Birmingham has applied for federal funding to help turn a major one-way street downtown into a two-way street, which officials say will promote economic development and improve safety.

The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday approved a grant application seeking $15 million from the Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods Program with the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The money would be used to convert Fourth Avenue North from a one-way street to a two-way street from 24th Street North to 9th Street North.

Fourth Avenue North moves traffic west on a one-way street starting from the U.S. Post Office at 24th Street through downtown, past the Harbert Center at 2019 Fourth Ave. North, through the historic Black business district that includes the Carver Theatre at 1631 Fourth Ave. North, on to the west side of Interstate 65.

“I think it’s so important for the city to support this Black business center,” said City Council President Wardine Alexander.

The city has pledged $2 million toward the cost of the project. “It does make our application more competitive because we’re willing to contribute funds to the project,” said Birmingham City Council member Darrell O’Quinn.

The cost would involve improving and changing signals at intersections with traffic lights, he said.

The City Center Master Plan has long called for converting one-way streets to two-way streets to boost economic activity and curb reckless driving. It allows access to stores on both sides of the street from both directions and slows traffic.

“Conversion of our one-way streets in the city center back to two-way streets is something that’s been an objective for a long time,” O’Quinn said.

“This is something that’s been identified primarily as a way to promote economic development,” he said. “It would improve safety in terms of reducing speed.”

Birmingham has already received one major federal grant for $21.6 million this year for street infrastructure improvements in the city’s Civil Rights District.

See also: Birmingham gets $216 million federal grant for civil rights district roadwork

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