Beatrice to Make Most of 5th Street A Two-way Street

The City of Beatrice is making plans to make most of 5th Street a two-way street by this fall.  The street would remain one-way from Court to Market Street.  The cost to renovate and convert it to a two-way street is expected to be more than $300,000.

Bids for the project will be taken until February 15th and include the removal and replacement of 6,350 square feet of concrete paving, 5,030 square feet of concrete parking, and 10,400 square feet of sidewalk.

Changing the street to two-way from Court to Market would pose a problem for the pharmacy located there, as they have a drive up on the east side of the street and southbound drivers would have to cross into oncoming traffic to enter the drive thru, causing a possible traffic hazard and northbound traffic would probably not be able to make a short enough U-turn to enter the drive thru.

The project is a result of a Community Development Block Grant from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development to revitalize the downtown area, which was awarded in 2010.  The grant would provide up to $380,000 with a 25% match by the city.