NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Motorists who drive through the 8th Avenue South/Lafayette Street intersection will soon encounter significant traffic changes as Metro Public Works (MPW) begins ramping up construction of the Korean Veterans Boulevard Extension.

Starting tomorrow, Metro plans to shift travel lanes on 8th Avenue slightly to the west of the existing intersection, and implement lane restrictions on both 8th and Lafayette Street that are expected to remain in effect until the KVB project is completed in December.

Traffic on 8th Avenue will be reduced to one lane in each direction from just north of Gleaves Street to Clark Place. On Lafayette Street between 8th Avenue and Peabody Street, eastbound traffic will merge onto the westbound side and be one lane in each direction. Lea Street between 7th and 8th Avenues will be one-way, one-lane with a left-turn only onto 8th Avenue South.

To help drivers avoid congestion and potential traffic delays, MPW suggests the following alternate routes into/out of the Central Business District and other areas of downtown:

• 2nd Avenue South (one-way) for inbound travel and 4th Avenue South (one-way) for outbound travel
• Travel through The Gulch using Division Street and 12th Avenue South to Demonbreun or Broadway, and 11th Ave South to Charlotte Ave
• Use Palmer Place and 10th Avenue South to Demonbreun and avoid congestion at the 8th Ave/Lafayette intersection.
• From Lafayette, take Elm Street to 2nd Avenue or 3rd Avenue S for inbound travel.

Metro police officers will be onsite tomorrow, and again on Tuesday, to help direct motorists and both AM and PM commuters through the construction zone and to alternate routes.

The KVB Extension will be a new four-lane, median divided roadway providing a connection between 4th Avenue South and 8th Avenue South. It will terminate in a multi-lane roundabout at a new reconstructed intersection of 8th Avenue and Lafayette Street.