Main Remade is a Kentucky Transportation Cabinet project designed to improve safety and accessibility along one of downtown Louisville’s key business, residential, and tourism corridors — Main Street.
The project will convert portions of the current one-way street into a two-way street, making travel safer and simpler for all road users.
The Main Remade project area runs along Main Street, from Wenzel Street in the east to 22nd Street in the west. In the past six years along the project corridor, there were 464 total crashes, 89 of which involved injuries and one involved a fatality.
Main Remade’s redesign will help reduce the risk of severe crashes by prioritizing safety through the following improvements:
One-way streets are designed to move vehicles quickly from one location to the next. This prioritization of speed and throughput makes them dangerous for drivers and especially for pedestrians and cyclists. Main Street is vulnerable to these conditions but conversion to two-way travel is expected to enhance both safety and accessibility for all road users to the businesses, residences, and destinations along the corridor.
Two-way streets discourage high vehicle speeds which helps reduce the severity of crashes with other roadway users, particularly pedestrians and cyclists.
Two-way streets offer more direct routes to destinations, are easier to navigate, and help increase foot traffic, all of which improves visibility and ease of access to businesses and other destinations along the roadway.
Upgrading the striping, marking, and lighting of crosswalks is a significant component of this project and is expected to dramatically improve the visibility and safety of pedestrians.
They are designed to improve pedestrian safety at the intersections.
Dedicated bike facilities are separated from driving lanes, parking lanes, and sidewalks. This project will include a combination of bike lanes and a cycle track.
Many serious bicycle crashes occur at non-intersections, most often when motorists overtake cyclists. Adding protected bike lanes to Main Street will reduce the risk of crashes by limiting the locations where bicyclists and motorists interact.
Improvements along the corridor will occur in three phases:
Location: Wenzel Street to 2nd Street
Description: The East Phase will include converting the corridor from
one-way to two-way, adding dedicated left-turn lanes at
intersections, upgrading traffic signals, enhancing crosswalk
delineation and visibility, and creating a parking-protected bike lane.
The East Phase will also include reconfiguring two blocks of Market
Street. The westbound travel lane that currently ends at Brook Street
will continue to 2nd Street to complete the two-way connectivity of
Main Street and Market Street from 2nd Street to Baxter Avenue.
Construction Schedule: Construction of the East Phase is expected to
begin in Summer 2025. Main Street will remain open to traffic during
construction.
Location: 10th Street to 22nd Street
Phase 1
Description: Phase 1 of the West Phase will involve converting the
corridor from one-way to two-way traffic, adding a center two-way
left-turn lane, modifying existing traffic signals for the two-way
conversion, and resurfacing the pavement. Additionally, crosswalk
delineation and visibility will be enhanced, and bike lanes will be
created.
Construction Schedule: Construction of West Phase 1 is expected to
begin in Summer/Fall 2025 and will be constructed concurrently with
Central Phase 1. Main Street will remain open to traffic during
construction.
Phase 2
Description: Phase 2 of the West Phase will involve the upgrade of
traffic signals and the replacement of traffic signals with all-way stop
configurations, where warranted.
Construction Schedule: Construction of West Phase 2 is expected to
begin as early as 2026. Main Street will remain open to traffic during
construction.
Location: 2nd Street to 10th Street
Phase 1
Description: Phase 1 of the Central Phase will maintain one-way
westbound travel between 2nd Street and 10th Street and will
enhance pedestrian and bike safety and resurface the pavement.
Construction Schedule: Construction of Central Phase 1 is expected to begin in Summer/Fall 2025 and will be constructed concurrently with West Phase 1. Main Street will remain open to traffic during construction.
Phase 2
Description: Phase 2 of the Central Phase will analyze the feasibility
of converting the corridor from one-way to two-way traffic. If
determined to be feasible, this phase will also include upgrading
traffic signals and adding bike facilities.
Construction Schedule: Timing of the construction of Central Phase 2 is to be determined, depending on the outcomes of the feasibility
analysis.
Public involvement is an important part of the Main Remade project.
Public comments for Central Phase 2 will be received on this website once the public involvement process
begins.
Construction updates will be provided throughout construction, which is expected to begin in Spring/Summer 2025.