Beijing's Olympic lanes will gradually open to traffic, the Beijing municipal traffic management bureau said yesterday.

By next Thursday all lanes will be open. Yesterday, three lanes were opened, one of which connects the South Airport Expressway, it said

On Monday, most Olympic lanes on the Second and Fourth Ring roads will open. And on Thursday, the lanes connecting Dongzhimen bridge to Jianguomen bridge, and to the main expressway to the airport, will open.

However, the lanes will be closed again on Sept 6 for the Paralympics, Wang Li, deputy chief of the bureau said.

A more detailed announcement will be made later, he said.

Yesterday also marked the first month of a two-month odd-and-even license plate rule that allows Beijing's 3.3 million private car owners to drive only on alternate days.

"Beijing's overall traffic in the past month has been good, fulfilling its promise of providing safe, timely, convenient and reliable Olympic traffic," Wang said.

Zhang Xiaoyong, a Beijing resident, said he was pleased that all the Olympic lanes will soon be opened.

"There are too many Olympic lanes. Congestion on the Western Second Ring Road is occurring more than usual," he said.

(China Daily August 21, 2008)