New 17.5-kilometer bus-only lanes under the Yan’an Elevated Road will provide a quicker public transport alternative along the trunk road, however some intersections are expected to be more congested for other vehicles.

The project, called the medium-capacity traffic project, will be put into operation after the Spring Festival holiday.

Special Bus No. 71 will have special access to the bus-only lanes around the clock and the bus doors will open on the left side. Before, bus-only lanes were at the right side of the road and were restricted to other cars on weekday peak hours.

Original lanes for vehicles to turn left and to turn around have been altered.

“Most intersections along the project will have the same traffic capacity as before,” the city’s transportation commission said yesterday.

“Some intersections will be affected. Traffic capacity at the intersection of Yan’an Road and Henan Road S. is expected to be reduced.”

But the authority said some other intersections, including those at Shenkun Road, Qixin Road, Wubao Road will even see more efficiency after reconstruction.

Six lanes for turning around have been canceled and drivers will have to drive to the next intersection to turn in future. Most lanes for turning left will be moved one lane to the right.

The original bus-only lanes on the roadsides have been canceled.

The whole project alters 56 intersections to minimize the impact on other vehicles.

According to the authority, No. 71 buses are expected to run at 18 kilometers per hour, 30-50 percent up from buses in traditional bus-only lanes.

But it added some commuters would have to transfer more than before, but the travel time would still be cut by about 10 percent.

No. 71 buses will also use a special set of signal lights to match the improved speed.

As bus stops will be set up in the middle of the road, passengers can use zebra crossings for access.

And there are overpasses at Kaixuan Road, Jiangsu Road, Huashan Road, Xizang Road M. and Outer Ring Road.