Murfreesboro plan will widen Bradyville Pike to Joe B. Jackson Parkway extension

 Murfreesboro's two-lane Bradyville Pike will be widened beyond Mt. Herman Road to a long-term future extension of Joe B. Jackson Parkway, city road plans show.

The long-term project that's part of the 2040 Major Thoroughfare Plan pleased Bradyville Pike area resident Shandy Hughes. 

"I think it probably needs to happen," Hughes said. "There's no shoulder. There's no where to slow down if a school bus is coming through. There's no safety feature in the road. And people walk down it all the time, which seems insane to me."

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Bradyville Pike area residents within the city such as Stephen Shirley wish officials would move faster on an initial widening plan in 2008 that will take more than five years to complete. 

"I'm honestly disappointed that it's still years away," said Shirley, who recalled how city officials began the plan in response to the death of Lakeisha White, 11, of Hopkinsville, Ky., July 17, 2008, after a sheriff’s vehicle driven by on-duty Detective Sgt. Ron Killings struck the girl. "These problems that exist on this road have existed for decades. It's a shame that the state and local governments can't move faster on this improvement."

Bradyville Pike sees growth southeast of Rutherford Boulevard

The initial widening plan will add a continuous center turn lane, bike lanes, curb and gutter for underground drainage, and sidewalks to Bradyville Pike from Broad Street, which is part of U.S. 41, to Rutherford Boulevard, City Engineer Chris Griffith said.

"We hope to start construction within three years," said Grffith, who estimates that the $11 million project will take about 2 1/2 years to complete. 

The longer-term project from Rutherford to beyond Mt. Herman Road to link to Joe B. Jackson Parkway could take 10 to 20  years to begin, said Griffith, who estimates this work to be in the $15 million to $20 million range. 

The future extension of Joe B. Jackson Parkway will go from U.S. Highway 41 (Manchester Pike) to U.S. Highway 70S (John Bragg Highway).

Hughes is among the residents in the unincorporated area where the city plans to widen Bradyville Pike beyond Mt. Herman Road. 

"I think at least a shoulder would be helpful, but any of those plans sound wonderful to me," Hughes said. "The construction not so much. That doesn't sound as good, but the end result sounds wonderful." 

City will pursue right of way or easements of nearly 150 parcels

More growth is headed to Bradyville Pike southeast of Rutherford Boulevard.

Development applicant SourceLand LLC, for example, seeks rezoning of 134 acres to build 210 homes between Bradyville Pike and Veals Road near the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, said Rob Molchan, a project landscape architect with Murfreesboro-based SEC (Site Engineering Consultants) Inc. 

"This is a very green development," said Molchan, who noted 85 acres will be set aside as open space.

All the Bradyville Pike widening work must be approved at every step of the project by the Tennessee Department of Transportation for a road that's part of state Route 99, Assistant City Attorney David Ives said.

"The good news is TDOT has Bradyville Pike in its plans," Ives said. 

The city is working on updating environmental study documents for the initial widening between Broad and Rutherford, Griffith said.

"Once we get that done, we’ll be able to start reappraising the right of way," said Griffith, who noted how the city will need to buy property or obtain easements from owners of nearly 150 parcels. 

The center turn lane will allow traffic to flow whenever drivers make left-hand turns into those properties, and the sidewalks and bike lanes will help many pedestrians heading to commercial buildings, Griffith said.

"If we can reduce car trips and get people on bikes or get people walking more, it hopefully reduces car traffic somewhat, and it gives them their own area to travel on," Griffith said.

Reach Scott Broden at sbroden@dnj.com or on Twitter @ScottBroden.