Turnarounds on freeways

[hotdogPi]

This came up in a different thread, so I decided to split it into its own topic.

Two examples close to me that I know of:
1. The western end of MA 213. Very simple, and I'm surprised the design doesn't exist anywhere else.
2. I-495 (MA) exits 44-45: if you get off at exit 44 northbound and stay on the ramps, you'll eventually find yourself on the mainline of I-495 southbound. (Exit numbers are still sequential, but they won't be for long. If you're reading this in the future, it's the Merrimack River crossing in Lawrence.)

Taking an exit twice that turns you 90° each time, such as a cloverleaf, is common enough that I am not including them.

[kphoger]

I-10/I-20, of course

[Max Rockatansky]

There was one installed on northbound I-5 at Castaic last year following the peroxide spill debacle in 2019. 

[webny99]

1. The western end of MA 213. Very simple, and I'm surprised the design doesn't exist anywhere else.

Probably because of the weave and the right-of-way. Many interchanges don't have that much space between the two ramps that cross the freeway.

Here's a few examples that may count, but I'm not sure:
NY 104 at Goodman St
Robert Moses State Parkway
Lake Ontario State Parkway (there are several more besides the two shown in the link)

[HighwayStar]

Not sure if you would count them, but the Texas U turn system is very close to a turn around on a freeway. Technically you leave the highway to use one, but in practice it makes little difference in many cases.

[kphoger]

Monterrey's free bypass:  https://goo.gl/maps/1vJ4Ct1JgTEhTRPq5

It used to be signed but appears to be no longer.

[jmacswimmer]

I-70's eastern terminus (sometimes used, pre-COVID anyway, by myself & others as a way of bypassing congestion on the ramp from I-70 EB to I-695 NB)

[1995hoo]

The ability to turn around is reasonably common on British motorways due to the use of roundabout interchanges even between motorways–for example, the M32 at the M4 near Bristol or the M49 at the M4 just east of the bridge to Wales. I distinguish those from a situation where the roundabout is part of a junction but only a non-motorway has to pass through it (such as the M4's Junction 15 near Swindon)–the latter is more in the nature of the OP's comment about a cloverleaf because you have to exit to use the roundabout, whereas when the roundabout is part of one of the motorways, one of them (the M32 and the M49, in the examples I gave earlier) lets you turn around without exiting.

[HighwayStar]

I-70's eastern terminus (sometimes used, pre-COVID anyway, by myself & others as a way of bypassing congestion on the ramp from I-70 EB to I-695 NB)

Also in the catagory of embarrassing dead ends is I-95 where it terminates north of DC.

[MCRoads]

The MA Turnpike in Boston has one, not sure why. The only reason I can think to have it there is to allow traffic entering west from Mass Ave to go east. But that's a long way. Any other theories?

[SkyPesos]

I-376 WB exit 69A. Although not signed as such, the exit is a balloon loop (which seems to be the case for most of the examples here), so you can turn around from WB to EB there.

[Revive 755]

It's pushing the "on the freeway part" but I'll nominate the turnaround on the Tudor Street Exit in East St. Louis.

[ilpt4u]

Pretty sure there used to be one on I-55 NB to SB at IL 129 in Wilmington, IL. The grading for it is still visible on Google Sat View

I-55 SB no longer has access to IL 129, but it used to have a Left Exit and fly over the NB lanes (all that is left are the bridge piers along the NB lanes). There was no direct SB entrance, tho - so the turn-around was there so the NB entrance could be utilized, then use the turn-around to head SB

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.3157422,-88.1918715,798m/data=!3m1!1e3

Going off of Google Earth Historical Sat imagery, looks like the turn-around and the SB exit were there thru 2011, and were being removed in 2012. I distinctly remember having seen both open in the not too distant past - 10+ years ago, now it is!

[jp the roadgeek]

I-295 North Exit 9B in Johnston, RI.  It's even signed I-295 SOUTH Warwick. Uses the western stub of the US 6 expressway that was supposed to be part of I-84.

