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A38(M)
Aston Expressway
Route information
Maintained by Birmingham City Council
Length	2.0 mi (3.2 km)
Existed	1972–present
History	Opened and completed: 1972
Major junctions
North end	Gravelly Hill
Major intersections	M6 motorway
South end	Birmingham city centre
Location
Country	United Kingdom
Counties	West Midlands
Primary destinations	Birmingham city centre
Road network
Roads in the United Kingdom Motorways A and B road zones
← A8(M) → A48(M)

The A38(M), commonly known as the Aston Expressway, is a motorway in Birmingham, England. It is 2 miles (3.2 km) long and was opened on 24 May 1972. It connects the M6 motorway to Aston and Central Birmingham and forms part of the much longer A38 route.

It is extremely unusual as it is the only single carriageway motorway in the United Kingdom and consists of seven lanes with no central reservation, and operates a tidal flow system in an attempt to minimise congestion. Due to the nature of the road, the speed limit is reduced to 50 mph (80 km/h) for most of its length with a very short length of 30 mph (48 km/h), though there are no permanent speed cameras as of 2010.

When construction work of the motorway began in the late 1960s, many late 19th-century and early 20th-century houses in the Aston area had to be demolished to make way for the new route.

Route

The A38(M) runs from the A5127 through Gravelly Hill Interchange where the A38 joins and then shortly after traffic from the M6 motorway also joins. It then enters a tidal flow section. The road is on a viaduct as it passes through Aston; this section cuts through the grounds of Aston Hall. The road passes through its first junction after 1 mile (1.6 km). It enters a cutting before reaching the second junction, where the tidal flow ends as does the motorway. The motorway is curved in Aston to avoid an Ansells brewery. The motorway was also crossed by a vinegar pipeline, carrying the condiment from one part of the since-demolished HP Sauce factory to the other.

Dartmouth Circus

The traffic island at Dartmouth Circus was built where Aston Road met with Dartmouth Street, Bracebridge Street and Allesley Street. where the White Hart public house had been sited.

• A4540 Dartmouth Middleway (previously Dartmouth Street) J13
• A38(M) Aston Expressway
• A38 Aston Road
• A5127 Aston Road

The traffic island at Dartmouth Circus preserves a re-erected Boulton and Watt steam engine (52°29′33″N 1°53′18″W / 52.4925°N 1.8882°W / 52.4925; -1.8882). The engine was built in 1817 and used in Netherton at the ironworks of M W Grazebrook.

Tidal flow

The Expressway was the first road in the United Kingdom to introduce tidal flow to allow better management of traffic. Lane use is controlled by means of electronic overhead signs, with one lane always closed to create a buffer between the two directions of travel – there is no central reservation. During the morning rush, four of the seven lanes are allocated to traffic heading into the city and two to traffic heading out of it. In the evening, this pattern is reversed. At all other times, the road runs with three lanes in each direction.

Motorcycles are banned from the red-surfaced central lane, which contains a drainage channel, regardless of how it is being used. This follows a fatal accident which occurred when one of the drainage covers came loose.

Junctions

This article contains a bulleted list or table of intersections which should be presented in a properly formatted junction table. Please consult this guideline for information on how to create one. Please improve this article if you can. (December 2021)

Download coordinates as:

• KML
• GPX (all coordinates)
• GPX (primary coordinates)
• GPX (secondary coordinates)

See also

• List of motorways in the United Kingdom
• Transport in Birmingham

References

1. The Motorway Archive A38(M) – Dates Archived 11 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine
2. "Google Maps".
3. The Motorway Archive – A38(M) Archived 11 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine
4. "View map: Warwickshire XIV.NW (Includes: Birmingham.) - Ordnance Survey Six-inch England and Wales, 1842-1952".
5. closedpubs.co.uk: White Hart
6. CBRD Motorway Database – A38(M)

External links

• CBRD Motorway Database – A38(M)
• CBRD Videos – A38(M)
• Pathetic Motorways – A38(M)
• The Motorway Archive – A38(M)

v t e Streets and roads in Birmingham, England
City centre streets	Bennetts Hill Broad Street Colmore Row Corporation Street Edmund Street Hurst Street New Street Newhall Street Paradise Circus Paradise Street
City centre squares	Brindleyplace Centenary Square Chamberlain Square Five Ways Old Square St Pauls Square Victoria Square
Suburban streets	Orphanage Road
A roads	A34 A38 A4040 (outer ring road) A41 A4400 (inner ring road) A45 A4540 (middle ring road) A47 A435 A456 A5127
Motorways	A38(M) M5 motorway M6 motorway
Defunct	The Crescent
Category

v t e Motorways in the United Kingdom
Great Britain	M1 M11 M18 M180 M181 A1(M) A167(M) A194(M) A1077(M) M2 M20 M23 M25 M26 M27 M271 M275 M3 M32 A3(M) A38(M) A308(M) A329(M) M4 M40 M42 M45 M48 M49 A48(M) A404(M) M5 M50 M53 M54 M55 M56 M57 M58 A57(M) A58(M) M6 M6 Toll M60 M61 M62 M65 M66 M67 M69 M602 M606 M621 A64(M) A66(M) A627(M) M73 M74 M77 A74(M) M8 M80 M876 M898 A8(M) A823(M) M9 M90
Northern Ireland	M1 M2 M3 M5 M12 M22 A8(M)
Former	M10 M41 M63 M85 A18(M) A40(M) A41(M) A102(M) A601(M) A6144(M)
Unbuilt	M12 M15 M16 M31 M64 M4 relief road
Junctions ( Category)	Almondsbury Broxden Catthorpe Charing Cross, Glasgow Denton Island Handy Cross Longbridge Lydiate Ash Scotch Corner Spaghetti Junction Switch Island Thorney Thorpe Thurcroft
Bridges	Auchenshuggle Avonmouth Bromford Don Friarton Gathurst Kingston Medway to Nowhere Ouse Rakewood Scammonden Prince of Wales Severn Thames Thelwall Tinsley Queensferry Usk Weaver
Related articles	National Highways Traffic officers South Wales Trunk Road Agent Traffic officers Transport Scotland DfI Roads Preston By-pass Smart motorway Motorway service area List
Category Commons

• Motorways in England
• Transport in Birmingham, West Midlands
• Roads in the West Midlands (county)
• Roads with a reversible lane