AUSTIN (KXAN) — The red paint is drying Sunday on Lavaca Street’s bus-only lane as Austin Transportation crews continued work on the area’s contraflow transportation project.

The far right lane of Lavaca Street between 15th and 18th Streets will become a dedicated transit-only lane, in which buses will have their own left turn signal on to 18th from Lavaca.

From there, they will be routed on to Guadalupe Street in a northbound bus lane that will go against southbound one-way traffic, until it hits Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Buses will then move across MLK using another bus-only signal, to make it on to the next stretch of Guadalupe.

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Crews were shown painting the portion of Lavaca Street near the 18th street intersection. The painting is expected to extend throughout the week (July 29-August 2).

You may be seeing red, but other cities are going to be green with envy when they see #ATX’s new bus lane on Lavaca! The bright red pavement aims to keep 🚌 🚌🚌 moving and keep 🚘 🚘🚘 out of the their way! @CapMetroATX @ATXcorridors @austintexasgov #2016Bond pic.twitter.com/5Yg1PgZmfX — ATX Transportation (@austinmobility) July 28, 2019

According to Cap Metro, 14 bus routes currently use the corridor. Planners hope the changes will make those bus routes more reliable when it comes to being on time, which could help boost ridership in the long run.

The contraflow project, which started in May, is expected to be completed in September or October.

Photo: City of Austin transportation

The final design will also include new bicycle infrastructure and pedestrian safety improvements, including a dedicated bike and pedestrian lane that will run next to the bus lane on the one-way stretch of Guadalupe between 18th Street and MLK Boulevard.