Downtown 4th Street Shifts to Two-Way Traffic
Businesses along the corridor should plan for lane reductions now and new traffic flow when the project finishes in April.
Updated on Nov. 1, 2026 in Construction
Tulsa is converting part of 4th Street downtown from one-way to two-way traffic as part of a $3.2 million pavement and waterline project running from Cincinnati Avenue to Lansing Avenue. Completion is expected in April, and contractors and businesses along the corridor should plan for the lane changes.
Why it matters
The project reflects a city-wide effort, dating to a 2010 plan, to return downtown streets to two-way traffic in order to make the area more pedestrian-friendly and economically active rather than optimized only for vehicle flow. For businesses on or near the corridor, the traffic pattern change is expected to alter access routes and customer circulation.
The $3.2 million 4th Street project, stretching from Cincinnati Avenue to Lansing Avenue, has narrowed a normally four-lane street to two lanes in some sections during construction. Completion is projected for April, and the extraction does not specify how traffic volumes along the corridor will shift after conversion.
The players
City of Tulsa
Municipal government of Tulsa, Oklahoma, which owns and manages the downtown street network and is funding the $3.2 million 4th Street project.
PlaniTulsa
Citywide planning initiative whose 2010 recommendations called for returning downtown streets to two-way traffic.
The details
The project includes new pavement and waterlines along the corridor and is part of a broader downtown conversion plan. A late-1950s shift to one-way streets was followed by a 2010 PlaniTulsa recommendation and a city-funded 2017-2018 study identifying 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th streets, plus Boulder and Cheyenne avenues, for conversion. Portions of 4th Street east of Detroit Avenue, 5th Street and Boulder Avenue have already been converted to two-way traffic.
Timeline
Late 1950s: Tulsa converted many downtown streets to one-way traffic.
2010: The PlaniTulsa initiative called for downtown streets to return to two-way traffic.
2017 and 2018: The city funded a study identifying downtown streets for conversion.
About seven months before publication: Construction on 4th Street began.
April 2027: Completion of the 4th Street project is expected.
Market Landscape
The 4th Street conversion continues a multi-decade reversal of mid-century one-way downtown street planning that Tulsa adopted in the late 1950s. It follows the PlaniTulsa 2010 direction and the 2017-2018 city-funded study that identified streets for conversion.
Businesses along the 4th Street corridor should expect lane restrictions and altered traffic patterns until the project finishes in April. Operators whose delivery, customer access or parking depends on this stretch may want to plan routing and staffing around the construction period.
The takeaway
Plan around the lane reductions on 4th Street through the April completion date, and track how two-way traffic affects customer access once the conversion is in place. Operators with time-sensitive deliveries or customer access needs on the corridor should confirm routing with the City of Tulsa before the change takes effect.
What happens next
Completion of the 4th Street project is expected in April 2027, when the conversion's traffic pattern changes are slated to be in place.
Further reading
For related context on local infrastructure work, see Construction coverage across Tulsa.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Fox23.
