TDOT Breaks Ground on Recovery Act Project in Wilson County

 

NASHVILLE – Members of the Tennessee Department of Transportation joined officials in Wilson County today to break ground on a project to widen State Route 171, also known as Mt. Juliet Road, from Division Street to US 70.  The project is being funded through money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

 

“Recovery Act funds are allowing us to take this much needed next step in improving Mt. Juliet Road,” said TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely. “This project will improve safety and reduce congestion on this heavily traveled route. It will also create private sector jobs that will further assist our economic recovery."

 

The nearly 2.2 mile widening project is one of hundreds of projects in Tennessee funded through the Recovery Act. The SR 171 widening project was let to contract on June 12 and awarded to Lojac Enterprises of Lebanon, Tennessee at a cost of $8.9 million.  When complete, SR 171 will be widened to five total lanes including two travel lanes in each direction and a continuous center turn lane.  Previous projects widened a portion of SR 171 south of Interstate 40 and improved the I-40 interchange at SR 171.

 

“This infrastructure improvement and others like it will help create jobs and help Tennesseans meet the serious economic challenges facing working families and small businesses across the state,” said Congressman Jim Cooper. “We want to thank Governor Bredesen, Commissioner Nicely and local leaders for their efforts to get our economy moving in the right direction.”

 

TDOT staff considered several factors in determining which projects would be funded by the Recovery Act. The most important was that a project be ready to go to construction by July. TDOT also gave consideration to projects that can be completed in three years and are in economically distressed areas. All but one of the ARRA funded projects have been let, with one remaining to be let in August, which means all ARRA funded projects will be underway this summer. Some 24,000 direct and indirect jobs are estimated to be created or maintained through Recovery Act infrastructure funding in Tennessee.

 

For more information on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, visit www.recovery.gov or visit www.tn.gov/tdot and click on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act link in the middle of the page.

 

 

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