When Murry Lane was widened in the early 1990s, the City of Brentwood created a tree-lined median to protect a historic cemetery and a stacked stone wall along that roadway. Over the years, the median’s vegetation has thickened considerably, and last fall, City officials began discussing a project to clean up this undergrowth.
“There was funding in the budget to do a cleanup of the median, but City staff wasn’t sure how extensive of a cleanup the community would support,” Brentwood City Manager Kirk Bednar said. “We met onsite with HOA (Homeowner’s Association) officials from McGavock and Princeton Hills. They came back to us saying they were in favor of a full cleanup of the median.”
The City’s Public Works Department quickly went to work, clearing away invasive species growing along the median while preserving the mature trees and the remnants of the historic wall. In some areas, only a few stones remained, scattered in piles that didn’t resemble the wall’s original purpose.
As this vegetation removal work continues, City officials are discussing plans to rebuild a portion of the median’s historic stone wall. A contractor recently restored a test section of stone wall at the corner of Murray Lane and Franklin Road. Todd Hoppenstedt, director of Brentwood Public Works, made sure the wall’s historic integrity was maintained during this preliminary work.
“This work has been purely labor, no mortar or other materials used,” he said. “The existing stones are simply just being pulled apart and restacked.”
The vegetation clearing portion of the Murray Lane project should be completed early this spring, with the stone wall work to follow. For more information on Brentwood Public Works, visit https://www.brentwoodtn.gov/departments/public-works.
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