Interchange (road)
In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, using a system of interconnecting roadways to permit traffic on at least one of the routes to pass through the junction without interruption from crossing traffic streams. It differs from a standard intersection, where roads cross at grade. Interchanges are almost always used when at least one road is a controlled-access highway (freeway or motorway) or a limited -access divided highway (expressway), though they are sometimes used at junctions between surface streets. Terminology. "Note:" The descriptions of interchanges apply to countries where vehicles drive on the right side of the road. For left-side driving, the layout of junctions is mirrored. Both North American (NA) and British (UK) terminology is included. History. The concept of the controlled-access highway developed in the 1920s and 1930s in Italy, Germany, the United States and Canada. Initially, these roads featured at-grade intersections along their length. Interchanges were developed to provide access between these new highways and heavily-travelled surface streets . The Bronx River Parkway was the first road to feature grade-separations. Maryland engineer Arthur Hale filed a patent for the design of a cloverleaf interchange on May24, 1915, though the conceptual roadwork was not realised until a cloverleaf opened on December15, 1929, in Woodbridge, New Jersey, connecting New Jersey Route 25 and Route 4 (now U.S. Route 1/9 and New Jersey Route 35). It was designed by Philadelphia engineering firm Rudolph and Delano, based on a design seen in an Argentinian magazine. System interchange. A system interchange connects multiple controlled-access highways, involving no at-grade signalised intersections. Four -legged interchanges. Cloverleaf interchange. A cloverleaf interchange is a four-legged junction where left turns across opposing traffic are handled by non-directional loop ramps. It is named for its appearance from above, which resembles a four-leaf clover. A cloverleaf is the absolute minimum interchange required for a four-legged system interchange. Although they were commonplace until the 1970s, most highway departments and ministries have sought to rebuild them into more efficient and safer designs. The cloverleaf interchange was invented by Maryland engineer Arthur Hale, who filed a patent for its design on May24, 1915. The first one in  North America opened on December15, 1929, in Woodbridge, New Jersey, connecting New Jersey Route25 and Route4 (now U.S. Route1/9 and New Jersey Route35). It was designed by Philadelphia engineering firm Rudolph and Delano, based on a design seen in an Argentinian magazine. The first cloverleaf in Canada opened in 1937 at the junction of Highway 10 and what would become the Queen Elizabeth Way. The first cloverleaf outside of North America opened in Stockholm on October15, 1935. Nicknamed Slussen, it was referred to as a "traffic carousel" and was considered a revolutionary design at the time of its construction. A  cloverleaf offers uninterrupted connections between two roads, but suffers from weaving issues. Along the mainline, a loop ramp introduces traffic prior to a second loop ramp providing access to the crossroad, between which ingress and egress traffic mixes. For this reason, the cloverleaf interchange has fallen out of favour in place of combination interchanges. Stack interchange. A stack interchange is a four-way interchange whereby a semi-directional left turn and a directional right turn are both available. Usually access to both turns is provided simultaneously by a single offramp. Assuming right-handed driving, in order to cross over incoming  traffic and go left, vehicles first exit onto an off-ramp from the rightmost lane. After demerging from right-turning traffic, they complete their left turn by crossing both highways on a flyover ramp or underpass. The penultimate step is a merge with the right-turn on-ramp traffic from the opposite quadrant of the interchange. Finally an onramp merges both streams of incoming traffic into the left-bound highway. As there is only one offramp and one onramp (in that respective order), stacks do not suffer from the problem of weaving, and due to the semi-directional flyover ramps  and directional ramps, they are generally safe and efficient at handling high traffic volumes in all directions. A standard stack interchange includes roads on four levels, also known as a four-level stack: including the two perpendicular highways, and one more additional level for each pair of left-turn ramps. These ramps can be stacked (cross) in various configurations above, below, or between the two interchanging highways. This makes them distinct from Turbine interchanges, where pairs of left-turn ramps are separated but at the same level. There are some stacks that could be considered five-level; however, these remain  four-way interchanges, since the fifth level actually consists of dedicated ramps for HOV/bus lanes or frontage roads running through the interchange. The stack interchange between I-10 and I-405 in Los Angeles is a three-level stack, since the semi-directional ramps are spaced out far enough so they do not need to cross each other at a single point as in a conventional four-level stack. Stacks are significantly more expensive than other four-way interchanges, due to the design of the four levels. Additionally they may suffer from objections of local residents, because of their height and  high visual impact. Large stacks with multiple levels may have a complex appearance and are often colloquially described as "Mixing Bowls", "Mixmasters" (for a Sunbeam Products brand of electric kitchen mixers), or as "Spaghetti Bowls" or "Spaghetti Junctions" (being compared to boiled spaghetti). However, they consume a significantly smaller area of land compared to a cloverleaf interchange. Combination interchange. A combination interchange (sometimes referred to by the portmanteau, "cloverstack") is a hybrid of other interchange designs. It uses loop ramps to serve slower or less-occupied traffic flow, and flyover ramps to serve faster and heavier traffic flows. If local  and express ways serving the same directions and each roadway is connected righthand to the interchange, extra ramps