Traffic snarls loom with convention center work

Driving around the downtown area has been tough enough since the Ohio River Bridges Project began, but there's another major headache coming Aug. 17 -- key blocks of both Third and Fourth streets are going to be closed for nearly two years.

The impending, 22-month closure of the Kentucky International Convention Center and the adjacent streets will culminate with a facility that has a larger, more attractive space that should draw more conventions, trade shows, and meetings -- and more money for Louisville businesses.

"No pain, no gain," Karen Williams, Louisville Convention Bureau president & CEO, said of the planned extensive closing of the convention facility and also the nearby streets.

The streets will be closed the morning of Aug. 17 between Market and Jefferson streets on opposite sides of the convention center.  The center will also be closed at that time.

The entire western half of the two-block center -- or the whole block bounded by Third, Fourth, Market and Jefferson -- is being torn down and rebuilt.

In addition, to accommodate the $207 million project, traffic on the eastbound Market and the westbound Jefferson near the convention center site will be reduced from five to three lanes throughout the redevelopment project.

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The closure of one block of Third and Fourth streets in the heart of the central business district is apt to put extreme pressure on First, Second and Sixth streets -- the primary alternate southern routes for traffic coming off the Third Street interstate ramp near the riverfront.  That's the assessment of Richard Polk Jr., lead architect on the convention center project with the EOP design firm of Louisville and Lexington.

Trying to coordinate the downtown traffic during the convention center revamp may be tantamount to solving Rubik's Cube.

To help, the consultants include a traffic engineering firm.  A congestion-mitigation plan calls for synchronizing stoplights, new signage and, perhaps foremost, media public service spots, said Jeanne Hilt, spokeswoman for the Louisville Downtown Partnership.  It serves as Mayor Greg Fischer's lead agency on downtown affairs and has been tasked with trying to manage traffic during the convention center makeover.

Polk said it has been deemed essential to close a block of Third and Fourth during construction, for the safety of the public and work crews as well as to ease the logistics and to get equipment on and off site.  Trying to keep the convention center and the streets open during the project would have greatly increased the cost and probably added a year to the construction schedule, officials said.

Most downtown stakeholders, like Williams, believe that the interim inconveniences will be outweighed by the long-term benefits of having a greatly improved exhibit hall.  "We are transforming downtown," Hilt said.

"I expect some relatively minor short-term impact (from the street and center's closure), but it will be worth every bit of it in the long term.   We are building a strong downtown," said Mike Leonard of Hogan Real Estate, a firm with downtown property interests including a longtime role with Fourth Street Live!.

"We're happy to see the growth.  We are willing to put up with some inconveniences," said Cynthia Torp, head of the Solid Light design firm based at 438 S. Third.  "And we have a front row seat."

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Trying to minimize disruption will require close cooperation among Metro Public Works, Metro Police, the State Transportation Cabinet, the Ohio River Bridges Project, utilities, the Trimark Corp. that monitors local traffic, private developers and others.

Hilt said there are currently at least 14 active construction sites in or near the central business district, with a dozen or so more on tap or expected to get underway in the next 22 months -- or coinciding with the convention center work.

For the most part, highway officials are not overly concerned about the Spaghetti Junction redesign that is part of the bridges project.

"We'll be all buttoned up by the end of the year, and that's going to alleviate some of the congestion," with most of the bridges project's impact on city streets ending this fall, said Mindy Peterson, a bridges project spokeswoman.

Peterson added, "We are not making any changes to accommodate" the convention center work.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has no major local interstate work scheduled over the next two years, said cabinet spokeswoman Andrea Clifford.  She also said that the state is not delaying any major interstate improvements, because of the convention center plans.

Other impediments to downtown traffic movement is an ongoing effort by LG&E to upgrade some underground lines and by the city's continuing plans to create bike lanes on some streets.

Hilt noted that one expected help will be that the city last fall developed a partnership with Waze, the community-based traffic and navigation app.

City officials expect that Waze can greatly improve traffic conditions by giving drivers the ability to share real-time traffic and road information.  Waze also allows the city to more effectively alert citizens and businesses about construction, accidents or special events.

The city is now sending all its road-closure information -- as well as some building permit information -- directly to Waze, which displays it on an easy-to-use and easy-to-see-and-understand mobile app that can be downloaded on smartphones, tablets or in car-navigation systems.

Reporter Sheldon S. Shafer can be reached at (502) 582-7089, or via email at sshafer@courier-journal.com.