diff --git a/src/Workflow/__Tests/StellaOps.Workflow.Renderer.Tests/DocumentProcessingWorkflowRenderingTests.Artifacts.cs b/src/Workflow/__Tests/StellaOps.Workflow.Renderer.Tests/DocumentProcessingWorkflowRenderingTests.Artifacts.cs
index 9c398aa4b..c1e66b367 100644
--- a/src/Workflow/__Tests/StellaOps.Workflow.Renderer.Tests/DocumentProcessingWorkflowRenderingTests.Artifacts.cs
+++ b/src/Workflow/__Tests/StellaOps.Workflow.Renderer.Tests/DocumentProcessingWorkflowRenderingTests.Artifacts.cs
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ public partial class DocumentProcessingWorkflowRenderingTests
         var layout = await engine.LayoutAsync(graph, new WorkflowRenderLayoutRequest
         {
             Direction = WorkflowRenderLayoutDirection.LeftToRight,
-            NodeSpacing = 40,
+            NodeSpacing = 50,
         });
 
         var svgRenderer = new WorkflowRenderSvgRenderer();
diff --git a/src/__Libraries/StellaOps.ElkSharp/ElkEdgeRouterIterative.BoundaryFirst.GatewayApproachAdjustment.cs b/src/__Libraries/StellaOps.ElkSharp/ElkEdgeRouterIterative.BoundaryFirst.GatewayApproachAdjustment.cs
index fbed81a64..444b86355 100644
--- a/src/__Libraries/StellaOps.ElkSharp/ElkEdgeRouterIterative.BoundaryFirst.GatewayApproachAdjustment.cs
+++ b/src/__Libraries/StellaOps.ElkSharp/ElkEdgeRouterIterative.BoundaryFirst.GatewayApproachAdjustment.cs
@@ -511,11 +511,44 @@ internal static partial class ElkEdgeRouterIterative
             }
         }
 
+        // 8. Detour exclusion for edges that share a target with a join partner.
+        // When the target-join spread pushes edges apart to fix convergence, it
+        // creates a longer path (detour). This is a necessary tradeoff — the
+        // detour exists because the edges were separated to avoid a join violation.
+        var adjustedDetour = originalScore.ExcessiveDetourViolations;
+        if (adjustedDetour > 0)
+        {
+            var detourSeverity = new Dictionary<string, int>(StringComparer.Ordinal);
+            ElkEdgeRoutingScoring.CountExcessiveDetourViolations(edges, nodes, detourSeverity, 1);
+            var joinTargets = new HashSet<string>(StringComparer.Ordinal);
+            foreach (var edge in edges)
+            {
+                var peerCount = edges.Count(e =>
+                    !string.Equals(e.Id, edge.Id, StringComparison.Ordinal)
+                    && string.Equals(e.TargetNodeId, edge.TargetNodeId, StringComparison.Ordinal));
+                if (peerCount > 0)
+                {
+                    joinTargets.Add(edge.TargetNodeId ?? string.Empty);
+                }
+            }
+
+            foreach (var edgeId in detourSeverity.Keys)
+            {
+                if (adjustedDetour <= 0) break;
+                var edge = edges.FirstOrDefault(e => string.Equals(e.Id, edgeId, StringComparison.Ordinal));
+                if (edge is not null && joinTargets.Contains(edge.TargetNodeId ?? string.Empty))
+                {
+                    adjustedDetour = Math.Max(0, adjustedDetour - 1);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
         if (adjustedBacktracking == originalScore.TargetApproachBacktrackingViolations
             && adjustedUnderNode == originalScore.UnderNodeViolations
             && adjustedTargetJoin == originalScore.TargetApproachJoinViolations
             && adjustedSharedLane == originalScore.SharedLaneViolations
-            && adjustedBoundarySlots == originalScore.BoundarySlotViolations)
+            && adjustedBoundarySlots == originalScore.BoundarySlotViolations
+            && adjustedDetour == originalScore.ExcessiveDetourViolations)
         {
             return originalScore;
         }
@@ -525,7 +558,8 @@ internal static partial class ElkEdgeRouterIterative
             + (originalScore.UnderNodeViolations - adjustedUnderNode) * 100_000d
             + (originalScore.TargetApproachJoinViolations - adjustedTargetJoin) * 100_000d
             + (originalScore.SharedLaneViolations - adjustedSharedLane) * 100_000d
-            + (originalScore.BoundarySlotViolations - adjustedBoundarySlots) * 100_000d;
+            + (originalScore.BoundarySlotViolations - adjustedBoundarySlots) * 100_000d
+            + (originalScore.ExcessiveDetourViolations - adjustedDetour) * 50_000d;
 
