Public Works News: Full Article

November 16, 2023

The top layer of pavement has now been applied to the North Hazel Street to Phelps Street Gateway block of West Commerce Street.

Remaining paving and construction work on the Phelps Street Gateway to Wick Avenue block of West Commerce Street is paused until the demolition work at the 20 Federal Place building is complete.

With the exception of the Phelps Street Gateway to Wick Avenue block, all of Commerce Street is open to traffic.

Construction on Commerce Street, between Fifth Avenue and East Federal Street, is part of Phase 2 of the SMART2 project. These blocks have been redesigned to be safer and more accessible for users of multiple modes of transportation, including motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Project design features include the following:

• Road Diet (Fifth Avenue to North Walnut Street), reducing the existing 5 vehicular lanes to 1 in each direction, plus left turn lanes, as needed.
• Sidewalk improvements (Fifth Avenue to North Walnut Street), including landscaped amenity strip separations.
• Safety and aesthetic improvements to crosswalks.
• Addition of limited parallel parking (Fifth Avenue to North Walnut Street - westbound only).
• Energy efficient and aesthetic street lighting.