Patent Shaft Roundabout

Patent Shaft Roundabout is a roundabout on A41 within the Black Country town of Wednesbury. It marks the northern point where Telford's Holyhead Road diverges from the modern A41 Black Country Spine Road, and was constructed in its present form in the early 1990s.

Disused railway tunnel between the A41 carriageway flares

The northern access to A41 from the roundabout appears from aerial photos to have space for grade separation. This is not the case, as the carriageways actually separate around the mouth of a disused railway tunnel, which was constructed by the LNWR between their Darlaston and Wednesbury Town stations. Interestingly, the tunnel was already disused when the northbound carriageway was constructed alongside the original (now southbound) carriageway, and the A41 to the south which was constructed at almost the same time runs along the former Darlaston Loop trackbed.

The major industry in Wednesbury was the manufacture of steel and The Patent Shaft and Axeltree Company was established in 1840. The factory closed in 1980 and the A41 ran through its location - hence the name of the roundabout.

Routes

Route	To	Notes
A41	Wolverhampton, Bilston
A41	Wednesbury, West Bromwich, Great Bridge ¼, Tipton, Dudley (A461), (M6,M5), Walsall