Three hours.  That's how long a North Shore mom said it took her 8-year-old son to get home from Helemano Elementary School.

Emily Russell says with the closure of the Karsten Thot Bridge, school buses are getting caught in the afternoon traffic.

"Am I going to expect my kids to come home every day at 5 o'clock?" said Russell.

Because of the bridge repair work, drivers leaving Whitmore Village in the afternoon have to make a right on Kamehameha Highway.  Russell says that's causing a bottleneck on the highway where it splits for North Shore bound and military base-bound traffic.
"They need to get someone to move these cars over," said Russell. "Somebody needs to be helping that area, at least when school gets out."

Some school staff members called the Department of Transportation to see if crews can open the Karsten Thot bridge between the hours of 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., similar to what crews do in the morning.

The DOT currently opens the bridge from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. to alleviate the work commute.

KITV4 contacted a DOT spokesperson and have not back as of Thursday evening.