---
title: "Displaced Left-Turn (DLT)"
url: "https://commonwaysystem.org/patterns/intersections/displaced-left-turn/"
id: "INT-DLT-14"
description: "An intersection where the left-turn lane is shifted to the opposing side of oncoming traffic at a signalized crossover upstream of the main intersection, letting left-turning and opposing through traffic move on concurrent phases."
updated: "2026-10-18"
---

INT-DLT-14 Situational / Discouraged

# Displaced Left-Turn (DLT)

An intersection where the left-turn lane is shifted to the opposing side of oncoming traffic at a signalized crossover upstream of the main intersection, letting left-turning and opposing through traffic move on concurrent phases. Also known as a continuous flow intersection.

## Pattern viewer

Illustration in progress

No illustration of Displaced Left-Turn (DLT) has been made yet. Interactive views are planned for every pattern and Retrofit Strategy.

## Related Media

The items below come from outside the Commonway System, external videos, podcasts, and articles related to this page's topic, not part of the guidebook itself.

Aligned

### [The Intersection That Makes Left Turns Impossible](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nLK9GzfqHA)

Safe By Design

This video explains how the Restricted Crossing U-Turn removes left turns and crossing movements from the side street, with crash-reduction results from Alabama, Nebraska and North Carolina and an honest look at the longer pedestrian crossings it can create. It is a close companion to the Commonway System's RCUT pattern and retrofit strategy, and to the related Median U-Turn and Displaced Left-Turn designs.

MED-089

Typical at: Suburban Compact Urban

Rural is an unlikely pairing. Core is an edge case.

## Design notes

This design resolves the same unprotected-left-turn conflict as Median U-Turn and Restricted Crossing U-Turn, but through signalized displacement rather than a median crossover, and at high-volume urban or suburban intersections rather than the higher-speed rural and suburban divided highways those two patterns typically suit. It's a faster, lower-cost alternative to a grade-separated interchange where volume is high enough that conventional protected left-turn phasing creates severe delay.[1] The additional right-of-way this pattern requires upstream of the main intersection, and its higher construction cost relative to Median U-Turn or Restricted Crossing U-Turn, keep it Situational rather than broadly Recommended.[2]

## Related patterns

-   [Median U-Turn](https://commonwaysystem.org/patterns/intersections/median-u-turn.md) (INT-MUT-12)
-   [Restricted Crossing U-Turn](https://commonwaysystem.org/patterns/intersections/restricted-crossing-u-turn.md) (INT-RCU-13) (the two lower-cost alternatives addressing the same underlying unprotected-left-turn problem in a different speed and volume context)
-   [Grade-Separated Interchange](https://commonwaysystem.org/patterns/intersections/grade-separated-interchange.md) (INT-GSI-10) (the higher-cost alternative this pattern is often chosen instead of)

## Getting there: Retrofit path options

[Displaced Left-Turn (DLT) retrofit](https://commonwaysystem.org/retrofits/intersection/displaced-left-turn-dlt-retrofit.md) (RFT-INT-04) reroutes an existing conventional intersection's left-turn movement to this geometry.

## References

1.  Evidence-based ["Unconventional Arterial Intersection Designs under Connected and Automated Vehicle Environment: A Survey," on Displaced Left-turn Intersection design and cost tradeoffs relative to grade-separated interchanges.](https://arxiv.org/abs/1811.03074)
2.  Legal / regulatory [U.S. Patent 7,135,989, "Parallel flow vehicle turn system for traffic intersections," on displaced left-turn design and right-of-way considerations.](https://patents.google.com/patent/US7135989B2/en)