On 24 May this year, Gravelly Hill Interchange, more commonly known as Spaghetti Junction, celebrated its 40th anniversary.
To mark the special occasion, ICE West Midlands Municipals Group unveiled a plaque at Spaghetti Junction on Thursday 13 December. The plaque recognises the contribution made by the various civil engineers who have worked on the design, construction and maintenance of the iconic structure, which has made such a significant contribution to the economic development of the West Midlands and surrounding areas.
The plaque was initiated by Damian McGettrick, former ICE West Midlands Chairman and Chair of the West Midlands Municipals Group who is passionate about raising awareness of great civil engineering achievements.
Damian said: “Civil engineering has always been a challenging profession – maybe even more now with the current economic climate. We need to recognise the achievements of our predecessors, to build upon these and move forward to inspire our future generation. By commemorating the construction marvel of Spaghetti Junction, we must continue to raise the profile of civil engineers and recognise the importance of innovation. We must attract new people into the industry, to benefit from their new ideas and transfer knowledge from the vast pool of experience that we have.”
Amey kindly donated the plaque and organised it’s installation at the site on the A4645 Salford Bridge over the River Tame.