The Gold Line opens as new type of bus route. Drivers will need to stay in their lane.

Metro Transit bus driver Michele Selseth described an advantage to being behind the wheel on the Gold Line, the east metro's new rapid bus line opening Saturday and operating in its own dedicated lanes.

"I don't have to deal with the everyday driver," she said during a preview run on Tuesday.

That is, if everybody stays in their lane.

Built at a cost of $505 million, the 10-mile transit line linking downtown St. Paul and Woodbury will be the first of its kind in the Twin Cities to separate cars from buses. And it will introduce a few new wrinkles for motorists encountering the bus lanes, which have their own traffic control system and appear on the side of city streets in some places while running down the center of others.

Here are the rules: No walking, jogging, biking or rolling on what is known in transit circles as a guideway. Cars and trucks are not allowed on it, either.

Gold Line buses will operate every 10 minutes on weekdays most hours of the day, every 15 minutes on weekends and every half hour early mornings and at night. Buses will run from about 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. and trips end to end will take about 35 minutes with stops at 16 stations, Metro Transit said.

Metro Transit went to great lengths to ensure that only Gold Line buses use the guideway, which makes up 70% of the route. Buses share city streets on the remainder of the route.

To make it clear, the agency painted the lanes red and the words "Bus Only" at guideway entrances to keep unauthorized motorists out. Metro Transit also put up large "Do Not Enter" signs at points where drivers may inadvertently stray into the guideways.

Metro Transit also spent an extra $20 million to enhance sidewalks and crosswalks, upgrade trails leading to stations, and tie them into the city system, giving dedicated space to walk, bike and roll. At Maple Street, a new pedestrian bridge meeting ADA requirements was built over I-94.

To educate drivers and pedestrians, Metro Transit has distributed safety materials, including printed handouts that illustrate the "Do's and Don'ts," and created social media videos outlining the rules of the guideway and where and where not to drive, all with one request:

"Please stay off the guideway," said Liz Jones, Gold Line outreach and engagement lead. She also warned drivers: "there are places you can't get out."

The guideway generally runs along the north side of I-94 between St. Paul and Oakdale. But the bus lane travels through a residential neighborhood in St. Paul and down the center of Bielenberg Drive in Woodbury, spots where motorists could stray into the lanes.

At Helmo Avenue in Oakdale, the guideway crosses a traffic lane with one set of traffic lights for motorists and a separate set for buses.

With no lane like it in the Twin Cities, Metro Transit Interim Police Chief Joe Dotseth said people could be confused, and "there will be a learning curve."

But so far there have been no reported infractions, he said.

Metro Transit police and law enforcement from Woodbury, Oakdale and Washington County will keep an eye on the lane, Dotseth said. Others in Metro Transit's control center will have live camera feeds and can notify law enforcement of wayward cars and pedestrians.

Violators could be cited with a petty misdemeanor and a fine of up to $300.