Penns Neck Circle

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Penns Neck Circle is a traffic circle in West Windsor Township, New Jersey. It is located at the junction of U.S. Route 1 and Washington Road (County Routes 526 and 571). It is a major intersection, as Washington Road is one of three connections between Route 1 and Princeton, New Jersey. While technically a traffic circle, the Penn's Neck Circle has been modified to closely resemble a traditional intersection. It is signal controlled, and Route 1 passes through the circle at grade level, making the circle essentially a set of four turning lanes around a straight-only intersection. This arrangement is unsatisfactory, resulting in traffic backups on both Washington Road and Route 1. At peak hours, a vehicle attempting to go straight along Washington Road or to make any left turn must wait through several light cycles to complete the maneuver.

Exacerbating this congestion are the businesses located at the intersection. Until recently, all four quadrants were occupied by gas stations, adding frequently-used entrance ramps to the mix of multi-directional traffic. The northeast quadrant is now occupied by a Cingular telephone store.

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