DRIVERS have been left baffled by new road signs at a busy intersection.
The markings were painted on the road as part of a city project – but it appears a major mistake was made.
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The mix-up unfolded in Wheaton, Illinois, early Friday morning.
A news helicopter flew over the intersection of Naperville Road and Butterfield Road, where northbound cars were lined up.
But the turn lane arrows didn’t seem to match up with the direction drivers expected to go, CW affiliate WGN9 reported.
In the left-hand turn lanes, arrows pointed to the right.
Onlookers could be heard asking “wait, what happened?” as they examined the mistake.
City officials blamed the blunder on a contractor hired for a resurfacing project.
The crew had been working on Illinois 56 on Thursday when they painted the wrong markings.
Officials confirmed the markings were placed in error during that job.
By 11 am Friday, the incorrect arrows were removed and replaced with correct ones.
The city said no other markings in the area were done incorrectly.
“The mistaken markings were the only ones placed in error,” an official stated.
Despite the blunder, traffic didn’t seem to be heavily impacted.
Cars continued moving without incident through the intersection.
Drivers appeared to rely on instinct or familiarity to navigate through the confusion.
New driving laws in 2025
Drivers across the United States are having to adjust to a slew of new road rules that take effect in 2025. Some of those include:
No crashes or major traffic jams were reported as a result.
In early April, a road markings controversy erupted nearly 700 miles away in Montgomery Township, Pennsylvania.
The township introduced confusing new curves known as chicanes in an effort to slow down speeders on Grays Lane, but many locals weren’t impressed.
“This is just putting everybody really more at risk,” driver Katie Staudt said.
Officials defended the changes, saying they came after repeated complaints from residents and were approved by the township board in February.
But longtime residents argued the fix only made things worse, with some calling the new design more dangerous than the speeding it was meant to stop.