Photo: Gordon Kaltenhauser

Which way would you merge?

Motorists were given some confusing instructions at a Kelowna construction site overnight.

Ongoing changes at the Reid's Corner intersection on Highway 97 have already raised the ire of commuters, but a sign error Friday night and early Saturday could have proved dangerous, says one driver.

Gordon Kaltenhauser, a commercial truck driver, was in his personal vehicle when he came across conflicting merge signs at the construction site about 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

His photo shows two merge signs on either side of the road, instructing drivers to merge both left and right.

Kaltenhauser stopped to alert flaggers to the mistake, but says he was yelled at to move along.

"As I approached the Reid's Corner construction zone, I stopped to try and alert one of the flag persons of the signage error," he tells Castanet. "Another woman came up before I could even say a word, and started yelling and screaming at me to 'Get back in your car!'"

He took out his phone to show the flagger the photo he had just taken, and was told in unsavoury terms to leave or she would "smash his phone."

"I did as directed, circled the block, and stopped and talked to another flag person, showing them the photo.

"'Oh my god!' she commented. "Where was that taken? That's a huge safety issue!"

He explained the signage error was at the south entrance to the construction zone, and the second flagger thanked him, saying she would advise her supervisor immediately.

Kaltenhauser says he also alerted a passing RCMP officer on his way home, who said he would "take a drive up there and check it out."

Kaltenhauser was left scratching his head from the reaction of the first flagger.

"Seems being a helpful citizen doesn't pay some days," he said.