Do You Know What it Means Zipper Merge in Colorado?

Thousands of drivers travel along Colorado's streets and roadways every day, heading to different destinations across the state. With so many motorists on the roads, transit laws must be followed to keep traffic flowing as smoothly as possible.

Things like obeying the speed limit, wearing your seatbelt, and moving over for emergency vehicles are a few of the more obvious rules enforced on the roads, but other regulations are less widely known.

For example, many motorists might not know what it means to 'zipper merge.' Maybe you have done so while driving and didn't even realize it. So, what exactly is the zipper merge?

According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, merge points are specifically set up for vehicles to merge from two lanes into one lane in a zipper fashion. This means that to keep traffic flowing as best as possible, each car should alternate in a zipper fashion into the remaining open lane just before the point of closure.

CDOT explains that when there's a lane closure coming up ahead, motorists should continue to drive in both lanes equally. Just before the lane ends, cars should take turns filling in the open lane and then resume full speed. In a zipper merge, be respectful of those who wait to merge until just before the lane ends; they are doing it correctly.