The Latham Circle is the intersection of US Route 9 and NY Route 2 within the town of Colonie, New York in Albany County

Albany County, New York

Albany County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, and is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The name is from the title of the Duke of York and Albany, who became James II of England . As of the 2010 census, the population was 304,204...

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Description

The circle takes the name from the hamlet of Latham

Latham, New York

Latham is a hamlet in Albany County, New York, United States. It is located along U.S. Route 9 in the town of Colonie, a dense suburb north of Albany.-History:...

, of which the circle is close to the exact center. The circle was originally built as a large 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...

 in 1934 and in 1958 an underpass was built to give motorists the option to skip the circle and continue on Route 9. Then in 2002 the traffic circle was remodeled to have roundabout

Roundabout

A roundabout is the name for a road junction in which traffic moves in one direction around a central island. The word dates from the early 20th century. Roundabouts are common in many countries around the world...

 characteristics. US Route 9 travels north–south under the circle while one-way access roads on either side carry traffic to the circle for connection to NY Route 2, which travels east–west.

The access roads have two 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...

s, allowing for traffic on the access roads to cross US Route 9 to the opposite access road without passing through the circle. Texas U-turns are unusual outside of Texas and extremely rare outside of the Southern United States

Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

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History

Prior to the 2002 work, the accident rate at the circle was about one per week, but were of low severity. After the reconstruction the accident rate dropped by 60%. The work on the circle included improving pavement markings, narrowing the Route 9 access roads entering and exiting the circle to one lane, realigning the approaches from Route 2, reconfiguring the lanes within the circle, and improving signage. This work won the New York State Department of Transportation

New York State Department of Transportation

The New York State Department of Transportation is responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports, waterways and aviation facilities in the U.S...

 the 2003 National Roadway Safety Award. Traffic counts for US Route 9 in 2002 and 2004 showed over 26,000 cars passing under the Latham Circle daily.

The name Latham Circle has since been used in the name of many local businesses, including a shopping mall

Latham Circle Mall

Latham Circle Mall is an enclosed shopping mall located adjacent to the Latham Circle in Latham, New York. Built in 1957 as Latham Corners Shopping Center, the mall was renovated several times in its history. It is anchored by JCPenney, Regal Cinemas, Burlington Coat Factory, and Lowe's Home...

, soccer team, diner, and taxi service.