Queensway, Birmingham

Queensway in Birmingham, looking southwest from Great Charles Street and a view of the tunnel. See below for an image of the opposite end of this tunnel, under construction in 1969.

Queensway is the name of a number of roads in central Birmingham, England, but most often refers to the Queensway tunnel, part of the A38.[1][2] Queensway is the suffix of several other roads and circuses, such as Smallbrook Queensway and Colmore Circus Queensway; all of which were once part of the historic A4400 Inner Ring Road, often called collectively the Queensway.

The Inner Ring Road was built as a dual carriageway in the 1960s and 1970s. Junctions on the road were largely grade separated, with pedestrians kept physically separate from vehicular traffic and most junctions allowing vehicles staying on the road to pass over or under those using the junction. Pedestrians used subways to cross the ring road.

Although seen as a revolutionary improvement when the first section opened in 1960, the 'Concrete Collar', as it became known, was viewed by council planners as an impenetrable barrier for the expansion of the city centre. Birmingham had a small city centre compared to other UK cities.[3] After 1988, the city council sought to recreate links between the city centre and the neighbouring areas, enlarging the city centre and improving the pedestrian environment across the city, with an emphasis on shifting vehicular movements out to The Middleway.[4] The Inner Ring Road was effectively dismantled by the 2000s - many roads have been rebuilt and downgraded and now far more resemble city streets.[5] According to the Birmingham Big City Plan published in 2011, the Ring Road has restricted open spaces, growth and economic activity, and made the city centre more crowded and harder to navigate.[6][7]

  1. ^ "The history behind Birmingham's St Chad's and Queensway tunnels". BBC News. 20 July 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  2. ^ Cardwell, Mark (5 October 2021). "Cars could be blocked from A38 Queensway tunnel - permanently". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  3. ^ MacLaran, Andrew (4 April 2014). Making Space: Property Development and Urban Planning. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-4441-4467-3.
  4. ^ "Restructuring Birmingham's Inner Ring Road". Urban Design Compendium. Archived from the original on 16 December 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
  5. ^ "The Core, Big City Plan". Birmingham City Council. 31 March 2009. Archived from the original on 18 March 2009. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
  6. ^ "Big City Plan Part 1" (PDF).
  7. ^ "Big City Plan Part 2" (PDF).