Veterans Parkway Closes July 6 for a Two-Phase Detour: What Drivers Need to Know
Drivers who lean on Veterans Parkway to skirt the west side of Murfreesboro should plan a new route for the rest of July. Beginning Monday, July 6, state crews will shut down sections of the parkway at its intersection with New Salem Highway in a two-phase closure that runs through July 31, part of a long-planned effort to raise and rebuild the crossing.
The work is the latest chapter in the widening of State Route 99 — New Salem Highway — a roughly 2.4-mile project stretching from just west of Veterans Parkway to Cason Lane. That job, which broke ground in early 2025, will eventually take New Salem from two lanes to five, adding turn lanes and updated intersections to a corridor that has struggled to keep up with the traffic generated by west-side subdivisions and shopping. Rebuilding the Veterans Parkway junction is one of the more disruptive pieces, which is why the state is closing it in stages rather than squeezing traffic through an active work zone.
Phase 1: July 6–24
The first closure affects the south side of Veterans Parkway in both directions, from New Salem Highway to Armstrong Valley Road. Southbound drivers on Veterans Parkway will be routed east at the New Salem Highway intersection over to St. Andrews Drive, then south to rejoin the parkway. Northbound drivers will do the reverse — heading north on St. Andrews Drive to New Salem Highway, then west to get back onto Veterans Parkway. Expect the marked detour to add a few minutes and, during the first days, a learning curve as commuters adjust.
Phase 2: July 24–31
Once the south side reopens, crews shift to the north side of Veterans Parkway, again in both directions, from New Salem Highway to Old Salem Road. The second phase is scheduled to wrap by the end of the month, weather permitting — the standard caveat on any Tennessee summer paving job, where afternoon storms can push a timeline.
None of this is a surprise to anyone who has watched this stretch of the city grow. New Salem Highway has become a spine for one of Murfreesboro's fastest-developing quadrants, and the widening is meant to get ahead of a growth curve that shows no sign of flattening. In the short term, though, the fix means orange barrels and a detour sign or two. The best advice for the next four weeks is simple: give yourself an extra few minutes, watch for the posted detour markers, and treat the cones as a preview of the smoother, wider road on the other side of the summer.
