Each day, depending how far north or south you count, between 50,000 to 100,000 vehicles use Interstate 65 in Williamson County. In two just-announced June meetings, the Tennessee Department of Transportation wants to hear what the communities’ concerns and thoughts are about the highway and meeting its challenges.
That traffic, in the literal sense of moving mass, adds up to millions and millions of miles, millions of trips, traveling up and down through Spring Hill, past Thompson’s Station, to Goose Creek, Franklin, Brentwood, year over year. And, as no one who is part of that mass movement needs to be told, those vehicles, people and trips are only increasing, seemingly more sharply every year.
To try to manage all that mass is where the meetings come in. TDOT has been conducting an 18-month study covering a distance of 120.16 miles of I-65, from the Alabama state line to the Kentucky state line.
There will be two Williamson County meetings in June:
June 20 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Brentood Library, Meeting Room A at 8109 Concord Road.
June 22 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Spring Hill City Hall in the courtroom at 199 Town Center Parkway.
Background and Input
The Federal Highway Administration ( FHWA) authorized TDOT to conduct the study, which is expected to be coming to completion in July, to investigate a range of multimodal solutions to address current and future travel demands, with emphasis on managing congestion, improving safety, maximizing the potential for freight diversion and preserving/enhancing economic benefits.
Consulting firm Gresham, Smith and Partners have worked with TDOT to complete the study, which will lay out and identify short- and long-term solutions for improving problem spots along the corridor.
A large part of the process has involved meeting with communities along the corridor. Last fall there were several community meetings to explain the study and solicit input. Now at the end of the collection of data, they will hold the aforementioned open community meetings in Spring Hill and Brentwood in June.
If ever you wanted to let it be known how important, for example, a Spring Hill interchange would be to not just improve traffic but to open up the community to more and easier commerce and connection to the more northern parts of the county, these meetings are to hear your thoughts.
“TDOT will be working with drivers, representatives of communities along the roadway, and local officials to collect as much information as possible.will host a public meeting next month at Spring Hill City Hall to gather public input,” the City of Spring Hill posted on its Facebook page. “The meeting are being held by TDOT to provide the public an opportunity to comment on this corridor. Representatives of TDOT will be available to provide information on various aspects of the study.”
For more details, visit http://www.tn.gov/tdot/article/i65study.
