Captain Cook road direction change catches some off guard

CAPTAIN COOK — Merge right, not left.

Sounds simple, but a repainted stretch of road telling motorists just that has caused some confusion for drivers passing through a Captain Cook intersection earlier this week.

The new paint job — where the southbound lanes of Mamalahoa Highway narrow to one lane south of the highway’s intersection with the bypass and Napoopoo Road — now forces traffic to merge right. The left lane, as of the completion of work on Friday, is now a turning lane for traffic turning on to Captain Cook Road.

That road had previously merged traffic to the left lane.

The directional switch seemed to catch some drivers off guard earlier this week. On Monday and Tuesday, several drivers were seen making sudden attempts to merge into the highway’s right lane to continue straight ahead along the highway.

It also drew out one man, who came out Monday to protest the change. He, along with two children, waved signs saying “This is dangerous,” and urging motorists to contact the county.

But Barett Otani, information and education specialist for the county’s Department of Public Works, said questions about the redesign were the first he’d heard regarding any concerns.

The redesign, he said, was a field order “to provide for a more efficient traffic flow heading south through the Captain Cook Road intersection.”

He noted that the redesign had been accompanied by a new sign advising drivers that the left lane ends and “left turn only” pavement markings 400 feet ahead of the Captain Cook Road intersection.