One of the six projects in Williamson County on the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s list broke ground Tuesday, and Gov. Bill Haslam came out to help.

TDOT plans to widen Franklin Road between Concord Road and south of Moores Lane.

The planned improvements include widening the roadway along 2.6 miles from its current two/three lane configuration to a five-lane configuration with two north and south bound through lanes and a center turn lane.

The 2.6-mile project includes widening the roadway from two to five lanes with a 10-foot-wide multi-use trail at a cost of $26.7 million.

“This project has been a long time in the making, and highlights the need for expanded investments in infrastructure,” Haslam said. “Providing more capacity along this corridor will improve safety and mobility in the immediate area, and will help reduce congestion on I-65, which benefits the entire region.”

The project is scheduled to be completed in October 2020. It will be one of three major road construction projects in Williamson County underway during that time.

The IMPROVE Act will fund the widening of SR 96 from east of Arno Road to Wilson Pike, and the new construction of the northwest quadrant of the Mack Hatcher Parkway. Both projects are currently scheduled to be let to contract in 2018.

Two additional Tennessee Department of Transportation projects in the county include:

Duplex Road in Maury, as well as Williamson County, will be widened from US 31 (SR-6/Main Street) in Spring Hill to near I-65. The project is budgeted for construction in 2017 and spans 3.3 miles.

The intersection of SR-11 (US-31A) and SR-96 in Triune is budgeted in 2017 for right of way work.

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