenshot and put that in the article. Linking to copyright material is quite acceptable. It could be argued that it is duplication, as the google maps link can be obtained through the co-ordinate link, though in this case I think a direct link is helpful. – Tivedshambo (talk) 07:20, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

Cultural references
I'm inclined to agree with this edit of User:John's. There is very little here which, even if sourced, is of more than passing relevance to the article. Possibly the Cliff Richard film could be included if the junction played a significant part (I don't know the film so I can't say). Other than that, I'd say wipe the lot. Any thoughts? —  Tivedshambo  (t/c) 09:56, 2 January 2009 (UTC)
 * In the absence of any discussion, I've removed it. —  Tivedshambo  (t/c) 07:39, 16 January 2009 (UTC)

Removal of it being a target for a nuclear weapon
I just removed "The importance of the site for so many services led to the belief that it was a strategic target for a Soviet nuclear weapon during the Cold War, although this has yet to be verified." This is speculative and unverified. Sounds like the stuff of urban legends to me. I mean if Birmingham were nuked, losing spaghetti junction would have been the last of our problems. It would probably be destroyed by it anyway. Of course, I take this all back if anyone can verify it. RupertMillard (Talk) 23:56, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

Birmingham Mail's role in creating Spaghetti Junction legend
I have reverted the changes made recently which were entirely based upon an article published in the Birmingham Mail in May this year. The article is a piece of self-promotion for the Mail but doesn't provide any substantive evidence for it's conclusions. It mentions 1965, but what is needed is an article from the Mail published in 1965 otherwise they are referring to the pull-out they published in 1972 at the same time as the name "Spagetti Junction" appeared in The Times article I had already provided a source for. Mighty Antar (talk) 18:30, 23 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Could you take another look at it? Looks like something went wrong with your edit and the article currently contains both versions, and contradicts itself. I can't quite work out what you meant to leave though. Qwfp (talk) 18:53, 23 July 2012 (UTC)

WP:COMMONNAME
Surely, per WP:COMMONNAME this article should be under the name “Spaghetti Junction”? I don’t think I’ve ever seen it referred to ad=s “Gravelly Hill Interchange”. Just checking if there are any objections before I make the move. DeCausa (talk)
 * No objection. But, just to point out that the article Spaghetti junction already exists, so you'd have to call it "Spaghetti Junction (UK)" or something similar. Also bear in mind that the Worsley Braided Interchange was initially known locally as "Spaghetti Junction" so you might also need a hatnote for that. --  Dr Greg  talk 21:13, 16 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks for alerting me to that article. It seems very poorly sourced; most of the “spaghetti junctions” in that article are unsourced. Several of the sources that are there fail verification on checking. I think I found only 3 of the “spaghetti junctions” as properly sourced - with only one (in Atlanta) as clearly habitually referred to as that. None of the sources refer to “spaghetti junction” as a generic name for a complex interchange as that article claims. Chronologically the Birmingham one is clearly the first. I’ll do some more digging but my first thoughts are that the Birmingham junction should be the primary article with individual articles for the two or three others that has sourcing to pass WP:V - unless there’s a source that discusses “spaghetti junctions” as a generic concept, not currently in that article. DeCausa (talk) 21:31, 16 May 2021 (UTC)
 * I agree that the other article seems to be a list of complicated interchanges with very little evidence that any of them are actually known as "Spaghetti Junction". --  Dr Greg  talk 21:52, 16 May 2021 (UTC)

Requested move 24 April 2022

 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion. 

