State and local leaders gathered on State Route 109 in Wilson County to break ground on a massive widening project conducted by the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
The $50.9 million project has been set to widen the road from two to five lanes in the next couple of years from US 70 to the Cumberland River.
A Wilson County Sheriff's Office spokesperson said the stretch of road has been notorious for crashes, some of which involved deaths.
"This is probably one of the most dangerous roads in the state," City of Lebanon Mayor Bernie Ash told NewsChannel 5. "This project will help solve some of that very much."
TDOT officials said the project will also help keep up with growth in the county.
"Right now we have about 24,000 vehicles a day that use it, and basically that number's going to double over the next 20 years," TDOT Spokesperson Kathryn Schulte said.
The project will also add a traffic stop at the intersection of Academy Road, since it's considered the worst trouble spot on the highway.
"For the next several years there will be a lot of construction going on, so it'll slow down traffic quite a bit. We encourage everybody to be careful, slow down and be careful of what you're doing," Ash urged.
However, Matthew Wilson of Independent Towing & Recovery said he's worried about losing business because of the construction.
Wilson said that he will lose more than one acre of his property to the project.
"If I was collecting storage on the property they're taking, it'll go up to or over $600,000 a year," Wilson said. "I don't support it costing me, and that's what it ended up being."
As much as he hates to see it potentially affect his business, Wilson also understands the need.
"Just about everybody that works for me has just about been hit. We've seen several accidents," he added.
The project should be finished by 2020. To learn more, click on this link.