are installed. The combination interchange design is commonly used to upgrade cloverleaf interchanges to increase their capacity and eliminate weaving. Turbine interchange. The turbine interchange (also known as a whirlpool) is an alternative four-way directional interchange. The turbine interchange requires fewer levels (usually two or three) while retaining directional ramps throughout. It features right-exit, left-turning ramps that sweep around the center of the interchange in a clockwise spiral. A full turbine interchange features a minimum of 18 overpasses, and  require more land to construct than a four-level stack interchange, however, the bridges are generally short in length. Coupled with reduced maintenance costs, a turbine interchange is a less costly alternative to a stack. Windmill interchange. A windmill interchange is similar to a turbine interchange, but it has much sharper turns, reducing its size and capacity. The interchange is named for its similar overhead appearance to the blades of a windmill. The junction in the Netherlands was a windmill from its opening in 1977. Since then it was renovated into a complex hybrid, combining stack, windmill and trumpet elements . A variation of the windmill, called the diverging windmill, increases capacity by altering the direction of traffic flow of the interchanging highways, making the connecting ramps much more direct. There also is a hybrid interchange somewhat like the diverging windmill in which left turn exits merge on the left, but it differs in that the left turn exits use left directional ramps. Other "windmill" interchange. There is another type of four-way interchange which is also called a "windmill" interchange, but it is otherwise not related to the windmill interchange described above. The "windmill" serves two arterial roadways by grade  separation. All turning movements are served by a right-hand exit ramp, with stop signs or traffic signals at the ramp termini; thus it is not a free-flow interchange. Vehicles make right and left-turn movements at the ramp intersections and are removed from the main intersection in conventional intersection design. Left turns can turn into left merge lanes, so vehicles have to wait for gaps in arterial traffic in only one direction (similar to the continuous green T-intersection operations.) This application is best suited for locations where free-flow through movements are desired for both intersecting roadways , with moderate to low turning movement volumes. This interchange design is best suited for rural locations where right-of-way is available at the intersection quadrants and quadrant development is low to minimize attraction of turning movement volumes. The only known example of this design exists at the junction of US 35 and State Route 32 near Jackson, Ohio, United States (at ). Both highways are expressways in each direction. Each highway has ramps that exit to the other highway, with traffic merging onto the second highway, but traffic coming to an intersection. Both highways end up having intersections, albeit with  a grade separation of the main highway corridors. A similar concept involves a partial cloverleaf interchange ("parclo") type A4, since that type of junction involves turning traffic off the freeway turning left onto the arterial, though the arterial itself exits with loop ramps eliminating left-hand turns onto the freeway, as well as to not invoke at-grade crossings for left turns onto the freeway. Three-level roundabout. A three-level roundabout interchange features a grade-separated roundabout which handles traffic exchanging between highways. The ramps of the interchanging highways meet at a roundabout, or rotary, on a separated level  above, below, or in the middle of the two highways. Three-legged interchanges. These interchanges can also be used to make a "linking road" to the destination for a service interchange, or the creation of a new basic road as a service interchange. Trumpet interchange. Trumpet interchanges may be used where one highway terminates at another highway, and are named as such for to their resemblance to trumpets. They are sometimes called "jug handles". These interchanges are very common on toll roads, as they concentrate all entering and exiting traffic into a single stretch of roadway, where toll plazas can  be installed once to handle all traffic, especially on ticket-based tollways. A double-trumpet interchange can be found where a toll road meets another toll road or a free highway. They are also useful when most traffic on the terminating highway is going in the same direction. The turn that is used less often would contain the slower loop ramp. Trumpet interchanges are often used instead of directional or semi-directional T or Y interchanges because they require less bridge construction but still eliminate weaving. T and Y interchanges. A full Y-interchange (also known as a directional T  interchange) is typically used when a three-way interchange is required for two or three highways interchanging in semi-parallel/perpendicular directions, but it can also be used in right-angle case as well. Their connecting ramps can spur from either the right or left side of the highway, depending on the direction of travel and the angle. Directional T interchanges use flyover/underpass ramps for both connecting and mainline segments, and they require a moderate amount of land and moderate costs since only two levels of roadway are typically used. Their name derives from their resemblance to the capital  letter T, depending upon the angle from which the interchange is seen and the alignment of the roads that are interchanging. It is sometimes known as the "New England Y", as this design is often seen in the northeastern United States, as with the Braintree Split and the northern terminus of MA Route 24, both south of Boston. This type of interchange features directional ramps (no loops, or weaving right to turn left) and can use multilane ramps in comparatively little space. Some designs have two ramps and the "inside" through road (on the same side as the freeway that  ends) crossing each other at a three-level bridge. The directional T interchange is preferred to a trumpet interchange because a trumpet requires a loop ramp by which speeds