Spaghetti junction explained

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.^[1] 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".^{[2] [3] [4]} 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

• Light Horse Interchange, at the junction of the M4 and M7 in Eastern Creek, Sydney.
• Rozelle Interchange, at the intersection of City West Link, Victoria Road and the Western Distributor in Rozelle, Sydney^[5]

Victoria

• Springvale Junction at the intersection of Dandenong, Springvale, Police and Centre roads in Melbourne

Queensland

• The interchange at the junction of M3 Inner City Bypass, M7 Clem Jones Tunnel, and M7 Airport Link in Bowen Hills, Brisbane

Botswana

• Thapama Interchange at the junction of A1 / Blue Jacket Street and A3 in Francistown.^{[6] [7]}

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

• The interchange between Bloor Street, Dundas Street, and Kipling Avenue in Toronto's west end, officially known as the Six Points Interchange, but often referred to as the "Spaghetti Junction".^[8] This interchange was demolished and reconfigured between 2019 and 2021 to become at-grade junctions.^[9]
• The interchange between Highway 427 and the Queen Elizabeth Way and Gardiner Expressway has been referred to as a "messy spaghetti junction" by UrbanToronto.^[10]

Quebec

• The Turcot Interchange, the largest interchange in the province of Quebec, and the third busiest in Montréal. It contains Autoroute 15 and Autoroute 20
• The Décarie Interchange, One of the oldest intersections in Montréal, Quebec. It contains Autoroute 40 and Autoroute 15

China

• Huangjuewan interchange
• Guiyang Qianchun interchange

Germany

• The Kreuz Kaiserberg interchange between the A3, which runs from the Dutch border near Elten via Oberhausen and Frankfurt am Main to the Austrian border south of Passau, and the A40 (Ruhrschnellweg) from Venlo to Dortmund.

Indonesia

• The interchange between Waru-Juanda Toll Road, Surabaya–Gempol Toll Road, and Surabaya–Mojokerto Toll Road in border of Surabaya and Sidoarjo, East Java.

Malaysia

• The Penchala Interchange between Damansara-Shah Alam Elevated Expressway (DASH), Damansara-Puchong Expressway (LDP) and Sprint Expressway (Penchala Link). The interchange also links to local roads to Damansara Perdana, Mutiara Damansara and Kampung Penchala.

New Zealand

• Central Motorway Junction, the intersection of New Zealand State Highway 1 and Highway 16, as well as several separate on-and off-ramp clusters, south of the city centre of Auckland.

South Africa

• EB Cloete Interchange, the intersection of the N2 and N3 freeways in Durban.

United Kingdom

• Gravelly Hill Interchange, which the phrase "Spaghetti Junction" originated from, is the five-level intersection of the M6 motorway (Junction 6), A38(M) motorway, A38 road and A5127 road above a railway line, three canals and a river in Birmingham. The phrase comes from the birds-eye view of the road, with the roads interconnecting.
• Worsley Braided Interchange, between the M60 (formerly M62), M61, A580 and A666(M), between Manchester and Bolton, which opened in 1970.^{[11] [12]}

United States

Alabama

• Downtown Birmingham

California

• MacArthur Maze, in Oakland, also called the "Distribution Structure", connects I-80 west, I-80 east / I-580 west, I-580 east to SR-24 / I-980, and I-880 south.^{[13] [14] [15]}

Florida

• Golden Glades Interchange, in Miami Gardens and North Miami Beach, connects U.S. Route 441 (US 441), Florida's Turnpike, the Palmetto Expressway (signed State Road 826), SR 9, North Miami Beach Boulevard (NW 167th Street) and Interstate 95 (I-95).

Georgia

• Tom Moreland Interchange, the interchange of I-85 and I-285 as well as US 23/SR 13 (Buford Highway), Chamblee-Tucker Road and Northcrest Road in DeKalb County just outside Atlanta.^{[16] [17] [18]}

Illinois

• Jane Byrne Interchange, locally known as "the spaghetti bowl", is the intersection of the Kennedy Expressway, the Dan Ryan Expressway, the Eisenhower Expressway, and Ida B. Wells Drive just southwest of downtown Chicago.

Indiana

• The concurrency between Interstate 65 and Interstate 70 in Indianapolis, particularly at the "North Split."

Kentucky

• Kennedy Interchange, the intersection of I-64, I-65, and I-71 at the northeastern edge of Downtown Louisville.

Massachusetts

• The South Bay Interchange between I-90 (Massachusetts Turnpike) and I-93/US 1/MA 3 in Boston.

Minnesota

• The intersection of I-94, I-35, US 12, US 52 and MN-55 at the southeastern edge of Downtown Minneapolis.
• The "Can of Worms" interchange in Duluth, between I-35 and US 53/I-535.

Missouri

• The Downtown Loop interchange of 23 exits, four Interstate Highways, four U.S. Highways and numerous city streets in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.

