Starting the morning of Monday, Dec. 5, motorists will have a new option for accessing the State Street Garage, the Promenade Garage and the Marble Alley Lofts garage: A two-block section of State Street will be converted from one-way to two-way traffic.

There will be one northbound lane and one southbound lane on State Street between Union Avenue and West Summit Hill Drive. (The southern end of State Street – from West Hill Avenue to Union Avenue – will continue with one-way northbound traffic.)

As a safety measure, while motorists become accustomed to the new two-way traffic flow, orange barrels will be placed on the center line of the two-block section of State Street for two weeks.

The traffic flow adjustment is part of the City’s $1.2 million streetscapes project that built wide new sidewalks and added streetlights and landscaping on Central and State streets and on Commerce Avenue to complement the 250-unit Marble Alley apartment complex – a $30 million private investment.

“Opening up these two blocks of State Street to two-way traffic will really help by giving people another way to access the north entrance to the State Street Garage,” said Rick Emmett, the City’s Downtown Coordinator. “With 1,068 spaces, State Street is the largest City-owned garage, and it’s a popular parking destination because it’s so strategically located.

“Likewise, this change will benefit people accessing the Promenade or Marble Alley garages.”

Starting Monday, eastbound motorists on Summit Hill Drive will be able to turn right onto State Street. There will be no left turn off Summit Hill for westbound motorists, because there is no turning lane at the Summit Hill intersection with State Street.