to Bromsgrove 13 miles [is made extremely commodious for the first four miles under the patronage of John Kettle esq in 1772 at an expense of £5000, but afterwards is so confined that two horses cannot pass without danger; the sun and winds are excluded, and the rivers lie open to the stranger and he travels through dirt at midsummer. The Northfield bypass, taking traffic away from the congested town centre opened on 11 April 2007. Between Northfield and Selly Oak, the road is likely to have been in use in the medieval period as the road approximately follows the boundary of the former Weoley Park, the great park belonging to Weoley Castle. A dual carriageway bypass () of the narrow section from Selly Oak to Bournbrook opened in August 2011. This required new bridges to carry the Worcester and Birmingham Canal and the Cross-City railway line over the road. The destination of the Roman road was clearly Metchley Fort, but A38 turns away towards the city centre.