Drivers beware: First Avenue in Sterling converting to a two-way street

STERLING – The city is gearing up for a one- to two-way street conversion.

Construction on First Avenue is not quite complete, but when it is, the longtime one-way road will become a two-way from Fifth Street north to the intersection with LeFevre Road, at CGH Medical Center.

First Avenue still is closed because of asphalt that was cut out so protective concrete can be formed around the manholes, the city said Thursday afternoon on its Facebook page.

Yellow center stripes signifying the two-way are in place, and on-street parking will be allowed on both sides.

First Avenue also will remain a snow route, which means no parking on either side until all snow is removed from the full width of the street.

Drivers are advised to be extra cautious, slow down at intersections and make sure to check both directions while everyone adjusts to the change.

“The conversion to two-way is meant to give the area a more neighborhood feel rather than a zippy thoroughfare for non-local traffic,” the city said in its post.

“Traffic naturally tends to go faster on one-ways. Two-way traffic and on-street parking are subtle ways traffic engineers calm traffic speeds.”

There also are brand new sidewalks on both sides of the road, and temporary asphalt patches that will be replaced with new concrete panels by a utility that missed its deadline to get the work done, but will finish in 2022, the post said.

Kathleen Schultz

Kathleen A. Schultz

Kathleen Schultz is a Sterling native with 40 years of reporting and editing experience in Arizona, California, Montana and Illinois.