The Eureka Slough Bridge has been the site of weeks of emergency bridge repairs. This has required the closure of the southbound right lane of U.S. 101, as Caltrans crews stabilize the bridge that thousands drive across each day.

The question of when drivers should be merging has sparked heated debate online. Should we be merging as soon as we see a sign, getting in a mile-long line like little ducks? Or, should we be adopting the “zipper merge” method, where we hope our fellow humans will allow us a little further along, near where the lane actually closes.

We asked the California Highway Patrol to weigh in.

“We have conversed at length about this type of traffic control,” wrote Officer Jason Esselman, spokesperson for CHP Humboldt in an email to the Outpost. 

He said at the work zone in question, officers have seen vehicles driving in the middle of the road to deliberately block other vehicles from using both lanes. People are getting road rage, driving significantly slower than the speed of traffic, or passing other cars in acceleration lanes or the highway’s shoulder.

“The legal answer is: it does not matter when or where vehicles merge from the impending closure to the open lane as long as the lane changes are made in a safe manner. However, courtesy is different than legal,” he writes.

“The one lane ‘Zipper Merge,’ is designed to reduce the length of the traffic congestion. The intention of the ‘zipper merge’ is to have vehicles travel in both lanes up until one lane closes. At the point the lane closes, vehicles should Zipper merge. This works best when drivers allow one vehicle at a time into the free-flowing lane. This method does not work properly if drivers are discourteous and deliberately keep vehicles from merging in. Moving to the open lane as early as possible is not optimal in heavy traffic conditions although it is the preferred strategy when traffic is lighter.”

CHP is patrolling the area and making traffic stops. The agency asks the public to slow down, have patience, try and plan an alternate route and remove all distractions within the vehicle.

Both merging methods are legal. Which one are you using?