Van Ness nears completion

Look for a stronger, redder ride on the refurbished Van Ness Avenue as it nears the long-anticipated end of its extensive upgrades and rebuilding. 

The new red transit lanes are being touted by SFMTA as being able to withstand decades more use than their traditional counterparts. Instead of painting on the red color, the lanes use “integral color” — vermillion coloring — mixed into the concrete before it is poured onto the ground. 

In addition, a similarly shaded color hardener was applied. SFMTA says that the hardener increases the strength of the roadway from the usual 5,000 PSI (able to handle 5,000 pounds of pressure per square inch) of a roadway to 8,000 PSI; freeways and even airplane runways generally rate 5,000 PSI.

SFMTA reports that the Van Ness Improvement Project is scheduled to be finished by the end of this year, with Bus Rapid Transit service to begin in early 2022. Work still to be done includes installing new overhead power lines for the transit lanes, putting in the landscaping and irrigation systems, and creating pedestrian bulb-outs on corners.

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