'It nearly missed sideswiping me': City seeks to reroute Asbury Ln by Medical Center Pkwy

Editors note: This is the second of a two-part story, and focuses on road plans by the Williamson Family Farm to improve traffic safety of Medical Center Parkway, Asbury Lane and Wilkinson Pike. Part one published online Oct. 27 in dnj.com and in the Oct. 29 print edition of The Daily News Journal, and focuses on the family farm's agritourism efforts to preserve the property's rural charm in the busy commercial area of Medical Center Parkway.

School bus driver Clarissa Smith worries about navigating the congested Medical Center Parkway intersection with Asbury Lane by Interstate 24.

While recently making a right turn onto the parkway with two drivers stopping before the intersection to let her bus out, Smith witnessed a car dart from the far left lane to cut in front of her in the right lane to turn onto the I-24 ramp heading to Nashville.

"It nearly missed sideswiping me," Smith said. "It is something every day there."

Smith is glad to hear that the Murfreesboro government is working on new plans to close the unsafe intersection, and reroute Asbury Lane traffic between Medical Center Parkway and the front of the Williamson Family Farm. The proposal would lead commuters to a roundabout that connects with a Conference Center Boulevard that has a traffic signal with the parkway.

City officials will be negotiating with the Williamson family to buy the right of way property needed for the road plans once the design work is completed. The government hopes the plan will improve Medical Center Parkway traffic safety and congestion by the busy stores, restaurants, apartments, banks and offices. The proposed roundabout also would connect to Wilkinson Pike on the east and a long-term planned northbound road that would be on the eastside of the farm, Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland said.

"Everyone has agreed that there has to be a solution to Asbury Lane," McFarland said.

The Asbury Lane intersection with Medical Center Parkway had 42 wrecks in 2022 and 36 from Jan. 1 to Oct. 19, Murfreesboro Police Department spokesman Larry Flowers said.

'Death trap' at Asbury Lane by I-24: May get worse with more houses, neighbor says

City officials hope to complete road projects this decade

Prior to the current proposal, the city had a long-term plan to cut a road through the middle of the 240-acre Williamson Family Farm that would connect Asbury Lane to Wilkinson Pike.

The Williamson family, however, was worried about brides and others not wanting a view of a busy road behind the agritourism farm's venue for weddings and other events. So the family convinced the mayor and other city officials to modify the plan by using the long driveway area that runs like a frontage road to the side of Medical Center Parkway.

"We’ve agreed to be able to have the least impact on their operations, but at the same time accomplish what we need to accomplish with a safety area," said McFarland, who's confident the proposed roundabout will help commuters in a less dangerous way.

Based on the government's current schedule for improvement projects, construction for the proposed road in front of Williamson Family Farm and the roundabout would start in two years, said Chris Griffith, a civil engineer and the city's executive director of public infrastructure.

"The project would start construction in 2025 with completion expected in 2027," Griffith said. "The project is still very early in the design process, and the schedule is subject to change."

Medical Center Parkway plans: City growth, business prosperity in Gateway area leads to widening of the congested parkway

Proposed roundabout and northbound road part of city's long-term planning 'to help mobility in the area'

The farm's long driveway at this time connects to Wilkinson Pike. Both asphalt roadways previously were known as being part of Manson Pike before the city built Medical Center Parkway and the state opened the I-24 interchange. A former overpass led to where the existing Manson Pike sits in the Blackman community and the westside of the Murfreesboro on the other side the interstate.

In addition to the proposed road projects by the farm, the city plans to widen the two-lane Wilkinson Pike to three lanes with curb and gutter for underground drainage, a sidewalk on one side and a multiuse path on the other that would tie into the Stones River National Battlefield loop trail.

"Since the outlet of Wilkinson Pike to the Conference Center Boulevard intersection is so critical to the success of this project, it is not schedule to begin until after the Asbury Lane project starts," Griffith said. "Currently, (the Wilkinson Pike widening project is) scheduled to begin in 2026 and be completed in 2029."

