Bridges of trust

The roads of Kauai are interesting. They are often crowded and have low speed limits. There are many traffic circles and frequent zipper merges. There is one length of road we travel frequently that consists of three lanes. The lanes are divided by cones into a single lane and two lanes and this arranged is switched mid-day so that was the one lane direction in the morning is the two-lane direction in the evening.

The most interesting feature of the road systems to me is the one-lane bridges. It is like one-lane bridges were added at an earlier time when traffic was sparse and now they remain despite the number of vehicles that must use these roads and bridges.

The characteristic of these bridges that fascinates me most is the lack of a formal traffic control system. The approach reminds me of that trust exercise in which you fall backwards and trust others to catch you. I discussed this exercise with Cindy concerning whether it was real or just the basis for jokes. I have never been part of the actual use of the exercise, but Cindy assures me that she has and it is part of team building. 

So, the way these bridges work is people take turns crossing the bridge. There is a sign that recommends 5-7 cars at a time. There is no control of any type and it is not clear who is to count and whether it is 5 or 6 or 7 cars that go. The mystical basis for the decision is important because I know of one stretch of road that involves two separate bridges connected by a short stretch of land so a poor decision would result in a lengthy reverse drive by someone. Hawaii drivers are not necessarily any more courteous that drivers in other locations and they frequently cheat when participating in a zipper merge. The bridge thing, however, just seems to work.

One other comment on the road system. The island suffered extensive damage in the floods of a year ago and you can still see recovery efforts going on. Roads were evidently closed by hillsides sliding onto the roads and barriers are now being constructed to limit the damage of future heavy rain events.