In the field of road transport

Road transport

Road transport or road transportation is transport on roads of passengers or goods. A hybrid of road transport and ship transport is the historic horse-drawn boat.-History:...

, a turnaround is a type of junction

Junction (traffic)

A junction, when discussed in the context of transport, is a location where traffic can change between different routes, directions, or sometimes modes, of travel.-Historical significance:...

 that allows traffic travelling in one direction on a road to efficiently make a U-turn

U-turn (maneuver)

A U-turn in driving refers to performing a 180 degree rotation to reverse the direction of travel. It is called a "U-turn" because the maneuver looks like the letter U. In some areas, the maneuver is illegal, while in others it is treated as a more ordinary turn, merely extended...

 (to reverse course and travel the opposite direction) typically without backing up or making dangerous maneuvers in the middle of the traffic stream. While many junction types permit U-turns, the term turnaround often applies to road junctions built specifically for this purpose.

Junction types designed specifically for U-Turns

The following road junction types are designed specifically to allow U-Turns.

• The Texas U-turn
  Texas U-turn
  A Texas U-turn, or Texas Turnaround, is a lane allowing cars traveling on one side of a one-way frontage road to U-turn into the opposite frontage road . These are typically controlled by a yield sign, allow traffic to bypass the two traffic signals, and avoid crossing the highway traffic at-grade...
  
   allows traffic travelling on one direction of a one-way frontage road
  Frontage road
  A frontage road is a non-limited access road running parallel to a higher-speed road, usually a freeway, and feeding it at appropriate points of access...
  
  , running parallel to a highway, to cross the highway (via a grade separation) and turn onto the other frontage road, traveling in the opposite direction. The term refers to roadworks which are specially built for this purpose; and does not refer to use of an intersecting roadway to navigate between frontage roads.

• The Michigan left
  Michigan left
  A Michigan left is an at-grade intersection design which replaces each left turn with a permutation of a U-turn and a right turn. The design was given the name due to its frequent use along Michigan roads and highways since the late 1960s. In other contexts, the intersection is called a median...
  
   allows traffic travelling in one direction on a divided highway
  Divided Highway
  Divided Highway is a compilation album by American rock band The Doobie Brothers, released in 2003. . All tracks are taken from the albums Cycles and Brotherhood .-Track listing:...
  
   (typically one with traffic light
  Traffic light
  Traffic lights, which may also be known as stoplights, traffic lamps, traffic signals, signal lights, robots or semaphore, are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings and other locations to control competing flows of traffic...
  
  s and at-grade intersections) to perform a U-turn through the median.

• A cul-de-sac
  Cul-de-sac
  A cul-de-sac is a word of French origin referring to a dead end, close, no through road or court meaning dead-end street with only one inlet/outlet...
  
   allows a smooth turnaround at the end of a dead end
  Dead End
  Dead End is a 1937 crime drama film. It is an adaptation of the Sidney Kingsley 1935 Broadway play of the same name. It stars Humphrey Bogart, Joel McCrea, and Sylvia Sidney...
  
   street.

• Sometimes, a modified reverse jughandle
  Jughandle
  A jughandle is a type of ramp or slip road that changes the way traffic turns left at at-grade intersections. 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...
  
   is used to permit U-turns. Traffic wishing to turn around executes a left turn (across oncoming traffic) onto the jughandle, but rather than merging onto a crossing road, the jughandle turns back and merges into the road just left, in the opposite direction. An example of this can be found on a divided section of U.S. Highway 101 south of Lincoln City, Oregon
  Lincoln City, Oregon
  Lincoln City is a city in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. It is named after the county. The population was 7,930 at the 2010 census.- History :...
  
  .

Junction types which permit U-Turns

The following junction types typically permit U-turns but are not designed specifically for that purpose.

• Normal at-grade intersection
  Intersection (road)
  An intersection is a road junction where two or more roads either meet or cross at grade . An intersection may be 3-way - a T junction or fork, 4-way - a crossroads, or 5-way or more...
  
  s on divided highways often allow traffic travelling on the divided highway to perform a U-turn, often when there is a green light for traffic turning onto the side road, crossing the opposing lanes (left turns in countries where traffic moves on the right; right turns in countries where traffic moves on the left).

• Traffic circle
  Traffic circle
  A traffic circle or rotary is a type of circular intersection in which traffic must travel in one direction around a central island. In some countries, traffic entering the circle has the right-of-way and drivers in the circle must yield. In many other countries, traffic entering the circle must...
  
  s and roundabouts make turning around rather easy.

• Many freeway interchange
  Interchange (road)
  In the field of road transport, an interchange is a road junction that typically uses grade separation, and one or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least one highway to pass through the junction without directly crossing any other traffic stream. It differs from a standard intersection, at which...
  
  s with surface streets are configured so that traffic on the freeway can exit onto the surface street, and re-enter the freeway in the opposite direction.

• The cloverleaf interchange
  Cloverleaf interchange
  A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange in which left turns, reverse direction in left-driving regions, are handled by ramp roads...
  
  permits turning around by navigating two consecutive "leaves" of the clover pattern.