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Content:
Perry Barr
MSO Home - Unbuilt Services - Perry Barr
Factfile:
Motorway: M6
Junctions: Between J6 and J7
Location: West Midlands B42
Other names: none
Date planned: unknown
Well, I have already had a rant about the lack of services near Birmingham, so we'll try and keep this one short. Basically, Perry Barr would have located on the M6 on the northern bit of the 'Birmingham Box'. The services would have been ten miles south of Hilton Park, 17 miles west of Corley and 37 miles north of Warwick.
The problem is that this bit of the motorway is extremely busy, and it's also very urban and elevated for most of its length. The services would have been located on a short stretch of the M6 near Perry Park which isn't elevated, however they can't be original to the motorway because there is no hard shoulder to the junction.
The site is absolutely tiny - it's bordered by houses on three of the sides and immediately to the south is a canal. I'm still not entirely sure how they were planning to fit it in, even if you were to build the services under the M6.
Due to the heights involved and the lack of space, the sliproads would have been steep two-way roads with a sharp bend on each one, joining the motorway at a right angle.
Today it is used as a works unit, which heads round and under the motorway. It is officially known as the 'Perry Barr Motorway Facility', and it's also used by the police as a place to pull motorists over rather than stopping them on the busy M6. When the site was first built in preparation for the services, some maps had it down as an open but unnumbered junction.
Photos:
Click on a photo to view the full size. If you have one to add, contact me. It's never too late to get your name in the limelight.
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With thanks to SABRE's 'Nic A47' for the information used on this page.