The result of the move request was: not moved. Common name arguments hit a snag because forcing the move to just "Spaghetti Junction" would require this junction to be the primary topic, a premise that has no consensus in its favour. A new RM can be opened for whether we stay here for good or move to disambiguated titles like "Spaghetti Junction (Birmingham)", but the simple name "Spaghetti Junction" is emerging as not viable. (non-admin closure) — Ceso femmuin mbolgaig mbung, mellohi! (投稿) 13:17, 28 May 2022 (UTC)

Gravelly Hill Interchange → Spaghetti Junction – This is the common name for the junction, and what appears most prominently in sources. For example : BBC News, BBC News, Birmingham Mail, ITV. Note that some sources call it the Spaghetti Junction, but I don't think there's enough for a consensus there. Per the above thread, the existing article with this name is problematic, with entries both unsourced and failing verification; nevertheless, I would propose that article should be merged with Spaghetti Junction (disambiguation). Ritchie333 (talk) (cont)  10:16, 24 April 2022 (UTC) — Relisting. 晚安 (トークページ) 15:46, 15 May 2022 (UTC)


 * Comment as can be seen from the above thread i’m generally supportive. The only thing that’s giving me pause are the other junctions with that name outside of the UK. I meant to follow up that thread with some further research, but never got round to it. From an initial review I did think that in the US in was applied as a generic descriptive name with some specific local names. As a Brit, to me “Spaghetti Junction” only means the one in Birmingham but I didn’t really bottom out whether that stands up from a global perspective. I wonder whether Spaghetti Junction (Birmingham) or some such would be better? Or is the proposal that the scope of the article be both the Birmingham junction and other uses including the generic description? DeCausa (talk) 10:35, 24 April 2022 (UTC)


 * I think that's a fair comment. The principal reason for choosing the Birmingham one as the primary topic is that I think it is the one that is dominated by specific references in multiple reliable sources. However, I'm also aware that all of the sources I have looked at have a UK bias. If somebody can present an equivalent number of sources that show a nationally, or even internationally, prominent junction of the same name in the US (or any other country), then some sort of disambiguated article title would make more sense. Ritchie333 (talk) (cont)  10:54, 24 April 2022 (UTC)


 * Support As that is how it is mentioned. I don't recall anybody calling it "Gravelly Hill Interchange". GenuineArt (talk) 10:58, 24 April 2022 (UTC)
 * The Tom Moreland Interchange in Atlanta is referred to as the spaghetti junction, but I think more often in North America we'd use Spaghetti Interchange. -  Floydian  τ ¢ 11:00, 24 April 2022 (UTC)
 * Oppose yes it is commonly described this way (even as a proposer noun) but it seems to be formerly known as "Gravelly Hill Interchange". Also per Floydian there appear to be other junctions nicknamed "Spaghetti Junction" and many other spaghetti junctions even in England so this would be too ambiguous. This may suggest using Spaghetti Junction, Birmingham but that doesn't seem necessary per WP:NATURAL. We have a formal and unambiguous name that we should use.  Crouch, Swale  ( talk ) 16:36, 24 April 2022 (UTC)
 * It was known as Spaghetti Junction (or at least described thus) at least six years before it opened. Or do you mean formally, which is not what WP:COMMONNAME says. As mentioned above, the other Spaghetti Junctions appear to be either non-notable or don't have anywhere near enough comparable coverage in sources. Ritchie333 (talk) <sup style="color:#7F007F">(cont)  17:49, 25 April 2022 (UTC)


