What is it about the zipper lanes that make some people so mad?
The concept: don’t merge early; use both lanes for traffic until signs designate the point at which drivers take turns merging together like the teeth of a zipper.
“The example I like to use is you've got 1,000 cars in one lane, right? If you split it up and put them in two lanes, you've got half the back up, so you have 500 cars in each lane, so it really helps.”
John Richard with the Michigan Department of Transportation Communications says some drivers don’t understand how it works and try to block one open lane to force other drivers to merge early.
“The fact that people take it upon themselves to block the lanes and control traffic, I don't understand why they think that's going to be a positive outcome. It does nothing except cause road rage and increase the back up.”
The subject is rising again with a major I-96 reconstruction project leading to drivers who don’t follow the zipper merge making the situation more difficult.
“That project in Ionia County on 96 is 8 miles each direction so a total of 16 miles. It's a big one and we want the backups to be shorter so that's the whole reason why we've got the zipper merge going on.”
Richard also recommends drivers plan their routes noting construction. He points out it’s dangerous seeking detours on a cell phone while in a traffic backup.
