PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. -- Two of St. Pete's busiest one-way roads could soon become two-way streets thanks to a new federal grant.

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the city a nearly $1.4-million grant that will go toward the design of the project, which could take up to 18 months, Whit Blanton, executive director of transportation planning agency Forward Pinellas, told Spectrum Bay News 9's partner newspaper the Tampa Bay Times.

What You Need To Know

  • Two of St. Pete's busiest one-way roads could soon become two-way streets

  • The streets involved are Ninth Street, better known as Martin Luther King Jr. Street and Eighth Street between Ninth avenues North and South

  • City of St. Petersburg Transportation

The streets involved are Ninth Street, better known as Martin Luther King Jr. Street and Eighth Street between Ninth avenues North and South. Right now, traffic flows only north on MLK and south on Eighth Street. 

Officials said the move would make the roadways safer for drivers, bikers and pedestrians.

John Barkett, the vice president of the MLK business district, said he believes converting those roads would make it safer for drivers and pedestrians. And it would increase economic visibility, he said.

“This is a real good way to drive development,” Barkett said. “To help local businesses open along these tertiary roadways. If they continue to be raceways, they continue to be left behind."

The city of St. Pete announced the federal grant earlier this year.

They are still working on plans to move the projects forward.