The conversion of Fifth Avenue from a one-way to two-way street begins today and will be completed by Sunday, the city of Des Moines announced. The conversion is part of the city’s efforts to improve safety and mobility of downtown streets. The project, which stems from the city’s transportation plan called Connect Downtown, converts three blocks of Fifth Avenue from Mulberry Street to Grand Avenue and two blocks of Grand Avenue from Third Street to Fifth Avenue from one-way to two-way. The project also includes adding dedicated bicycle lanes and makes sidewalk and bus stop improvements. Work has been completed building curb bump-outs along the intersections to shorten pedestrian crossing distances and improve pedestrian visibility. New traffic signals have been installed to accommodate the two-way traffic.