In 1958, the Ministry of Transport commissioned the engineering firm Sir Owen Williams & Partners to investigate possible routes to connect the M6, the A38(M) and the A38 trunk road.

The student magazine of Birmingham City University, Spaghetti Junction, took its name from the interchange's nickname, before being rebranded as Polygon.

[4] One stipulation in construction was that the canal towpaths running underneath the junction need to retain sufficient clearance to allow the passage of horse-drawn narrowboats.

[13] These followed the interim report of the Merrison Enquiry set up following the collapse of similar box girder bridges in Australia and Wales.

Upon inspection, it was found that Spaghetti Junction itself was in need of repair, because salt and grit had weakened the joints in the structure.

Gravelly Hill Interchange appears in the 1973 Cliff Richard musical film Take Me High, where he plays a banker living on a barge on Gas Street Basin.

[2] The National Lottery-based show Winning Lines featured a trip to Spaghetti Junction as a booby prize.