Gallery:Swan Island
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Junctions in the West Midlands region > Swan Island
The junction between the A4040 and A45 in Birmingham.
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Swan Island
1960's proposals for a viaduct above the existing A45 Coventry Road in Birmingham. The only part of the scheme built was the underpass at Swan Island.
A view of Swan Island taken from the east footpath of the northbound A4040 as it approaches the junction, showing the roundabout itself, some of its interior footbridges, and (on the bottom right) the entrance to the pedestrian subway which is used to access the interior footbridges. (The A45 is not visible from this angle; it's flowing beneath the bridge in the centre of the picture.)
A view of Swan Island from the footbridge in the middle of the complex. The road on the bottom level is the A45 (away from the camera is westbound). The A4040 northbound is out of view to the right of the picture. Towards the right of the picture is a pedestrian subway providing pedestrians access to the north pavement of the A45 to the west and the west pavement of the A4040 to the north; three other similar subways exist, allowing access to any pavement of either of the major roads intersecting here.
A view of the eastbound A45 from the interior of Swan Island, its junction with the A4040. The main line of the road can be seen at the bottom of the picture; the exit sliproad joining onto it can (just about) be seen next to the 40mph speed limit sign. At the time this picture was taken (around 3pm on a weekday), there was considerably more traffic on the roundabout itself (and the sliproads leading to it) than there was on the A45 underneath the roundabout; normally I try to wait for periods of low traffic when taking a photo (sort-of like crossing a road), but in this case I didn't have to.
A picture showing part of the unusual footbridge scheme inside Swan Island. The picture was taken from the central footbridge (visible in the bottom-right of the image). Each end of the central footbridge connects to two connecting footbridges that slope downwards to four subways evenly spaced around the roundabout (one of these footbridges is visible going from the right-hand edge of the picture to the approximate centre), with the subway in the centre of the picture. Each subway has ramps to connect to two of the eight pavements around the junction (from this angle, the connected pavements are the south pavement of the A45 to the east, and the east pavement of the A4040 to the south).
Also visible is a tiny amount of the A45 (bottom-left of the corner), and the south-east corner of the roundabout (a little above centre).
A view of Swan Island from the top floor of a double-decker bus. The sun was out, creating a confusing reflection in the window, and thus causing the image to show the view in front of and behind the camera simultaneously.
The A4040 to the south is shown at the top-right of the picture, and the A45 runs beneath the footbridge in the centre left. Three of the five footbridges making up the design are visible in the main view of the picture, together with one subway (also in the centre left), which connects to the south footpath of the A45 to the east and the east footpath of the A4040 to the south. In the reflection in the window, the railings around another subway entrance can be seen.