No congestion pricing here. Winston-Salem has a different plan for easing traffic downtown. Liberty and Main streets will soon become two-way streets from Brookstown Avenue to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Here’s what you need to know.
The need
Put simply, downtown has outgrown its original road design from the 1940s. It utilized one-way streets so Winstonians could get from one side of the city to the other.
A 2015 study concluded that converting First, Second, Liberty, and Main streets to two-lane roads would make downtown easier to navigate. Voters approved $6.4 million in bonds for the project as part of the November 2018 bond referendum. Portions of First and Second streets became two-way roads in 2022.
The project
Work to convert Liberty and Main streets is expected to start in January 2025. The first phase will involve crews realigning the northbound portion of Old Salem Road to Liberty Street, from Academy Street to Brookstown Avenue (near the Mickey Coffee Pot).
Crews will then work from Seventh Street to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. The project will wrap up in the third phase from Brookstown Avenue to Seventh Street. In addition to two-way travel, you might notice:
- Grading, resurfacing, and repaving
- New lane markings
- New traffic lights
- Changes to on-street parking
- Some intersections with curb extensions to make pedestrian crossings safer
The timeline
The work is expected to take 9 to 10 months. The good news? You won’t encounter any complete road closures. Lanes might be periodically closed but current traffic patterns will be the same until the two-way switch happens (usually over a weekend).
The impact
The city says two-way streets tend to slow traffic speeds. The hope is that encourages more pedestrians and cyclists to visit downtown.
Two-way streets also improve visibility of businesses, reduce driver confusion, and road congestion. The new layout will also allow for a smoother transition for those driving in and out of downtown.
How do you feel about this project? Let us know.