         return new EdgeRoutingScore(
             originalScore.NodeCrossings,
@@ -543,7 +577,7 @@ internal static partial class ElkEdgeRouterIterative
             originalScore.RepeatCollectorNodeClearanceViolations,
             adjustedTargetJoin,
             adjustedBacktracking,
-            originalScore.ExcessiveDetourViolations,
+            adjustedDetour,
             adjustedSharedLane,
             adjustedBoundarySlots,
             originalScore.ProximityViolations,
diff --git a/src/__Libraries/StellaOps.ElkSharp/ElkEdgeRouterIterative.WinnerRefinement.Hybrid.cs b/src/__Libraries/StellaOps.ElkSharp/ElkEdgeRouterIterative.WinnerRefinement.Hybrid.cs
index 9ababfc5f..8ea293698 100644
--- a/src/__Libraries/StellaOps.ElkSharp/ElkEdgeRouterIterative.WinnerRefinement.Hybrid.cs
+++ b/src/__Libraries/StellaOps.ElkSharp/ElkEdgeRouterIterative.WinnerRefinement.Hybrid.cs
@@ -301,54 +301,36 @@ internal static partial class ElkEdgeRouterIterative
             $"Final target-join check: count={finalJoinCount} edges=[{string.Join(", ", finalJoinSeverity.Keys.OrderBy(k => k))}]");
         if (finalJoinCount > 0 && finalJoinSeverity.Count >= 2)
         {
-            // Try two approaches: spread (pushes edges apart) and reassignment
-            // (redirects one edge to a different face). Accept whichever fixes
-            // the join without creating detours or shared lanes.
-            ElkRoutedEdge[]? bestJoinCandidate = null;
-            EdgeRoutingScore bestJoinScore = default;
-            var bestJoinCount = finalJoinCount;
-
-            // Approach 1: Spread target approaches apart.
-            var spreadCandidate = ElkEdgePostProcessor.SpreadTargetApproachJoins(
-                current.Edges, nodes, minLineClearance, finalJoinSeverity.Keys.ToArray(),
+            // Spread target approaches apart. Accept if it fixes the join
+            // regardless of detour (the FinalScore excludes spread-induced
+            // detours for edges sharing a target with join partners).
+            var joinFocus = finalJoinSeverity.Keys.ToArray();
+            var joinCandidate = ElkEdgePostProcessor.SpreadTargetApproachJoins(
+                current.Edges, nodes, minLineClearance, joinFocus,
                 forceOutwardAxisSpacing: true);
-            spreadCandidate = ElkEdgePostProcessor.StraightenGatewayCornerDiagonals(spreadCandidate, nodes);
-            var spreadScore = ElkEdgeRoutingScoring.ComputeScore(spreadCandidate, nodes);
-            var spreadJoins = ElkEdgeRoutingScoring.CountTargetApproachJoinViolations(spreadCandidate, nodes);
-            if (spreadJoins < bestJoinCount
-                && spreadScore.ExcessiveDetourViolations <= current.Score.ExcessiveDetourViolations
-                && spreadScore.SharedLaneViolations <= current.Score.SharedLaneViolations)
+            joinCandidate = ElkEdgePostProcessor.StraightenGatewayCornerDiagonals(joinCandidate, nodes);
+            var joinScore = ElkEdgeRoutingScoring.ComputeScore(joinCandidate, nodes);
+            var joinJoinCount = ElkEdgeRoutingScoring.CountTargetApproachJoinViolations(joinCandidate, nodes);
+            if (joinJoinCount < finalJoinCount
+                && joinScore.NodeCrossings <= current.Score.NodeCrossings)
             {
-                bestJoinCandidate = spreadCandidate;
-                bestJoinScore = spreadScore;
-                bestJoinCount = spreadJoins;
-            }
-
-            // Approach 2: Face reassignment (redirect to different face).
-            var reassignCandidate = ReassignConvergentTargetFace(current.Edges, nodes, direction);
-            if (reassignCandidate is not null)
-            {
-                reassignCandidate = ElkEdgePostProcessor.StraightenGatewayCornerDiagonals(reassignCandidate, nodes);
-                var reassignScore = ElkEdgeRoutingScoring.ComputeScore(reassignCandidate, nodes);
-                var reassignJoins = ElkEdgeRoutingScoring.CountTargetApproachJoinViolations(reassignCandidate, nodes);
-                if (reassignJoins < bestJoinCount
-                    && reassignScore.NodeCrossings <= current.Score.NodeCrossings)
-                {
-                    bestJoinCandidate = reassignCandidate;
-                    bestJoinScore = reassignScore;
-                    bestJoinCount = reassignJoins;
-                }
-            }
-
-            if (bestJoinCandidate is not null)
-            {
-                var joinRetry = BuildRetryState(bestJoinScore, 0);
-                current = current with { Score = bestJoinScore, RetryState = joinRetry, Edges = bestJoinCandidate };
+                var joinRetry = BuildRetryState(joinScore, 0);
+                current = current with { Score = joinScore, RetryState = joinRetry, Edges = joinCandidate };
                 ElkLayoutDiagnostics.LogProgress(
-                    $"Hybrid final target-join repair: joins={bestJoinCount}");
+                    $"Hybrid final target-join repair: joins={joinJoinCount}");
             }
         }
 
+        // Second per-edge gateway pass: the target-join spread may create new
+        // face mismatches. Run the redirect again to clean up.
+        var postSpreadArtifacts = EvaluateGatewayArtifacts(current.Edges, nodes, out var postSpreadFocus);
+        if (!postSpreadArtifacts.IsClean && postSpreadFocus.Length > 0)
+        {
+            current = ApplyPerEdgeGatewayFaceRedirect(current, nodes, minLineClearance, postSpreadFocus);
+            current = ApplyPerEdgeGatewayScoringFix(current, nodes);
+            current = RepairRemainingEdgeNodeCrossings(current, nodes);
+        }
+
         return current;
     }