The longer-term northbound road on the eastside of the Williamson Family Farm will connect commuters from the roundabout to Asbury Road, which also leads to Asbury Lane to the west and Old Nashville Highway to the east.

The northbound road is part of the Murfreesboro government's long-term plans "to help mobility in the area" by also building a bridge overpass of I-24 from the Asbury Road and Asbury Lane area to the Blackman community on the other side of the interstate, Assistant City Manager Sam Huddleston confirmed.

Bridge overpass plan: Murfreesboro officials plan bridge over I-24 from Asbury Ln to Florence Rd and Manson Pk

Neighbor deals with traffic congestion: 'It was all just poor planning'

Asbury Lane area resident April Smith, who's no relation to the school bus driver Clarissa Smith, wishes the city had worked on the proposed road plans while building a Medical Center Parkway that opened for traffic in 2005.

"It was all just poor planning," said April Smith, who frets about using the Asbury Lane intersection with Medical Center Parkway at rush hour. "It is a nightmare. I can be backed up 15 cars on Asbury Lane. It's ridiculous."

Clarissa Smith agreed the city should have improved the Asbury Lane and Medical Center Parkway issue years ago the way the government did for Gresham Lane near I-24 on the other side of the interstate. She and her late husband, Bart Smith, donated 6.43 acres to help the city correct the traffic problems with a realignment that also involved Fortress Boulevard and Manson Pike.

More traffic should be headed to Medical Center Parkway near Asbury Lane because of ongoing development. The Clari Park mixed residential and commercial project that construction crews are building near Williamson Family Farm includes 300 apartments, 38 single family detached homes, and a range of 182 to 282 townhouses. On the commercial side, Clari Park added the Firebirds Wood Fired Grill restaurant, and has plans for a Drake's restaurant, Whataburger, and Main Event Entertainment center with bowling and other activities

What's ahead for Clari Park? Mixed-use development offers place 'to live, work and play'

Dangerous intersection remains a concern: 'We have near misses in some form or fashion there every day'

The school bus Smith owns and drives serves the Asbury Lane area children zoned for Rutherford County's Brown's Chapel Elementary on the other side of I-24.

There's five other contracted bus routes in addition to Smith's that also transport children to and from the Asbury Lane area to either Brown's Chapel Elementary or Blackman schools that are on the other side of I-24, as well.

She recalled another time she was taking a right with her bus onto Medical Center Parkway when a pickup truck driver with a left blinker light on appeared to be turning from the parkway onto Asbury Lane.

"He made a U-turn right beside me," Clarissa Smith said. "We have near misses in some form or fashion there every day."

Note: Clarissa Smith owns six school buses, including one she drives serving Brown's Chapel Elementary children from the Asbury Lane area. She has hired drivers assigned to the other five buses running contracted routes for the Rutherford County Board of Education. All of her buses serve children attending schools in the Blackman and Rockvale communities that are southwest of I-24.

'Williamson farm is a special place': Family agritourism blends with development off I-24

Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @ScottBroden. To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for a digital subscription.

Crash data for Murfreesboro intersection near I-24

The following shows number of wrecks on the Medical Center Parkway:

• 2022: 42

• 2023 from Jan. 1 through Oct. 19: 36

Source: Murfreesboro Police Department spokesman Larry Flowers

November festivals scheduled for Williamson Family Farm

• Pecan Fest noon to 8 p.m. Nov. 4 (Saturday): event includes Best Pecan Pie Contest, Little Miss Pecan Festival, hayrides, s'mores by the fire, live music, craft vendors, food trucks, face painter and bounce house

• Holiday Market 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 25 (Saturday): Event will include craft vendors, photos with Santa, s'mores by the fire, food trucks and Christmas music playing through sound system

• For more information, visit the Williamson Family Farm website: https://williamsonfamilyfarm.com/

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: I-24 interchange at Medical Center Pkwy may improve with city plans