can be reduced, but flyover ramps can handle much faster speeds. The disadvantage of the directional T is that traffic from the terminating road enters and leaves on the passing lane, so the semi-directional T interchange (see below) is preferred. The interchange of Highway 416 and Highway 417, constructed in the early 1990s, is one of the few directional T interchanges, as most transportation departments had switched to the semi -directional T design. As with a directional T interchange, a semi-directional T interchange uses flyover (overpass) or underpass ramps in all directions at a three-way interchange. However, in a semi-directional T, some of the splits and merges are switched to avoid ramps to and from the passing lane, eliminating the major disadvantage of the directional T. Semi-directional T interchanges are generally safe and efficient, though they do require more land and are costlier than trumpet interchanges. Semi-directional T interchanges are built as two- or three-level junctions, with three-level interchanges typically used in urban  or suburban areas where land is more expensive. In a three-level semi-directional T, the two semi-directional ramps from the terminating highway cross the surviving highway at or near a single point, which requires both an overpass and underpass. In a two-level semi-directional T, the two semi-directional ramps from the terminating highway cross each other at a different point than the surviving highway, necessitating longer ramps and often one ramp having two overpasses. Highway 412 has a three-level semi-directional T at Highway 407 and a two-level semi-directional T at Highway 401 . Service interchange. Service interchanges are used between a controlled-access route and a crossroad that is not controlled-access. A full cloverleaf may be used as a system or a service interchange. Diamond interchange. A diamond interchange is an interchange involving four ramps where they enter and leave the freeway at a small angle and meet the non-freeway at almost right angles. These ramps at the non-freeway can be controlled through stop signs, traffic signals, or turn ramps. Diamond interchanges are much more economical in use of materials and land than other interchange designs, as the junction does  not normally require more than one bridge to be constructed. However, their capacity is lower than other interchanges and when traffic volumes are high they can easily become congested. A double roundabout diamond interchange, also known as a dumbbell interchange or a dogbone interchange, is similar to the diamond interchange, but uses a pair of roundabouts in place of intersections to join the highway ramps with the crossroad. This typically increases the efficiency of the interchange when compared to a diamond, but is only ideal in light traffic conditions. In the dogbone variation, the roundabouts do not form a complete  circle, instead having a teardrop shape, with the points facing towards the center of the interchange. Longer ramps are often required due to line-of-sight requirements at roundabouts. Partial cloverleaf interchange. A partial cloverleaf interchange (often shortened to the portmanteau, "parclo") is an interchange with loops ramps in one to three quadrants, and diamond interchange ramps in any number of quadrants. The various configurations are generally a safer modification of the cloverleaf design, due to a partial or complete reduction in weaving, but may require traffic lights on the lesser-travelled crossroad. Depending on the number of ramps used , they take up a moderate to large amount of land, and have varying capacity and efficiency. Parclo configurations are given names based on the location of and number of quadrants with ramps. The letter "A" denotes that, for traffic on the controlled-access highway, the loop ramps are located in "advance" of (or "approaching") the crossroad, and thus provide an onramp to the highway. The letter "B" indicated that the loop ramps are "beyond" the crossroad, and thus provide an offramp from the highway. These letters can be used together when opposite directions of travel on the controlled-access highway  are not symmetrical, thus a parclo AB features a loop ramp approaching the crossroad in one direction, and beyond the crossroad in the opposing direction, as in the example image. Diverging diamond interchange. A diverging diamond interchange (DDI) or double crossover diamond interchange (DCD) is similar to a traditional diamond interchange, except the opposing lanes on the crossroad cross each other twice, once on each side of the highway. This allows all highway entrances and exits to avoid crossing the opposite direction of travel and saves one signal phase of traffic lights each. The first DDIs were constructed in the  French communities of Versailles (A13 at D182), Le Perreux-sur-Marne (A4 at N486) and Seclin (A1 at D549), in the 1970s. Despite the fact that such interchanges already existed, the idea for the DDI was "reinvented" around 2000, inspired by the freeway-to-freeway interchange between Interstate 95 and I-695 north of Baltimore. The first DDI in the United States opened on July7, 2009, in Springfield, Missouri, at the junction of Interstate 44 and Missouri Route 13. Single-point urban interchange. A single-point urban interchange (SPUI) or single-point diamond interchange (SPDI) is a modification of a diamond  interchange in which all four ramps to and from a controlled-access highway converge at a single, three-phase traffic light in the middle of an overpass or underpass. While the compact design is safer, more efficient, and offers increased capacity—with three light phases as opposed to four in a traditional diamond, and two left turn queues on the arterial road instead of four—the significantly wider overpass or underpass structure makes them more costly than most service interchanges. Since single-point "urban" interchanges can exist in "rural" areas, such as the interchange of U.S. Route 23 with M-59  in Michigan, the term single-point diamond interchange is considered the correct vernacular. Single-point interchanges were first built in the early 1970s along U.S. Route 19 in the Tampa Bay area of Florida, including the SR 694 interchange in St. Petersburg and SR 60 in Clearwater.