B4149
B4149 | |||||||||||||
Location Map ( geo) | |||||||||||||
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From: | West Bromwich (SO984915) | ||||||||||||
To: | New Oscott (SP102946) | ||||||||||||
Via: | Queslett | ||||||||||||
Distance: | 8.2 miles (13.2 km) | ||||||||||||
Meets: | B4166, A41, A4196, A4031, A4041, B4138, A452, A453 | ||||||||||||
Old route now: | A4041, A453 | ||||||||||||
Primary Destinations | |||||||||||||
Highway Authorities | |||||||||||||
Traditional Counties | |||||||||||||
Route outline (key) | |||||||||||||
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The B4149 is a road of two halves in the West Midlands conurbation, much reduced from its heyday. Once a single through route, now one part of it is in West Bromwich, while the other lies a few miles away in Sutton Coldfield.
The route starts in the West Bromwich suburb of Greets Green, heading north from a light-controlled crossroads where the B4166 TOTSOs. It quickly crosses two canals before reaching a T-junction. Originally this was a crossroads where the B4149 crossed the A41. However, the building of the A41 bypass severed the road ahead and so our route now TOTSOs left to cross the A-road at the Swan Roundabout. It rejoins the original route just before crossing the Midland Metro.
After crossing the A4196 at traffic lights the B4149 continues northeast along Church Lane before TOTSOing right upon meeting the unclassified Heath Lane at another set of lights. One block further east the route merges into a gyratory which is part of the A4031.
The B4149 appears to end here but that is not so. One block east (but round three sides of the gyratory for eastbound traffic) is the start of the A4041 which has taken over the middle section of the route. The B-road used to continue via Great Barr to Queslett but all this is now a multiplex and the B4149 does not reappear for over four miles. The multiplex (or stolen section depending on your point of view) finally ends at a roundabout on the far side of Queslett and the B4149 heads eastwards along the dual-carriageway Kings Road through Kingstanding.
We cross the B4138 (also dual-carriageway) at a roundabout in the centre of the estate before crossing the A452 at traffic lights, after which the road narrows to S2. As Jockey Road it continues to the next roundabout where the route ends on the A453.
Given that the westbound A453 TOTSOs at this roundabout, and also that the road ahead is the continuation of Jockey Road, it would appear that the B4149 used to continue further and indeed that is so. Prior to 1935 the road coming in from the right was the B4139 and the B4149 continued ahead to the far end of Jockey Road where it ended on the A38 (now A5127) to the south of Sutton Coldfield.