 * Support. Very clear common name and definite primary topic for this name. Everyone calls it Spaghetti Junction, including the news and the traffic reports. -- Necrothesp (talk) 13:14, 28 April 2022 (UTC)
 * Oppose. While Spaghetti Junction may be the common name for this interchange, I'm not convinced it is the primary topic. The Tom Moreland Interchange in Atlanta is also well known as the Spaghetti Junction. See    . The Kennedy Interchange in Louisville gets a fair number of hits too. See  .  -- Vaulter  13:48, 2 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Strong oppose as this is not a primary topic over the Tom Moreland Interchange. Elli (talk &#124; contribs) 00:33, 3 May 2022 (UTC)
 * What about Spaghetti Junction (UK) as mentioned above? <b style="color:#7F007F">Ritchie333</b> <sup style="color:#7F007F">(talk) <sup style="color:#7F007F">(cont)  20:35, 3 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Probably not necessary per WP:NATURAL since the actual name is unambiguous and reasonably common even though "Spaghetti Junction" is sometimes used by sources. Also it would be Spaghetti Junction, Birmingham not Spaghetti Junction (UK). I knew the junction was called "Gravelly Hill Interchange" long before coming across this page so while "Spaghetti Junction" may have some formal use I don't think its desirable over the actual name.  Crouch, Swale  ( talk ) 22:05, 3 May 2022 (UTC)
 * I seriously doubt “Gravelly Hill Junction” is anyway as well known as “Spaghetti junction”. Indeed, if you google it the few times it comes up it’s almost always caveated with “better known as” Spaghetti junction, or similar eg this BBC article. DeCausa (talk) 22:16, 3 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Unnecessary. I prefer using the official name of infrastructure like this generally -- it's more consistent and likely to remain unambiguous. Elli (talk &#124; contribs) 22:42, 3 May 2022 (UTC)
 * This does seem be be supported by WP:FLORACOMMONNAME where we use the actual name rather than a nickname which is ambiguous.  Crouch, Swale  ( talk ) 16:01, 6 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Spaghetti Junction not being a plant, I don’t see how it supports it. DeCausa (talk) 16:34, 6 May 2022 (UTC)
 * The same principal applies, the current name is ambiguous and formal and is what it could be called anywhere while the proposed one is ambiguous especially with other junctions like Tom Moreland Interchange.  Crouch, Swale  ( talk ) 17:37, 6 May 2022 (UTC)


 * Strong support. While other junctions may have subsequently adopted the name in other countries, Gravelly Hill Interchange easily predates them and whatever it is known as officially, everyone in the UK knows it is Spagetti Junction.Mighty Antar (talk) 19:13, 6 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Being older means nothing, and that is not true anyways; the UK has generally been late to the game when it comes to highways, but even another junction in the UK had this name nearly a decade earlier. - Floydian τ ¢ 16:42, 24 May 2022 (UTC)

*Strong support I live next to the junction and have done for years per WP:COMMONNAME it should be Spaghetti Junction. And I don’t think users who live outside of the UK such as User:Floydian realise that NO one calls it the Gravely Hill Interchange.Beingakardashian (talk) 18:12, 24 May 2022 (UTC)  strike sock--  Jezebel's Ponyo bons mots 20:22, 24 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Support: Gravelly Hill Interchange has never, ever been the WP:COMMONNAME of this structure.-- ♦Ian Ma c M♦  (talk to me) 06:50, 23 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Support per WP:COMMONNAME.  Lugnuts  Fire Walk with Me 07:35, 23 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Weak oppose. The London Underground is probably better known locally as "the Tube", but that isn't its real name. Given the obvious chance for name collisions I think it's inappropriate to claim a term which is now applied to a variety of junctions. I propose instead that spaghetti junction's etymology section (or at least more of it) should be merged with the lede, so that the relevant information about this being the first one - as appears to be the case page - is given immediately and directs people looking for the UK one to the right place, rather than having to scroll through a page of countries in the Table of Contents. If carefully constructed it might even make the search engine results, which is currently not the case for e.g. DuckDuckGo for this term (the hatnote is being discounted). That would give it much of the benefit of being a primary topic without having to lose what is, after all, an official name, and an informative one. That page might even be renamed to list of spaghetti junctions, which is essentially what it has become. GreenReaper (talk) 02:17, 24 May 2022 (UTC)
 * The London Underground is very commonly known by that name. Nobody calls Spaghetti Junction Gravelly Hill Interchange! Not even the traffic reports. Most people wouldn't even know what it was. -- Necrothesp (talk) 11:00, 24 May 2022 (UTC)
 * But "Gravelly Hill Interchange" is unambiguous and likely stable in contrast to many "official" names that often change, per WP:CRITERIA while I agree "Gravelly Hill Interchange" may not be recognizable by many people at least its unambiguous and is the actual name of the junction as opposed to its more common (and somewhat formal) but ambiguous nickname similar to WP:FLORACOMMONNAME there are lots of junctions nicknamed "Spaghetti Junction" even in England but there seems to only be 1 "Gravelly Hill Interchange". While we can use ambiguous nicknames over actual names I don't think we need to here, the article Spaghetti junction (which deals with both the generic concept "Spaghetti junction" and specific junction named "Spaghetti Junction") already links to the Birmingham one at the top.  Crouch, Swale  ( talk ) 17:02, 24 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Strong oppose there are dozens of interchanges around the globe nicknamed "spaghetti junction" or "spaghetti interchange". Britain is neither special, nor in this case (since it seems to be oh-so-important when it comes to place names) the first. The Jane Byrne Interchange was called Spaghetti Junction when it opened in 1963, (Note that there are about 2 dozen articles from 1963 that refer to it by this name), the I-64/65 interchange in Louisville Kentucky was called it when it opened in 1965, and I could easily add a bunch of other examples from a quick search on newspapers.com. - Floydian τ ¢ 16:42, 24 May 2022 (UTC)
 * That's still kind of irrelevant; Spaghetti Junction (Birmingham) is perfectly acceptable. - Floydian τ ¢ 18:21, 24 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Spaghetti Junction, Birmingham but yes I'm someone in the UK and I oppose this.  Crouch, Swale  ( talk ) 16:30, 25 May 2022 (UTC)

