Spaghetti Junction in Birmingham turns 40 Gravelly Hill Interchange, more commonly known as "Spaghetti Junction," turns 40 today. It was on May 24 1972 that the interchange, which is located at junction 6 of the M6 motorway, was first opened, with its famous nickname reputedly coined by Roy Smith, a journalist working on the Birmingham Evening Mail, due to the appearance of the complicated road network when seen from the air. His idea caught on with such success that today most people only know Gravelly Hill Interchange by its nickname. Spaghetti Junction also features in the English Dictionary and is the name of the official Birmingham City Students' Union magazine. In total Spaghetti Junction serves 18 routes, most importantly linking the M6 with the A38 (M) Aston Expressway in Birmingham, as well as the A38 (Tyburn Road) and the A5127. In total the junction covers an area of about 30 acres and features more than 500 concrete columns supporting its five levels. Construction of the road began in 1968 and took four years to complete, its complicated design a result of it following the line of the local canal and river network in order to minimise the demolition of property. When it opened there were about 40,000 vehicles a day using Gravelly Hill Interchange, a figure that has risen to 210,000 vehicles a day in 2012.