OVER recent weeks Banora Point residents have experienced gridlock caused by a set of new traffic lights at the corner of Darlington Dr and the old Pacific Hwy.

Banora Point resident Melissa Ponferrada was unsure if the current arrangements would remain in place and questioned the design.

"I don't know if the lights are here to stay but if this is the best they could come up with, I'm not very impressed," Ms Ponferrada said.

The gridlock only affected Darlington Drive's left lane which leads traffic onto the Pacific Hwy and left the right lane relatively clear.

Motorists unfamiliar with the current situation and some drivers trying to avoid the queue were driving along the right hand lane and making last-minute merging manoeuvres to rejoin the traffic.

"It's dangerous and causes confusion," Ms Ponferrada said.

Caltex service station manager Alexander Bitancurt said during peak travel times, the traffic queued from the front of his service station to the traffic lights and on occasion blocked the Darlington Dr entrance to the station.

"However, we haven't had any real problems," Mr Bitancurt said.

Frequent Banora visitor and Tweed Heads resident John Reed said Banora Point residents got a "bad deal" if the lights were to stay and continued to cause the tailbacks.

A Transport Roads and Maritime Services spokesperson said the current arrangements were only temporary and would be changed once building work on the new northbound off ramp from the highway into Tweed Heads South was finalised.

Once the new northbound off ramp into Tweed Heads South was opened in late July, the majority of the traffic from south of the upgrade would access Tweed Heads South via a ramp and bypass Darlington Dr.

This would reduce traffic volumes at the intersection and improve travel times for access to Banora.