Bentley Interchange
From Roader's Digest: The SABRE Wiki
| Bentley Interchange | |||
| Location Map | |||
| |||
| Type : | Roundabout Interchange | ||
| Roads Joined : | M6, A454, B4464 | ||
| Location : | Bentley | ||
| Traditional County: | Staffordshire | ||
| Ceremonial County: | West Midlands | ||
| Authority | |||
| Highways Agency | |||
| Junctions on the A454 | |||
| Junctions on the B4464 | |||
Bentley Interchange is junction 10 of the M6 motorway, forming a major access to the city of Wolverhampton and the large town of Walsall. It is a light-controlled roundabout junction, and featured the first ramp-metering system in Great Britain, installed in the early 1990s. The roundabout is now so busy that it has been bypassed by left-turn filters on all entrances bar that from B4464.
On the M6, it is signed northbound for both Wolverhampton (Cen & E) and Walsall, whilst southbound it is the sole signed exit for Walsall.
Its name can be confused with Bentley Junction, which is just to the west on A454 Black Country Route.
History
The original route of A454 through the site of the junction ran slightly to the north of the present junction, along the line of B4464 before following the line of Wolverhampton Road West and Wolverhampton Road before proceeding along the present A454 line towards Walsall town centre.
Opened in 1966, the junction formed a terminus for the M6 until the section towards junction 9 opened in 1968. As originally constructed, the roundabout was an off-set shape in order to allow for the future construction of the Bilston Link Motorway, which was to improve access both into Wolverhampton city centre, and to act as a bypass for the town of Willenhall.
Whilst the Bilston Link Motorway remained unbuilt, the space was utilised in the late 1980s for a downgraded version called the Black Country Route which was allocated the A454 number with the original route of A454 at the junction being allocated the B4464 number. Access to B4464 west of the junction is restricted to bus traffic; other traffic must use A454 and exit at the first junction, Bentley Junction, to access B4464.
With the increasing load on the junction, there have been several proposals to improve the junction, usually by adding grade separation for traffic to continue along A454. This proposal is constricted by a lack of space on the western side of the junction, although there is sufficient space on the eastern side. These proposals have not progressed beyond the initial phases.
Routes
| Route | To | Notes |
| The NORTH WEST, Stafford, Telford (M54) | ||
| The SOUTH, Birmingham | ||
| W'hampton, Dudley (A463), Willenhall, Bilston | ||
| Walsall, Cannock (A34), Brownhills (A452), Lichfield (A461), Walsall Manor Hospital | ||
| no access from roundabout | ||