[TheStranger]

A couple of examples in Makati:

South Luzon Expressway at EDSA, on the lowest level of the Magallanes Interchange.  Northbound to southbound
https://www.google.com/maps/@14.5394487,121.0172823,3a,75y,325.74h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s0prtrkhRq67rlnDcKi5KEQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3D0prtrkhRq67rlnDcKi5KEQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D352.76984%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

C-5 at Kalayaan Avenue, East Rembo (near Bonifacio Global City).  Turnarounds from northbound-southbound and southbound-northbound
https://www.google.com/maps/@14.5559324,121.0629961,3a,48y,35.29h,92.94t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s_Ih9t5In7soPWoi3aNwukg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3D_Ih9t5In7soPWoi3aNwukg%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D236.27675%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656
https://www.google.com/maps/@14.5551936,121.0621174,3a,75y,223.83h,83.43t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sgiCHb4yGYceor6iRt3YuVQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DgiCHb4yGYceor6iRt3YuVQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D301.6548%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

[Bickendan]

It's pushing the "on the freeway part" but I'll nominate the turnaround on the Tudor Street Exit in East St. Louis.

Looks like another one at the north end of the interchange at Main and Obama.

[I-55]

Some parts of Huntsville area roads have dedicated u-turns on exit ramps that avoid the traffic lights. Notably AL-255 and US-231.

There are several dedicated u-turns on the Lake Ponchartrain Causeway

[froggie]

Exit 1 on I-10 LA is officially signed as the "Sabine River Turnaround" and is just a freeway ramp.  Exit 880 on the Texas side of the river is functionally the same, but also routes U-turn traffic through the westbound Welcome Center.

[kphoger]

Pretty sure there used to be one on I-55 NB to SB at IL 129 in Wilmington, IL. The grading for it is still visible on Google Sat View

I-55 SB no longer has access to IL 129, but it used to have a Left Exit and fly over the NB lanes (all that is left are the bridge piers along the NB lanes). There was no direct SB entrance, tho - so the turn-around was there so the NB entrance could be utilized, then use the turn-around to head SB

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.3157422,-88.1918715,798m/data=!3m1!1e3

Going off of Google Earth Historical Sat imagery, looks like the turn-around and the SB exit were there thru 2011, and were being removed in 2012. I distinctly remember having seen both open in the not too distant past - 10+ years ago, now it is!

GSV

[TheGrassGuy]

Related question: what happens if you use the New Baltimore Travel Plaza on the New York State Thruway or the Vince Lombardi Travel Plaza on the New Jersey Turnpike to make a U-turn?

[jeffandnicole]

Related question: what happens if you use the New Baltimore Travel Plaza on the New York State Thruway or the Vince Lombardi Travel Plaza on the New Jersey Turnpike to make a U-turn?

At least on the NJ Turnpike, nothing other than you'll need to pay another toll after you return to the tolled portion of the Turnpike.

[snowc]

1. The western end of MA 213. Very simple, and I'm surprised the design doesn't exist anywhere else.

Probably because of the weave and the right-of-way. Many interchanges don't have that much space between the two ramps that cross the freeway.

Here's a few examples that may count, but I'm not sure:
NY 104 at Goodman St
Robert Moses State Parkway
Lake Ontario State Parkway (there are several more besides the two shown in the link)

One here in many spots
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.088512,-76.1030805,16z Triple Bonus points for this one. Military circle, the turnaround and the Carrier Circle
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.8874896,-75.9904904,15z and this one over rte 11 and I81.

[zachary_amaryllis]

what about exit oh i think its 3 on the palisades interstate parkway? its a u-turn, to get to the actual exit 3 on the sb side.

[TheGrassGuy]

Related question: what happens if you use the New Baltimore Travel Plaza on the New York State Thruway or the Vince Lombardi Travel Plaza on the New Jersey Turnpike to make a U-turn?

At least on the NJ Turnpike, nothing other than you'll need to pay another toll after you return to the tolled portion of the Turnpike.

For some reason I keep believing that the closed toll system ends right before the interchange with US-46.

[Evan_Th]

I-10 just west of the I-20 interchange, in Texas.