The police yesterday issued a notice for motorists to try and avoid the Kappara roundabout – reason being, work is underway in connection with the inter-connector project.

It is too little, far too late. Traffic was gridlocked on Monday as unsuspecting motorists on Regional Road had to contend with bumper-to-bumper traffic on each and every exit or junction that led to the dual carriageway.

Journeys that normally take 20 minutes took an hour or more as traffic was reduced from three lanes to one. And this poses a number of questions. First of all, why was there no traffic management plan put into place, if the authorities knew that the work was going to take place? Secondly, why was no traffic notice issued on the first day, to urge motorists to avoid the area? Thirdly, why was the work not carried out at night, or over the weekend? And fourth, why were citizens completely disregarded?

Is it a case of incompetence? Or is it just a disregard for common courtesy? It is probably both. It is an endemic problem that we face in this country every day. It is a culmination of our lack of forward thinking and at the same time, a complete disregard of common courtesy and manners. Surely, there is no excuse for it.

We often wonder whether there is even any communication between the various authorities when it comes to projects such as this. And we also question how the authorities find the time (and funds) to assign wardens (against a fee) to wave traffic on when private construction warrants it, yet when there is such a huge project going on – which will inevitably cause traffic chaos, traffic management is only an afterthought. It is 2013 and our planners really ought to do better.