NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Metro Nashville city officials announced that the city received a U.S. Department of Transportation award giving the city $1.5 million in federal funds for the city's Charlotte Avenue project.
The city is one of only 10 communities to receive a grant for advanced transportation and congestion management technology projects across the U.S.
“We know an adopted transportation plan is the key to winning state and federal transportation dollars,” Mayor John Cooper said in a press release. “Today’s grant is an early step toward paying for up to sixty percent of Nashville’s Plan with state and federal money.”
Charlotte Avenue is one of Nashville’s most-used corridors and has some of the city’s slowest average travel times. With the grant officials say, they will design a project to use smart-city technology – like sensors and modernized traffic signals – to keep buses and other vehicles moving more steadily.
The project will benefit an estimated 16,000 residents and 88,000 workers located within a half-mile of the Charlotte Avenue corridor. The Tennessee Department of Transportation has committed $1 million in state funding for the project, and an additional $500,000 is already included in Metro Public Works’ capital spending plan.
The project – which will take an estimated 24 to 30 months for design and construction – is included in Nashville’s Transportation Plan. More than 3,000 residents and community groups contributed their ideas and feedback to build the plan, which Metro Council endorsed in December.
“We resisted the urge to hunker down and wait this pandemic out,” Cooper added in the release. “Instead, we worked together and took affirmative steps for our future. Now, a week into the new year, we are a step closer to a Nashville that works for everyone.”
The Tennessee Department of Transportation has committed $1 million toward the Charlotte Avenue project, while another $500,000 is already budgeted locally in Metro Public Works’ capital spending plan.
