Black Country Spine Road
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The Black Country New Road (or Black Country Spine Road) is a major road which runs through the West Midlands of
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The route was first planned during the 1980s, as a trunk road to link the planned Black Country Route at
Bilston Bilston is a market town, ward, and civil parish located in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is close to the borders of Sandwell and Walsall. The nearest towns are Darlaston, Wednesbury, and Willenhall. Historically in Staffordshi ...
with Junction 1 of the
M5 motorway The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...
in
West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, c ...
, featuring grade-separated junctions, although these had been scaled down by the early 1990s in order to keep costs down, with conventional traffic islands taking the place of the grade-separated junctions and part of the route diverted along an existing road instead of running along a new mile-long route. The first phase of the route was completed in July 1995, beginning with a half-mile stretch of dual carriageway linking the A41/A4038 junction in Moxley with the simultaneously completed final phase of Black Country Route. It opened at the same time as the Great Bridge to West Bromwich section, which also included the Great Bridge relief road (Great Western Way). The second phase was completed in November 1995. This route was late in its completion because it made use of a four-span viaduct-style bridge over ''Eagle Crossing'' (carrying a section of railway between
Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...
and
Brierley Hill Brierley Hill is a town and electoral ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, West Midlands, England, 2.5 miles south of Dudley and 2 miles north of Stourbridge. Part of the Black Country and in a heavily industrialised area, it has a pop ...
which had closed two years earlier) in the Toll End area of
Tipton Tipton is an industrial town in the West Midlands in England with a population of around 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census. It is located northwest of Birmingham. Tipton was once one of the most heavily industrialised towns in the Black Country, w ...
. The third and final phase of the route was completed in the spring of 1997, with a one-mile (1.6 km) stretch of Holyhead Road being converted into a dual carriageway at half the cost of the original proposed route which would have made use of an entirely new road between Moxley and Wednesbury. As well as relieving traffic congestion, the Black Country Spine Road also opened up several square miles of previously inaccessible land around
Wednesbury Wednesbury () is a market town in Sandwell in the county of West Midlands, England. It is located near the source of the River Tame. Historically part of Staffordshire in the Hundred of Offlow, at the 2011 Census the town had a population of 3 ...
and
Tipton Tipton is an industrial town in the West Midlands in England with a population of around 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census. It is located northwest of Birmingham. Tipton was once one of the most heavily industrialised towns in the Black Country, w ...
. This allowed for commercial and light industrial development to take place and create jobs in an area which since the 1970s had been hit by de-industrialisation and unemployment. Unemployment figures in some of the area surrounding the Spine Road are still relatively high, but the businesses set up along the route have boosted the local economy. Visible in the middle of the road just before the Patent Shaft Roundabout is the exit from a former railway tunnel which ran to the Patent Shaft Steelworks, part of which occupied this site prior to closure in 1980. In the middle of the roundabout are a pair of gates from the factory which had stood on the canal towpath alongside the factory site for some 30 years before being relocated to their current location.


Canal Bridge

When plans were originally drawn up for the Road they included the provision of a navigable culvert under the road near the Swan Bridge roundabout to the Ridgacre Branch, part of the
Birmingham Canal Navigations Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) is a network of canals connecting Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and the eastern part of the Black Country. The BCN is connected to the rest of the English canal system at several junctions. It was owned and opera ...
. However, when it was built this was not implemented and the canal was cut off from the canal network and lost to navigation. It remains in water and used for fishing, but without the traffic of boats is rapidly becoming silted up.


References

{{reflist Transport in Wolverhampton Transport in Sandwell Transport in Walsall Roads in the West Midlands (county) Black Country