How to Change Road Direction in Cities: Skylines 2

Sometimes it's good to switch things up.

Cities Skylines 2 change road direction
Image via Colossal Order

Using one-way roads in Cities: Skylines is a great way to control the flow of traffic, prevent traffic jams, and keep your zones organized. Let’s learn how to change road direction in Cities: Skylines 2 to make city redesigning and mistake reversing easier.

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Cities: Skylines 2 – How to Change Road Direction

To change road direction in Cities: Skylines 2, head into the roads menu, select Replace in Tool Mode, and highlight the road you wish to change, dragging your cursor in the direction you want to swap to. By doing this, you can reverse the road’s direction free of charge without having to bulldoze and rebuild it from scratch.

The three images below show this in action with a one-lane road. However, you can do this with any one-way road type you wish and can even change a one-lane road to a multi-lane one with the replace tool.

  • Cities Skylines 2 Replace icon
  • Cities Skylines 2 Highlight road with replace
  • Cities Skylines 2 Road direction swapped

What Does Changing Road Direction Do in Cities: Skylines 2?

The main purpose of reversing your road direction in Cities: Skylines 2 is to prevent traffic jams and direct traffic to specific areas. For example, if you have a high-traffic area where cars and trucks constantly drive through, you can create one-way roads and combine features like roundabouts, traffic lights, and road signs to make things easier to manage. Similarly, if you’re developing an area and don’t want cars pooling in and out of the area or have a temporary dead-end, you can create a one-way road and reverse its direction as you build it and connect it to other parts of your city.

You’ll also open additional ways to control traffic as you unlock more road options in your Progression menu. One-way roads and direction changes can provide temporary relief until you unlock these features and establish them in your city.

Cities: Skylines 2 is available on PC and is coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in 2024. If you’re struggling with performance issues, check out how to fix stuttering and performance issues in Cities: Skylines 2, or click the tag below to browse our growing article collection.

About the Author

Madison Benson

Madison was a staff writer at Prima Games who has played video games for over twenty years and written about them for over two years. Her love for video games started with turn-based strategy games like Heroes of Might and Magic and has since extended to casual farming sims, MMORPGs, and action-adventure RPGs.