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Watch China's amazing zipper lane system open like a giant traffic unzipping machine [1]
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Date: 2025-07-30
Imagine cruising down a Beijing expressway at 7 a.m. when, in a matter of minutes, a bright yellow "zipper truck" glides past. Its mechanical arms lift 1-ton concrete segments, shuffles them sideways, and suddenly an extra lane appears — pointing straight into the city center. By 6 p.m. the same truck returns, rolling against the flow of traffic, and the lane is nudged back in the opposite direction to serve the outbound crush. No cones, no lane closures, no manual labor — just a quiet, choreographed shift that feels like watching a zipper close.
China piloted this reversible-lane system in Shenzhen in 2016 and has since rolled it out in Beijing, Jinan, Changsha, and Nanjing. Each lane adds (or subtracts) capacity at rush hour without widening the road, making it a timesaver in megacities where space is scarce and car ownership keeps soaring. The machinery itself is borrowed from earlier U.S. installations on the Golden Gate Bridge, but the Chinese deployment is laser-focused on sheer volume and speed — turning a 30-minute jam into a 5-minute crawl.
I would have a hard time paying attention to the road if I were driving and a zipper lane was being opened or shut. It's so satisfying to watch the trucks pull them open. I recently visited LA, and they desperately need a zipper lane (or 5) during rush hour traffic.
See also: How Zzyzx Road got its name
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