MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WKRN) — A road project that has been long overdue in Mt. Juliet is finally moving forward after years of discussion.
City commissioners selected a contractor to begin the widening of Old Lebanon Dirt Road this week. One commissioner told News 2 this road is narrow, dangerous, and prone to crashes.
“One of the biggest issues here in the city is roads, so here we are,” District 4 Commissioner Jennifer Milele said.
According to Milele, traffic is often the number one complaint, but on Old Lebanon Dirt Road, the concern centers around safety.
“It just twists and turns, and it’s just narrow altogether and lack of shoulders — it’s just a very dangerous road,” Milele described.
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For years, Mt. Juliet officials talked about widening the road.
“Decades, literally… This is just a perfect example of these city capital road widening projects of how long they take,” Milele said.
Earlier this week, city commissioners approved a contractor to begin the construction phase. The project will widen two miles of Old Lebanon Dirt Road from Moreland Drive to Chandler Road, in addition to installing a 10-foot trail or multi-use path on the south side of the road.
“This has been a long time in the making, and this is the first of many steps in finally getting the orange cones out on the streets,” District 3 Commissioner Scott Hefner explained at a Mt. Juliet Board of Commissioners meeting.
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While it took years to get to this point, Milele said there has been a lot of planning going behind the scenes.
“There are so many phases. There’s planning, there’s design, there’s engineering, there’s environmental,” Milele said.
Besides improving safety, the project will also address poor drainage and flooding issues along the road.
A spokesperson for the city of Mt. Juliet said construction on the project is expected to begin by June.