LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- When former Mayor Greg Fischer unveiled his "Move Louisville" transportation plan in 2016, he set priorities for the next two decades that included converting one-way streets to handle traffic in both directions.
The Fischer administration later announced work would start in the spring of 2018 by focusing on six streets in and around downtown. One of those — 3rd Street from Broadway to Main Street — has since become a two-way route except for sections near the Kentucky International Convention Center.
But that remains the only project done so far. Despite Metro Council funding, public meetings and construction work put out for bid, other planned transitions remain in limbo. Meanwhile, several publicly announced timelines have been pushed back.
"As a resident, it's frustrating that very few of the conversions have occurred," said Chris Glasser, director of Streets for People, which supports policies making roads safer and more accessible.
Besides the 3rd Street plan, the proposed two-way projects announced in early 2017 included sections of Jefferson Street; 7th and 8th streets; Shelby Street and Campbell Street. Metro Council approved $4.35 million in bond and federal funds later that year to cover the cost of converting 7th Street, 8th Street, Jefferson Street, Muhammad Ali Boulevard, Chestnut Street and possibly more.
None has been completed.
Glasser said he understands these projects are complex and often involve city, state and federal agencies, but the delays are "across the board."
"I don't know that we're being given a good reason," he said. "I certainly don't fully understand why these things take so long to occur."
Work gets few bidders
Backers of overhauling one-way streets say the benefits include reducing vehicle speeds, making roads more pedestrian friendly and aiding businesses. A 2017 study co-authored by University of Louisville urban affairs professor John Gilderbloom analyzed neighborhoods with multi-lane, one-way streets and areas without them, finding that places with one-way streets had more crashes and injuries.
A city report published in 2021 as part of the Vision Zero campaign to prevent deaths and serious injuries on Louisville roads cited one-way streets as risk factors in certain crashes.
A number of reasons are to blame for the delays in converting one-way streets, said Dirk Gowin, transportation division manager at Louisville Metro Public Works.
From a construction standpoint, Gowin said, the conversions involve rebuilding every intersection with a traffic signal and sinking new signal poles 16 feet into the ground while avoiding existing utilities. He also said getting approvals from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet that are required at every intersection with a state-controlled road have not "moved along as smoothly as I would have liked to have seen."
Dirk Gowin, transportation division manger of Louisville Metro Public Works (WDRB photo).
Gowin said the city's short-term priority is converting three streets: 8th Street from Kentucky Street to Market Street, 7th Street from St. Catherine Street to River Road and Jefferson Street from Floyd Street to Baxter Avenue.
The Public Works department was relying on a staff member to lead the development of those plans, Gowin said. Then, that employee left Metro government.
"We were advancing that along," he said. "That in-house person left, and then I had to pivot and get a consultant to try to pick up the pieces of that."
In October 2021, Gowin told the Metro Council's public works committee that he was hopeful the work on those streets could start by early 2022. City procurement records show that bids were sought for the streets in December 2021 and again in March 2022, but no contracts were awarded.
Gowin said there were no responses for the project on 7th and 8th streets, while the Jefferson Street work attracted just one bidder in three efforts overall. The one response was rejected because it was more than twice the engineer's cost estimate.
He attributes the dearth of interest in part to the massive BlueOval SK electric vehicle battery plant being built in Hardin County. The $5.8 billion facility, a joint venture between Ford Motor Co. and SK Group of South Korea, is under construction and expected to open in 2025.
"It's fantastic for the state of Kentucky but it is also pulling every electrical contractor and staffing in the region," Gowin said. "... That success to our south is impacting our schedules here. And our costs are going up significantly, particularly for traffic signal poles, electric lighting, all those things that involve electricity."
He is hopeful that Metro government can seek new bids for the Jefferson Street work after crews perform utility work next month, and "then the others will follow along." With a projected price tag of $2.5 million, Gowin said there is enough funding already set aside for those projects.
Meanwhile, nearly $2 million has been allocated for the next phase of street conversions:
- Shelby Street from Muhammad Ali Boulevard to Main Street
- Campbell Street from Muhammad Ali Boulevard to Main Street
- Chestnut Street from Jackson Street to the Chestnut Street Connector
- Muhammad Ali Boulevard from Jackson Street to the Chestnut Street Connector
- Liberty Street from Preston Street to Baxter Avenue
Gowin said their expected cost has climbed by 50%.
"This is not enough funding and will have to be increased to advance the projects," he said in an email.
Another one-way street conversion project in western Louisville received federal funding last year. A $15.6 million grant and nearly $4 million in other federal aid would help make Muhammad Ali Boulevard and Chestnut Street/River Park Drive two-way streets west of 9th Street as part of the long-envisioned Reimagine 9th Street plan.
The estimated cost of that project is $24.6 million, with the rest of the funding filled by Metro government's share of monies from the 2021 federal infrastructure act, Gowin said.
'I think we can always be moving faster'
New Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg did not single out one-way street conversions in his campaign plank last year but he supports "all things that ensure safety along our streets, that inspire slower traffic, inspire more business and, quite frankly, more neighborhood connections," said Nicole George, deputy mayor of public health and public services.
George, who now oversees the city's public works department, said she's aware of community advocates who continue to ask where things stand.
"And I know Public Works is working as hard as they can to roll out the plan," she added.
Among the supporters of more two-way streets is the Louisville Downtown Partnership, which promotes downtown events, business and living. Rebecca Fleischaker, the partnership's executive director, said having traffic moving in both directions can help reduce vehicle speeds, protect pedestrians and aid businesses.
Asked about the slow-going progress to convert one-way streets downtown, she said: "I think we can always be moving faster."
Louisville Tourism officials said the hodgepodge of different streets downtown isn't a common complaint from event organizers, but converting them to two-way streets has advantages.
"The sentiments from our partners with urban planning expertise indicate that two-way streets foster more pedestrian-friendly activity, therefore addressing one of the most important factors for meeting planners – safety," Cleo Battle, the agency's president and CEO, said in a statement.
While the one-way street conversions announced in 2017 haven't been realized, KYTC's plan to make Logan and Shelby streets into two-way roads is moving along. State lawmakers approved $3 million for the project in 2022, and Gowin said it should be complete later this year.
And he said city staff are working on a revision to the intersection of Main Street, Story Avenue and Baxter Avenue, allowing the possibility of converting Story and Mellwood Avenue to two-way streets.
"We've got a lot of moving pieces and parts that kind of start giving us that domino effect, that things will start rippling out," Gowin said. "But we just haven't got it kicked off as well as I'd like to see right now."
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