Interchange (road) facts for kids

A freeway interchange is a special place where two big roads called freeways meet, or where a freeway connects with a regular road. These connections help cars move smoothly without stopping, making travel faster and safer. There are many cool designs for these interchanges, each built to handle traffic in a different way.

This is what a diamond interchange looks like from above.

Two common types you might see are the diamond interchange and the cloverleaf interchange.

Diamond Interchanges: Simple Connections

A diamond interchange is a common way for a freeway to connect with a regular road. When you're on the freeway, you can either keep going straight or turn off onto a special ramp called an offramp. This offramp usually leads to a traffic light where it meets the regular road.

You can also get onto the freeway from the regular road using an onramp. This type of interchange is called a diamond because its shape looks like a diamond when you see it from above. It's a simple and effective way to connect different kinds of roads.

Cloverleaf Interchanges: Smooth Turns

A cloverleaf interchange looks like a four-leaf clover.

A cloverleaf interchange is designed for when two freeways meet. The main goal here is to keep traffic moving without any traffic lights or cars having to turn directly across oncoming traffic.

To turn left at a cloverleaf, cars use a special curved ramp that makes a big, almost full circle turn (about 270 degrees). This allows them to merge onto the other freeway without stopping. This type of interchange is named a cloverleaf because its ramps look like the leaves of a four-leaf clover when viewed from above.

Images for kids

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  The High Five Interchange in Dallas, Texas. This is a very complex interchange with five levels!

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  An aerial view of the Lakalaiva interchange in Finland.

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  An interchange between two motorways in Hungary, showing different types of ramps.

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  The Light Horse Interchange in Sydney, the largest in Australia.

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  A full cloverleaf interchange in Tennessee, USA.

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  A multi-level interchange in Jing'an, Shanghai, China.

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  A turbine interchange in Brussels, Belgium.

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  The Vaanplein junction in the Netherlands from 1977.

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  A trumpet interchange in Ottawa, Canada.

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  A "Full Y" interchange.

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  A complex "T" interchange in San Jose, California.

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  A two-level "semi-directional T" interchange in Orbe, Switzerland.

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  A "Semi-directional T" interchange.

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  A dumbbell interchange in Ontario, Canada.

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  A "parclo A4" interchange in Ontario, Canada.

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  A "parclo AB2" or "folded-diamond" interchange in Germany.

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  A diverging diamond interchange near Atlanta, USA.

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  A single-point urban interchange in Meridian, Idaho, USA.

See also

In Spanish: Enlace viario para niños