What is "jughandle"

n. 1 The handle of a jug. 2 (context US English) A ramp or slip road on the right-hand side of the road, used for making left turns.

A jughandle is a type of ramp or slip road that changes the way traffic turns left at an at-grade intersection (in a country where traffic drives on the right). Instead of a standard left turn being made from the left lane, left-turning traffic uses a ramp on the right side of the road. In a standard forward jughandle or near-side jughandle, the ramp leaves before the intersection, and left-turning traffic turns left off it rather than the through road. Right turns are also made using the jughandle.

In a reverse jughandle or far-side jughandle, the ramp leaves after the intersection, and left-turning traffic loops around to the right and merges with the crossroad before the intersection. The jughandle is also known as a Jersey left due to its association with the U.S. state of New Jersey, though this term is also locally used for an abrupt left at the beginning of a green light cycle.

Occasionally a setup is used where traffic on the side road cannot turn left at the intersection but turns left after it, merging with the main road. This is most often used for U-turns where a normal jughandle cannot be constructed; traffic turns left off the main road onto the ramp. Occasionally, a jughandle is removed if turning traffic is too heavy (see Disadvantages). In at least one case ( Route 36 at Route 71, ) in New Jersey, the jughandle was kept for left turns, but U-turns are made from a left-turn lane.

The New Jersey Department of Transportation defines three types of jughandles. "Type A" is the standard forward jughandle. "Type B" is a variant with no cross-street intersected by the jughandle; it curves 90 degrees left to meet the main street, and is either used at a "T" intersection or for a U-turn only. "Type C" is the standard reverse jughandle.