What Is a ‘J-turn’ and Why Are More of Them Coming to Minnesota?

Over the years we've had to embrace new terms and new experiences on our roadways—things like roundabouts and more recently the diverging diamond intersections that seem to be popping up everywhere.

Well, add this one to your list: the J-turn.

But be careful when you're researching exactly what a J-turn is.

You've no doubt seen one in an action movie at one point or another. It's an evasive maneuver that allows a vehicle to reverse course while in full motion.

Here's what it looks like when it's done correctly:

Here's what it looks like when it isn't:

Luckily the J-turns we're covering in this story are a lot less tricky to pull off and could help make our roadways safer.

J-turns give drivers a safer way of crossing from a minor road crossing to a major road by allowing vehicles to turn right onto the main road, merge into the left lane, and make a U-turn.

Then they either continue traveling in that direction, as if they made a left turn from the minor road, or turn right onto the minor road as if they had gone straight across the major road.

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J-turns are becoming increasingly popular in Minnesota where state traffic engineers have found significant drops in fatal and serious injury crashes since the installation of the newly designed intersections.

By the end of 2023, Minnesota had 96 J-turns on state roadways and more planned or under construction.