Two lanes of Court Street in downtown Salem will close starting Thursday ahead of its transformation from a one-way to a two-way street.
After construction is completed in the next few weeks, Court Street will run east and west from Commercial Street to High Street.
City officials said the change will address mobility and usability issues in the city’s core and come as part of the Central Salem Mobility Study recommendations. The study found that the change would increase multimodal transportation opportunities while still preserving access to downtown parking.
The switch is also expected to increase traffic circulation, access and improve safety.
The Court Street project will increase access to local downtown businesses by converting the westbound three-lane road into a two-lane, east-west direction with appropriate left turn lanes at Commercial Street and High Street, city public works spokesman Trevor Smith said in a statement.
Parking will be available in both directions. He compared the updates to the conversion of State Street to a two-way street in 2021.
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The project will include new medians, islands, traffic signals and lighting. Construction and design for the changes cost $500,000.
Starting Thursday, Feb. 16, two lanes of Court Street will close as a new median is constructed at High Street.
Installation of the new street striping to complete the project is weather-dependent and requires a period of dry weather with temperatures above 40 degrees.
City officials advised the public to watch for signs and cones identifying temporary lane markers and turn lane indicators and obey all traffic signs as various traffic control measures are updated and replaced.
Work over the new few weeks will include:
- Building new concrete medians and islands.
- Installing traffic signals and lighting.
- Replacing roadway striping.
- Altering the parking direction on the eastbound spaces.
Those interested in updates and photos of the project can follow the city on social media.
More information on current city road construction projects is available on the Active Construction Dashboard.
For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter @wmwoodworth
