The Middleway

The Grazebrook beam engine, Dartmouth Circus

A4540 shield
A4540
Route information
Length6.5 mi (10.5 km)
Major junctions
Orbital around Birmingham
Major intersections A457
A41
A34
A38
A47
A45
A41
A34
A435
A441
A38
A456
Location
CountryUnited Kingdom
Road network

The A4540 is a ring road in Birmingham, England, also known as the Middle Ring Road, or the Middleway. It runs around the centre (St Philip's Cathedral) of the city at a distance of approximately 1 mile (1.6 km). Birmingham City Centre is the area within this ring road. The ring road was planned and designed by Herbert Manzoni. It is now simply known as the Ring Road due to the removal of the old Inner Ring Road.

The traffic island at Dartmouth Circus houses a preserved Boulton and Watt steam engine, the Grazebrook beam engine. The Middleway forms the boundary to Birmingham Clean Air Zone, although the road itself is not part of the zone.[1]

Plans to make The Middleway a red route were proposed as early as 2008 but dropped in 2021.[2][3]

  1. ^ "Birmingham Clean Air Zone Map - exactly where charges apply and key locations". Birmingham Mail. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  2. ^ "A4540 Ring Road red route proposal". birmingham.gov.uk. 7 March 2007. Archived from the original on 13 August 2007.
  3. ^ "Council drops red route plan". BirminghamLive. 20 June 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2021.