Capital Circle is a circular road surrounding Capital Hill in the centre of Canberra, Australia. It is one of three concentric roads on the hill, with State Circle the outermost and Parliament Drive the innermost. There are no buildings on Capital Circle. Parliament Drive surrounds New Parliament House.
Roads named for each of Australia's state capitals converge at Capital Circle or State Circle. The main roads leading from the circle are Commonwealth Avenue to the north and Canberra Avenue and Adelaide Avenue to the south.
Design Capital Circle is a three-lane road. All traffic runs in a clockwise direction. The road does not form a complete circle, as a section under Commonwealth Avenue was closed a few years after opening due to the high number of crashes apparently resulting partly from the proximity of the entrance from Commonwealth Avenue and the exit to Kings Avenue. Vehicles are now forced to exit at Commonwealth Avenue.
History Capital Circle was built by Leighton Contractors opening on 3 August 1971.Ring road opens Canberra Times 3 August 1971 page 8 As part of the construction of New Parliament House, a 160-metre tunnel was built under Federation Mall in December 1986.Traffic flow after new tunnel opens today Canberra Times 11 December 1986 page 3 It was designed by Maunsell & Partners and built by Leighton Contractors.Highway One Engineers Australia 23 January 1987 page 9
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