HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A mound of dirt north of Portland off Highway 109 is the early sign of a project that could change the way trucks move through the small Sumner County city.
The bypass is designed to give trucks an alternative route as traffic on 109 has grown. The first phase stretches about four miles, from just north of existing Highway 109 to just west of Highway 52.
Erin Zeigler with TDOT said crews are currently moving dirt, working on drainage and relocating utilities.
Zeigler said the growth in truck traffic is tied directly to Portland's expanding industrial footprint.
"We also have seen Portland become a key city when it comes to industrial facilities. We know that Scholl's technology recently expanded there. We have different distribution centers," Zeigler said.
Residents said the increase in large trucks has been hard to miss on the city's smaller roads.
“You kind of have to navigate around them because they’re so big and our roads are so small — and especially Portland,” Alexis Joaquin said.
Joaquin said she has noticed more and more trucks on 109 over the past year.
"It feels like the last year they're kind of everywhere," Joaquin said.
The next major milestone for the project is a new bridge over College Street, which is expected to take shape in the next few months. Phase one is expected to wrap up in spring 2028.
Sumner County farmer Mike Miller reached out, curious about an update on the project and he is clearly not the only one interested in seeing it move forward.
“I really hope so because, like, I mean, we are a small town,” Joaquin said.
Have a story idea for Sumner County? We want to hear from you. Watch the full report above to see what this Highway 109 bypass looks like on the ground — then send your Sumner County story tips directly to reporter Kim Rafferty at kim.rafferty@NewsChannel5.com. Your idea could be our next story.
In this article, we used artificial intelligence to help us convert a video news report originally written by Kim Rafferty. When using this tool, both Kim and the NewsChannel 5 editorial team verified all the facts in the article to make sure it is fair and accurate before we published it. We care about your trust in us and where you get your news, and using this tool allows us to convert our news coverage into different formats so we can quickly reach you where you like to consume information. It also lets our journalists spend more time looking into your story ideas, listening to you and digging into the stories that matter.
September 11, 2001 is a day most associate with terror and tragedy. Austin Pollack shares a story from that day about hope and persistence: the effort to save a little girl’s life – with an organ donation. The problem? The young patient was in Houston, and her life-saving liver here in Nashville. With the grounding of all civilian aircraft, how could it be done? “Nobody ever said this isn’t possible.”
- Rhori Johnston
