15 May 2025New bus lane on Kringlumýrarbraut — construction to begin in May
New bus lane on Kringlumýrarbraut — construction to begin in May
Bryndís Friðriksdóttir, the IRCA’s regional manager for the Capital region, and Halldór Ingólfsson at D. Ing-verk, signed a contract today, Thursday, May 15th, for the development of a new bus lane on Kringlumýrarbraut. The construction is slated to be finished in August, The stated goal is for public transportation to be able to make it’s way through the stretch of road in question irrespective of traffic conditions.
The project entails the development of a priority bus lane on a 400 m stretch of road on Kringlumýrarbraut, between Háaleitisbraut and Miklabraut on the west side of the street, heading south. Also planned is the development of a new lane for private vehicle use, as well as the road’s center island being shrinked and remade in order to create room for a new lane. The fence currently in place on the center island will be removed, and replaced with smaller guardrails. Every lane along this section of Kringlumýrabraut will be uprooted and re-paved. Furthermore, lightposts will have to be taken down and moved.
New bus stops will be erected on either side of Háaleitisbraut. Bus route 4 is expected to change to drive straight along Kringlumýrarbraut at the completion of the priority lane. The travel time for public commuters is expected to be reduced by around 4-5 minutes, without effecting the travel time for commuters of private vehicles.
Roads will not be closed during construction
Construction is undertaken over the summer months, before traffic is set to increase again come fall. Delays are to be expected during construction — a single south-bound lane will have to be closed for a majority of the construction period, during which time only a single south-bound lane will be open for traffic. Additionally, a single north-bound lane will have to be closed whilst the shrinking of the center island is underway. Commuters are asked to be considerate and patient whilst construction is underway. Estimated traffic around this area of Kringlumýrabraut is around 30,000 vehicles per 24 hours, taking into account both north-bound and south-bound traffic.
The IRCA, Betri samgöngur, The City of Reykjavík and Strætó are cooperative partners in this venture, which is financed by the Transportation Agreement.
The center island will be shrunk in order to make way for a new lane.
Halldór and Bryndís signing the contract.
Map of the area. The section in question is on the west side of Kringlumýrarbraut, handling south-bound traffic.
A priority bus lane will be constructed on Kringlumýrarbraut.