MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WTVF) — Mt. Juliet city leaders have announced the city will receive $12 million in federal grant funding to widen Lebanon Road to 5 lanes.
The project will cover the stretch of road between Curd Road and Park Glen Drive, a corridor that neighbors and city officials said has struggled to keep pace with rapid growth in the area.
The funding comes from the Greater Nashville Regional Council and the Transportation Policy Board.
It was awarded to this widening project in Mt. Juliet as part of a highly competitive selection process.
Mt. Juliet City Commissioner Art Giles said the traffic buildup on Lebanon Road is a concern he hears about regularly from people in his district.
"It's unbelievable how much traffic backs up out here, especially in the afternoons and early evening," said Commissioner Giles, who represents District 1 on the Mt. Juliet Board of Commissioners.
Giles pointed to nearby development as a key driver of the congestion.
"There's a lot of growth on Bender's Ferry. And because of that growth, it filters out onto Lebanon Road," Giles said.
Traffic and road conditions were topics I heard about from many voters at last week’s county election and primary.
David Fox said he wants to see improvements to local infrastructure.
"I'd like to see a lot of the roads and sidewalks taken care of," Fox said.
Denice Curtis echoed that sentiment, calling for expanded road capacity.
"Making sure that we have enough red lights and we have enough streets. Three, four and five lane streets so that traffic is not bogged down every day," Curtis said.
In the coming years, Lebanon Road will be getting that five-lane future.
Much of the grant money will go toward right-of-way acquisition and engineering costs — a process that takes considerable time.
"That's for right-of-way acquisition and the engineering costs," Giles said.
The city will also contribute funding to the project of about $3 million for this phase, though approximately 80 percent of the widening cost will be covered by current and future federal grants.
The full project is expected to take about 6 to 8 years to complete.
The bulk of that time will be on engineering and acquisition, construction is estimated to take between 12 to 18 months.
"It just takes a long time to be able to complete these projects," Giles said.
While these road projects are fairly long-range, Giles is happy about this major step forward for Lebanon Road.
"It's very exciting to know it's going to be done," Giles said.
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Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at robb.coles@newschannel5.com.
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