East Jefferson Street in Louisville will open to two-way traffic between Brook Street and Baxter Avenue

After a lengthy construction period, East Jefferson Street in Louisville will open to two-way vehicle traffic on Sunday, Mayor Craig Greenberg announced Tuesday.

The reconstruction of the mile-long stretch between Baxter Avenue and Brook Street was completed after seven months of construction. The road, which previously only allowed westbound vehicles to travel, will now allow motorists to travel into the Highlands from the city center and is expected to make travel safer for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists.

The completed reconstruction comes as a number of similar projects are underway, including the redesign of Main, Second, Third, Logan and Shelby streets in both directions. Some experts consider one-way streets to be safer than one-way streets because they are known to encourage drivers to slow down and pay more attention to their surroundings. A 2015 study in Louisville found that the frequency of vehicle collisions decreased in the years following a two-way conversion.

As part of its goal to achieve zero traffic fatalities by 2050, the Metro government and the city-funded Vision Zero Louisville initiative believe one-way streets support that effort.

More: Louisville will receive $800,000 for new Vision Zero staffing positions and traffic safety programs

“Vehicle speed and weight largely determine injury severity in a crash, and two-way conversions prevent speeding by reducing the number of directional lanes,” Vision Zero Director Claire Yates said in an email.

As Louisville’s growth spread to the suburbs in the mid-20th century, one-way streets were introduced for their efficiency, helping drivers reach their destinations more quickly, according to a 2009 study.

Reach reporter Leo Bertucci at [email protected] or @leober2chee on X, formerly known as Twitter

This article originally appeared in the Louisville Courier Journal: East Jefferson Street in Louisville will open to two-way traffic Sunday