Interchange (road) facts for kids

Diamond style

Coverleaf style

A freeway interchange a place where two freeways meet, or where a freeway and another road meet. There are many different types of freeway interchanges.

Two main types of freeway interchanges are the diamond interchange and the cloverleaf interchange.

Diamond Interchange

A diamond interchange is where a freeway and a road meet. Traffic from the freeway can keep going or veer (turn a little bit) onto a road on an offramp. This meets a road at a stoplight. Traffic can also go from the road to the freeway by going on an onramp. It is called that because it looks like a diamond.

Cloverleaf Interchange

A cloverleaf interchange is where two freeways meet. There are still on- and offramps, but no stoplights and no right turns across traffic. To turn left, traffic goes in a 270° turn. It is called that because it looks like a four-leaf clover.

Images for kids

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  The High Five in Dallas, Texas. This is a complicated five-level stack interchange, due to the proximity of frontage roads and segregated high-occupancy vehicle lanes. This hybrid design is based on parts of a four-level stack for highways, with a three-level-diamond interchange to handle the frontage roads. 32°55′27.2″N 96°45′50.0″W / 32.924222°N 96.763889°W / 32.924222; -96.763889

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  An aerial view of the Lakalaiva interchange in the Tampere Ring Road between the Highway 3 (E12) and Highway 9 (E63) near city of Tampere. 61°27′46″N 23°46′10″E / 61.46278°N 23.76944°E / 61.46278; 23.76944

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  An interchange between the M0 and M4 motorways outside Budapest, showcases directional, semi-directional, and loop ramps. 47°24′18″N 19°18′55″E / 47.40500°N 19.31528°E / 47.40500; 19.31528

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  The Light Horse Interchange in Sydney, the largest in Australia. 33°47′53″S 150°51′15″E / 33.79806°S 150.85417°E / -33.79806; 150.85417

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  A full cloverleaf interchange between APD-40 and U.S. Route 64 near Cleveland, Tennessee 35°08′59.4″N 84°50′52.3″W / 35.149833°N 84.847861°W / 35.149833; -84.847861

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  A multi-level stack interchange in Jing'an, Shanghai, China. 31°13′27.7″N 121°28′09.0″E / 31.224361°N 121.469167°E / 31.224361; 121.469167

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  A turbine interchange between A201 and the Brussels Ring (R0) in Brussels 50°53′30.1″N 4°27′15.3″E / 50.891694°N 4.454250°E / 50.891694; 4.454250

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  The Vaanplein junction in Barendrecht, Netherlands from 1977 was a windmill before it was renovated. 51°51′55″N 4°30′56″E / 51.8654048°N 4.5154236°E / 51.8654048; 4.5154236

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  A trumpet interchange on the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway in Ottawa 45°24′41″N 75°44′7″W / 45.41139°N 75.73528°W / 45.41139; -75.73528

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  Full Y

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  Complex T interchange of SR 85 and SR 87 in San Jose, California. 37°15′21″N 121°51′32″W / 37.255721°N 121.858878°W / 37.255721; -121.858878

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  Two level semi-directional T interchange in Orbe, Switzerland. 46°43′42″N 6°34′11″E / 46.72836°N 6.569738°E / 46.72836; 6.569738

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  Semi-directional T interchange

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  A dumbbell interchange along Ontario Highway 401 in Clarington 43°53′3″N 78°43′20″W / 43.88417°N 78.72222°W / 43.88417; -78.72222

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  A parclo A4 interchange along Highway 407 in Ontario, Canada 43°34′17.8″N 79°47′23.6″W / 43.571611°N 79.789889°W / 43.571611; -79.789889

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  A parclo AB2, or folded-diamond interchange along Bundesautobahn 7 in Germany 47°38′28.68″N 10°31′40.08″E / 47.6413000°N 10.5278000°E / 47.6413000; 10.5278000

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  A diverging diamond at Interstate 285 and Camp Creek Parkway near Atlanta 33°39′23.5″N 84°29′51.5″W / 33.656528°N 84.497639°W / 33.656528; -84.497639

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  Single-point urban interchange along Interstate 84 in Meridian, Idaho, showing the single multi-phase traffic signal 43°35′36.5″N 116°23′37.4″W / 43.593472°N 116.393722°W / 43.593472; -116.393722

See also

In Spanish: Enlace viario para niños