<div style="padding-left: 1.6em; font-style: italic; border-top: 1px solid #a2a9b1; margin: 0.5em 0; padding-top: 0.5em">The discussion above is closed. <b style="color: #FF0000;">Please do not modify it.</b> Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
 * Strong oppose As Floydian notes above, it is not the first with this name. It may be the best known intersection by this name in the UK, but coming from a United States perspective, when I hear the term I think of three examples in the United States, and not this interchange. It is also used generically in the United States as a description of a complicated intersection design. This article is not about the definitive nor the generic case of a "Spaghetti Junction", so I oppose. ( If it were proposed that this article to be renamed to Spaghetti Junction (Birmingham) that would address my objections. But I  would guess that would make it harder, not easier, to find this article.) Benthatsme (talk) 23:04, 26 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Strong oppose due to presence of Tom Moreland Interchange and many others, agree with Eli and Floydian. Venkat TL (talk) 05:31, 28 May 2022 (UTC)

Requested move 9 June 2022
<div class="boilerplate" style="background-color: #efe; margin: 0; padding: 0 10px 0 10px; border: 1px dotted #aaa;">
 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion. 

The result of the move request was: Moved (non-admin closure) >>> Extorc . talk  04:53, 16 June 2022 (UTC)

Gravelly Hill Interchange → Spaghetti Junction, Birmingham – Pretty much a continuation of the previous RM, as suggested by the closer. I appreciate the arguments re the Tom Moreland Interchange mean this isn't the primary topic, but we still need to consider the WP:COMMONNAME aspect - no sources refer to the interchange by its formal title; all use "Spaghetti Junction". <b style="color:#7F007F">Ritchie333</b> <sup style="color:#7F007F">(talk) <sup style="color:#7F007F">(cont)  17:51, 9 June 2022 (UTC) <div style="padding-left: 1.6em; font-style: italic; border-top: 1px solid #a2a9b1; margin: 0.5em 0; padding-top: 0.5em">The discussion above is closed. <b style="color: #FF0000;">Please do not modify it.</b> Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion. ✅ Dr. Vogel (talk) 05:23, 16 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Support: This looks OK, as it removes the argument about there being other junctions with this name.-- ♦Ian Ma c M♦  (talk to me) 18:24, 9 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Oppose per WP:NATURAL, in this case using the actual name seems preferable as a tie-breaker. The name "Gravelly Hill Interchange" while less common in everyday speech is at least sometimes used (per the Roads.org source) and was a name I knew (not being an expert) so using the "official" name seems preferable here.  Crouch, Swale  ( talk ) 19:58, 9 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Support This completely solves the issue that muddied the water on the last RfC. “Gravelly Hill” is completely unknown and is hardly ever used - some form of Spaghetti Junction is clearly WP:COMMONNAME and this proposal is a suitable disambiguator so that it can be used. DeCausa (talk) 20:22, 9 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Support, seems to meet every criterion Red   Slash  18:51, 10 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Support per nom.  Lugnuts  Fire Walk with Me 10:09, 11 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Support - nothing more to say, it's already been said. - Floydian τ ¢ 13:42, 11 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Oppose per WP:NATURAL, explained by Crouch, Swale. A redirect is all that is needed here to assist page readers. --Venkat TL (talk) 13:52, 11 June 2022 (UTC)
