'Gridlock' traffic and wrecks return on Interstate 65 following the pandemic

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — For some drivers in Williamson County, it feels like traffic is back to pre-pandemic levels — or worse.

Another crash this morning on I-65 in Spring Hill temporarily shut down the interstate.

"On 65 I think I’ve noticed a lot more traffic during rush hour especially,” driver Kelsey Cocklin said. “And just that gridlock that I remember from beforehand."

Cocklin said she has her passengers to consider.

"Frustrated, especially if I have my kids in the car, because they usually start whining and want a snack, but I mean it is what it is," Cocklin said.

Spring Hill at I-65 tends to be problematic with back-ups for commuters. “I have heard that Spring Hill is terrible, I haven’t personally been down there, but we have some friends down there, and I know their commute has been getting longer and longer every day,” Cocklin said.

Xander Calhoun travels for music and he doesn’t like when I-65 goes down from four to two lanes. "That’s actually my biggest problem, I’m originally from New York and the infrastructure’s a little bit better out there,” Calhoun said.

On the brightside, there's an interchange expansion project at Buckner Lane to help.

Calhoun said, "It’s the same frustration right? Everyone’s just waiting to get in line, and the drivers don’t have too much common sense when it comes down to that, and all following along, so it’s just problems waiting to happen."

Recently, Sky5 flew over a crash in the I-65 corridor in Spring Hill. A tractor trailer hauling lettuce overturned. Add wrecks onto rush hour, and it's a big headache. "Yes, every day with a different accident, someone on the side of the road at any given hour, and if you look on your maps, it looks like a red outline everywhere in the city," Calhoun said.

A TDOT spokesperson said as of now, there's no plans to expand I-65 from two lanes to four lanes in the Spring Hill area.