Nevada

• Henderson Spaghetti Bowl (or the "Hender-Bender") in Henderson (I-11/US 93/US 95, I-215, Lake Mead Parkway)
• Las Vegas Spaghetti Bowl, the interchange of I-15, I-11, US 93 and US 95 in Downtown Las Vegas, which also includes access to/from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
• Reno Spaghetti Bowl, the interchange of I-80, I-580 and US 395 in Reno, which also includes access to/from Battle Born Way (formerly Kietzke Lane) and East 4th Street and Prater Way in Sparks.

New Jersey

• Exit 53 on I-80 where the highway meets with US 46 and Route 23
• Exit 127 the Garden State Parkway where the highway meets US 9, Route 440, Smith Rd, and Riverside Drive above the Driscoll Bridge

Pennsylvania

• The intersection of I-81 and Route 22

Tennessee

• Malfunction Junction, the interchange between I-275 (formerly I-75) and I-40 in Knoxville, Tennessee^[19]
• The interchange between I-65 and I-440 in Nashville.

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.^[20]

Utah

• Spaghetti Bowl, where I-15, I-80, and State Route 201 meet in the cities of Salt Lake City and South Salt Lake. This interchange also has access to 2100 South and 900 West.

See also

• Magic Roundabout
• Malfunction Junction (disambiguation)
• Mixing Bowl
• Spaghetti code
• Stack interchange

Notes and References

1. Web site: Spaghetti junction. English Collins Dictionary. HarperCollins Publishers LLC. 13 May 2013.
2. Book: Addison, Paul. No Turning Back. 2010. OUP Oxford. Oxford. 978-0192192677. 139.
3. Web site: Spaghetti Junction myth is untangled. Birmingham Mail. 13 October 2011. 31 July 2014.
4. Book: Moran, Joe. On Roads. 23 June 2012. 2010. Profile Books. London. 978-1846680601. 45.
5. https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/lights-camera-action-spaghetti-junction-beneath-sydney-months-from-opening-20230612-p5dfw7.html Lights, camera, action: Spaghetti junction beneath Sydney months from opening
6. News: Hello spaghetti, bye bye traffic circles . Botswana Daily News . Ketumile . Kesentse . 25 January 2016 . 4 October 2017 .
7. News: Francistown Spaghetti Junction Opens for Public Use . https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/265982766762952/1474580942569789 . 2022-02-26 . limited. The Midweek Sun . 16 December 2016 . 4 October 2017 .
8. News: Untangling Etobicoke's messy Six Points interchange. Toronto Star. Byers. Jim. Star Media Group. 7 January 2008. 13 May 2013.
9. News: Etobicoke's 'Spaghetti Junction' to be closed all weekend as bridges come down . CBC News . March 8, 2019 . October 20, 2020.
10. Web site: Residential Development Proposed Beside 427-QEW Interchange. Julian . Mirabelli. UrbanToronto. May 30, 2019. July 25, 2021.
11. News: Chartres. John. 'Spaghetti Junction' opens, without warning signs . . . 18 December 1970 . 21 June 2012.
12. JWeb site: Johnson. W.M.. A627(M) Rochdale–Oldham Motorway. Lancashire County Council. 28 June 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20060829032020/http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/environment/historichighways/maa627%28m%29.asp. 29 August 2006.
13. News: Caltrans plans I-80-580 lane closures for MacArthur maze work . Contra Costa Times . July 12, 2013 . 17 December 2020 . 4 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304122057/http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_23651910/caltrans-plans-lane-i-80-580-closures-macarthur . dead .
14. Web site: Maze Collapse News . The 580 connector ramp at the MacArthur Maze reopened Thursday evening . . January 31, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140202204705/http://www.mtc.ca.gov/news/info/2007/freeway_collapse.htm . February 2, 2014 .
15. News: Tanker fire destroys part of MacArthur Maze / 2 freeways closed near Bay Bridge . SFGate.com . April 29, 2007.
16. Web site: Spaghetti Junction tops list of worst freight bottlenecks. 3 July 2018.
17. Web site: Highway Feature of the Week . Gribble Nation . Koerner . Michael G. . July 11, 1998 . June 29, 2019 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160704230155/http://www.gribblenation.com/hfotw/exit_14.html . July 4, 2016.
18. Web site: Spaghetti Junction. 20 April 2005. 3 July 2018.
19. News: Lakin . Matt . Junction for malfunction . December 27, 2020 . . August 26, 2012.
20. News: Acosta . Gustavo Reveles . October 17, 2010 . Gustavo Reveles Acosta: Freeway ramps: What's in a name? . https://archive.today/20130620202741/http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_16358453?IADID=Search-www.elpasotimes.com-www.elpasotimes.com . dead . 20 June 2013 . . 0746-3588 . June 10, 2013 .