Triple Junction

Triple Junction
Triple Junction (top intersection)—showing ǃkhās Street (top left); Új Repülő Street (top); and Dead Tree Lane (bottom)
General information
Type	Uncontrolled intersection
Existed	1946–2021
Designated	10 March–1 November 2020 (official)
Roads	New Eiffel Main Route 1 (northeast; west) Dead Tree Lane (south)

Triple Junction was a cycle junction connecting three roads in the area of Dead Tree, Új Repülő, capital of the erstwhile Principality of New Eiffel. Connecting the New Eiffel Main Route 1 (NEMR 1)'s Új Repülő Street and ǃkhās Street, and Dead Tree Lane (Northwest Street), Triple Junction was one of only two junctions in New Eiffel—the other being the roundabout Unnamed Circle. The concrete pathway of the junction had been around since between 15 January and 20 March 1946. In April 2018, it connected four roads before the connected portion of the J16 ceased to exist between 21 March and 5 May 2019. Triple Junction received its name by late 2019, being officially designated as such by the Ministry of Transportation on 10 March 2020. When New Eiffel dissolved on 1 November, Triple Junction lost its designation, and it ceased to exist in late August 2021 after it was paved over.

Description

Triple Junction was an uncontrolled intersection connecting three roads in the undesignated area of Dead Tree in Új Repülő, capital of the erstwhile Principality of New Eiffel. It connected the New Eiffel Main Route 1 (NEMR 1)'s Új Repülő Street to the northeast, Dead Tree Lane's Northwest Street to the south and the NEMR 1's ǃkhās Street to the west. To the east was the playground of New Eiffel School. The route to ǃkhās Street experienced a brief elevation of 160 millimetres (6.3 inches). Triple Junction was the only intersection and one of only two cycle junctions in the micronation, the other being the roundabout Unnamed Circle in the same city. However, unlike Unnamed Circle, the junction was completely paved. Indeed, the NEMR 1 and Dead Tree Lane were the only paved roads—fully or partially—in the entirety of New Eiffel.

History

The unpaved route of the J16 intersecting Triple Junction; pictured in October 2018

The concrete pathway of the junction had been around since between 15 January and 20 March 1946. By the late 20th century, the path to Dead Tree Lane had become covered in dirt and was forgotten, now connecting what was to become Triple Junction to only the paths of what would become the NEMR 1. On 31 December 2017, the Republic of New Finland—distant predecessor to the Principality of New Eiffel—was established, which laid claim to the territory on 4 January 2018. No later than 6 April had a portion of the J16—originally formed in January 2018—intersected Triple Junction from the east, crossing over the playground of New Eiffel School. That same month, the path for Dead Tree Lane was cleared; now, there were four intersecting roads. As there were no more than three cyclists in New Finland at any given time, the junction remained uncontrolled.

In a video tour of New Finland by Zabëlle Skye (founder and then-Prime Minister of the Kingdom of New Finland) on 6 June, the route of the J16 remained clearly visible, and a map of New Eiffel created by Skye on 18 October still showed the four road junction. According to the Royal Archives, the last attested image of the route was on 21 March 2019; in a video of the area shot on 5 May, the roadway no longer existed. However, Triple Junction would not receive its name until late 2019. An unofficial moniker given by cyclists, the precise date of the name's first appearance remains obscure as the Ministry of Transportation maintained the roads individually, and thus had no need to grant a designation to the junction. Unlike Unnamed Circle, the Ministry did eventually grant it the official designation of Triple Junction on 10 March 2020 in order to simplify the New Eiffel Roads Index.

On 1 November, New Eiffel dissolved following an almost year-long crisis, and its territory, including Triple Junction, were succeeded back to the United Kingdom. When the junction became located in the Australissian state of New Eiffel on 12 January 2021, it did not re-receive its designation. Triple Junction ceased to exist in late August after it was paved over, and Australis dissolved on 9 September.

See also

• Transport in New Eiffel