 * WP:NATURAL? that says Using an alternative name that the subject is also commonly called in English reliable sources, albeit not as commonly as the preferred-but-ambiguous title. Do not, however, use obscure or made-up names. Gravelly Hill Interchange doesn’t qualify as “also commonly called”. It’s virtually unused in RS. No one calls it that in the UK. It does, howver, qualify as “obscure”. DeCausa (talk) 13:58, 11 June 2022 (UTC)
 * I note that BBC news article (an RS) from 3 weeks ago starts with the line "Thousands of motorists travel through the Gravelly Hill Interchange on the outskirts of Birmingham.... So much for an obscure Venkat TL (talk) 16:01, 11 June 2022 (UTC)
 * I've commonly seen it as "Gravelly Hill Interchange" in sources over the years and that's its "official" name and unlike "State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations" or "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" which is arguably more a descriptive name, "Gravelly Hill Interchange" does seem to be the actual name rather than a long obscure descriptive name. As a UK resident I'd never heard the name "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" until looking on Wikipedia and I'd be surprised if I found it at "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" while I'd expect "Gravelly Hill Interchange".  Crouch, Swale  ( talk ) 16:07, 11 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Venkat TL, that’s a rather strange example to cite. There are 15 references to it as “Spaghetti Junction” in that item, including the headline “Spaghetti Junction at 50: What lies beneath?”. The one mention of “Gravelly Hill Interchange” amongst those 15 is as a point of curiosity confirming its obscurity: Thousands of motorists travel through the Gravelly Hill Interchange on the outskirts of Birmingham at every hour of every day. The vast majority of drivers on the M6 motorway know it simply as Spaghetti Junction… (Crouch, Swale: it’s official name qua WP:official name is, of course, an irrelevance.) DeCausa (talk) 16:48, 11 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Support per nom. Very clear common name, even used on traffic reports (in fact, here in the West Midlands the traffic reporters usually just refer to it as "Spaghetti" - everyone knows what they're talking about). Most people wouldn't even know where Gravelly Hill Interchange was. It's been known almost exclusively as Spaghetti Junction pretty much since it opened. -- Necrothesp (talk) 13:57, 15 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Strong oppose per my comments in the previous discussion. Using the official name here is beneficial for consistency and clarity. It serves as effective natural disambiguation. Elli (talk &#124; contribs) 18:43, 15 June 2022 (UTC)

Move now
Gravelly Hill Interchange → Spaghetti Junction – This is the common name for the junction, and what appears most prominently in sources. For example : BBC News, BBC News, Birmingham Mail, ITV. Note that some sources call it theSpaghetti Junction, but I don't think there's enough for a consensus there. Per the above thread, the existing article with this name is problematic, with entries both unsourced and failing verification; nevertheless, I would propose that article should be merged with Spaghetti Junction (disambiguation). 195.195.4.115 (talk) 02:46, 18 May 2024 (UTC)


 * This isn't a formal move request and the current title is the result of the discussion above. "Spaghetti Junction, Birmingham" was agreed on because there are other junctions in the world that have acquired this nickname. Gravelly Hill Interchange is the official name but this is hardly ever used; see WP:COMMONNAME.-- ♦Ian Ma c M♦  (talk to me) 06:55, 18 May 2024 (UTC)