Murfreesboro ‘2040 Major Transportation Plan’ released

The City of Murfreesboro today announced the release of the draft 2040 Major Transportation Plan, an updated long-range plan that will guide city traffic planning and transportation projects for the next 25 years.

“The draft 2040 Major Transportation Plan outlines existing deficiencies and projects future transportation network needs based on a regional modeling process and computer-based projections without cost constraints,” said Greg Judy, Engineer Manager and Vice President for Neel-Schaffer, Inc. “Forecasting future capital needs, detailed facility planning, and public and private decision-making are future steps in the stages of transportation improvement.”

Neel-Schaffer, Inc. prepared traffic models, analyzed population growth and traffic demand, and incorporated future land use in preparing the draft 2040 Major Transportation Plan, which completes Chapter 3: Mobility of the Murfreesboro 2035 comprehensive plan.  The city’s estimated population of 131,947 in 2016 is expected to nearly double to 259,292 by 2040.

The technical work of the transportation plan is an update of the 2025 Major Thoroughfare Plan developed and approved by the City Council in 2003.  In calibrating the planning model with existing TDOT traffic counts, consultants achieved a significant “allowed deviation” of approximately 1 percent as a confident predictor of projections.

As a “living document,” the draft 2040 Major Transportation Plan is subject to review and change based on administrative and elected official decision-making.  The document considers how the City will grow over the next quarter century and identifies transportation strategies to address long-term deficiencies in a more sustainable, equitable and economically vibrant future.

The draft 2040 Major Transportation Plan mapping divides the transportation network into three major categories of analysis: 1) Existing roadways 2) Committed roadway projects and 3) Future roadway demand volume.  The roadways projected to incur the heaviest traffic demand are identified in red and yellow.  Roadways highlighted in blue are potential future projects.

In the draft 2040 Major Transportation Plan, consultants recognized significant physical barriers or “pinch points” to east-west and north-south mobility within the city limits, including I-24, Stones River, and CSX railroad.  Future potential plans call for overpasses that would direct traffic over I-24 without full interchanges such as those at Medical Center Parkway, Highway 96, and Church Street.

The City of Murfreesboro welcomes public comment on the plan.  View the Draft 2040 Major Transportation Plan, including a proposed project list, at www.murfreesborotn.gov.

The City will schedule neighborhood informational meetings in all major quadrants of the city for public comment on the Draft 2040 Major Transportation Plan so citizens can view displays, ask questions and offer comments on the documents in a community planning process.

Following public review and comment, the draft 2040 Major Transportation Plan will be presented to the City Planning Commission for recommendation to the City Council for approval.

Murfreesboro 2035 is a community-wide process to plan for the next 20 years of growth and development. The planning process culminated in the City’s eight-chapter Comprehensive Plan approved by the Planning Commission, with exception of Chapter 3 Mobility, on July 12, 2017. Citizens can review chapters of theMurfreesboro 2035 comprehensive plan, including the Executive Summary, at the Murfreesboro 2035webpage http://www.murfreesborotn.gov/. For additional information, contact the Murfreesboro Planning Department at 615-893-6441.

For more information about the Major Transportation Plan, contact City Transportation Director Jim Kerr at [email protected] or call 615-893-6441.