Too Late Wisdom: Traffic Lights Turned Off Only After Two Days of Chaos on the Road to Mostar

(Patria) - While citizens were stuck in traffic jams for hours on April 30th and May 1st, traveling to Mostar, Neum, and Herzegovina for five or even six hours, the authorities remained silent. There was no urgent reaction, no crisis management, nor any attempt to reroute or optimize traffic in real-time.

Only after two days of chaos was it decided to turn off the traffic lights in Konjic. But this move should have been made immediately, not as a delayed measure when the damage was already done.

This is not just about traffic jams. It is about a systemic problem of traffic management in crisis and predictable situations.

May Day holidays are not a surprise, they happen every year. Increased vehicle traffic on the M-17 highway is an expected, almost certain scenario. Despite this, the authorities did not have a plan ready, nor did they react in time when it became clear that the queues were turning into multi-hour blockades.

It is particularly problematic that appeals to drivers to avoid this section are only made afterwards. Appeals from BIHAMK come when thousands of people have already lost hours in traffic jams, fuel, nerves, and precious time. Alternative routes such as Kupres – Bugojno – Rostovo – Vitez – Sarajevo are now offered as a solution, but where was this information two days ago?

Turning off the traffic lights today cannot erase the fact that citizens were held hostage by poor organization yesterday and the day before. What is now presented as relief is actually just an admission that the problem existed and was ignored for too long.

Ultimately, the simple question arises: if the solution was so obvious and simple, why did it take two days of chaos to implement it?