Mayor Shane McFarland, the City of Murfreesboro Public Infrastructure and Engineering Department, and CityTV announce the collaboration of a new television program, “Everything Traffic.”
On the debut interview program, Mayor Shane McFarland sits down with Chris Griffith, executive director of Public Infrastructure, to discuss “all things traffic” in the City of Murfreesboro.
Watch “Everything Traffic” on YouTube at https://youtu.be/qgLMtGIdnRU beginning Thursday, March 20 at 6 p.m.
The 17-minute interview format is just one way Mayor McFarland and City leaders are working to keep residents informed of what’s happening in Murfreesboro. The quarterly program features maps and videos detailing several road and bridge projects.
“Traffic and transportation issues, including congestion, are perhaps the greatest concern to the Murfreesboro public,” said Mayor Shane McFarland. “Nearly 80 percent of City capital projects are dedicated to road projects.”
Chris Griffith has worked as an engineer for the City of Murfreesboro for more than twenty-two years on multiple projects. Griffith discusses completed and ongoing projects including:
- Tommy Bragg Drive, a bridge over Stones River connecting River Rock Blvd. to Beasie Road. Future plans will extend the road over I-24. City engineers are studying a roundabout in the area of Warrior Drive to enhance traffic flow
- Butler Drive realignment has relocated the roadway away from i-24 to connect to Joe B. Jackson Parkway. The City is coordinating with TDOT to improve lighting at the Joe B. Jackson interchange
- Butler Drive and Joe B. Jackson Pkwy also connect into the new Buc-ee’s store that will be under construction off Elam Rd. this Spring. The store construction will be a 12-to-13-month process
- The Burnt Knob/Blackman Road/Manson Pike intersection improvement is underway to widen and signalize the intersection with double left turns and right turn lanes ahead of a new Rutherford County School. City leaders and engineers expedited the project due to a traffic study that identified major traffic delays without the improvements. The goal is to complete by Fall 2025 for the start of the new school year
- Medical Center Pkwy Phase I widening Medical Center from I-24 to Thompson Lane from four to six lanes. Final changes on widening near the interstate is finishing with lanes opening in March, but final paving may be completed later with Phase II
- A SMART traffic signal project on Rutherford Blvd. will adjust the timing on the fly based on traffic volume. Sensors along the roadway monitor traffic for congestion and adjust signal timing
- A Rutherford Blvd. Extension is a separate future road project that will construct a new bridge extending from West Rutherford over I-24 to Warrior Drive near Riverdale High School. The $23 million project is fully funded by the City of Murfreesboro. This future extension will allow motorists who don’t want to use the Interstate with an alternative route into and out of the downtown area
- Medical Center Phase II will widen Medical Center Pkwy from Thompson Lane to The Fountains. City engineers are finishing plans for this project with bidding anticipated in the next few months with the goal of widening from four to six lanes. Later, with Phase III, Medical Center will widen to six lanes to Broad Street
- Hwy 99 Phase III is a TDOT project to widen New Salem Hwy (Hwy 99) from Cason Lane to Veterans Pkwy. Phase III is a $53 million project as part of the phased State project to widen Hwy 99 from Old Fort Parkway to Veterans
- Thompson Lane is another TDOT project, the largest road project ever funded in the City, widening Thompson from NW Broad to Memorial Blvd. at $130 million. Griffith says, once completed, it will make a significant difference in traffic flow on the north side of Murfreesboro
- Cherry Lane from Siegel Soccer Park to Sulphur Springs Road is anticipated to begin construction in late 2024, beginning with the interchange on I-840 at Leanna Road. The overall project, including road widening, will take five years to complete
If residents have any questions about infrastructure projects, Mayor McFarland can be reached at [email protected] or @smcfarlandmboro on X or Mayor McFarland on Facebook.
The Public Infrastructure webpage with a full list of projects and timelines is available at www.murfreesborotn.gov. Just search Public Infrastructure Projects for the Google Earth interactive map
Last month, Mayor McFarland featured TDOT Region 3 Director Jay Norris about several Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) road projects within the Murfreesboro City limits. Watch video https://youtu.be/kj8CnINvtKU?si=my4VvDgyWqzfHceN
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