Council OKs reallocation of funds for Old Fort Parkway widening under TDOT program

The Murfreesboro City Council voted Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, to approve the reallocation of proceeds for TDOT's Statewide Partnership Program for the potential widening of Old Fort Parkway. The roadway expansion project is outlined in the City's 2040 Major Transportation Plan.

"With continued growth and traffic volumes flowing east and west on Old Fort Parkway, reallocating City funds from MED proceeds to a project TDOT has placed as a higher priority makes sense," said Mayor Shane McFarland. "Increasing participation of local funding on this roadway improvement increases the City's chance to motivate TDOT to move forward with a very important roadway expansion."

TDOT's 2024 Statewide Partnership Program assists local communities in optimizing funding for vital transportation investments. Communities are required to commit funds for future roadway projects in collaboration with the State of Tennessee.

Murfreesboro competes with dozens of other communities for funding of roadway projects. Allocating funding to projects TDOT recognizes as high priority increases the City's competitive advantage and greater chance of receiving state funding compared to other statewide projects. Likewise, reserving funds for projects not considered important on TDOT's priority list, such as Lascassas Highway, would not be an effective allocation of City funds.

City engineers recognize that improvements to Old Fort Parkway will increase capacity and help traffic flow to alleviate congestion.

The MED Proceed Distribution was originally approved by City Council in 2023. That distribution had allocated $13.3 million for Lascassas Highway and $9.2 million for Memorial Blvd., but only $6.6 million for Old Fort Parkway. Under the reallocation approved by Council Aug. 22, 2024, the Old Fort Parkway project would receive an increased $18.6 million in local funding for a total amended request of $25.2 million.

The purpose of the MED proceeds, received from the sale of the City's utility, is to fund a portion of total project costs for needed transportation infrastructure.

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