Lincoln Avenue Underpass Open to Traffic

While some work still remains incomplete, the underpass on Lincoln Avenue was opened to traffic May 8. A dedication ceremony for the new underpass, which will include officials from various state and federal agencies that provided funding for the project, will be held later this month. The official groundbreaking for the underpass took place in June, 2010.

The planning for the underpass, along with a companion underpass on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, began more than a decade ago. The city is still in the process of securing all of the funding necessary for the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard project. No projected timeline for construction has been established.

While the construction of the underpass on Lincoln Avenue was underway, the roadway was closed between 1^st Street and 1^st Avenue.  Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard was restriped from a three lane, one-way street to a four lane, two-way street between 1^st Street and 3^rd Avenue in order to accommodate rerouted traffic. Over the next few days, the current westbound lanes of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard will be closed and restriped. During the restriping, two eastbound lanes will remain open.

The dedication ceremony for the underpass on Lincoln Avenue is set for May 24, at 11:15 a.m.