Two traffic dilemmas this month: TSSAA and Broad St. on The Murfreesboro Post

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Two traffic dilemmas this month: TSSAA and Broad St.

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Posted: Tuesday, March 3, 2009 3:28 pm

The TSSAA girls and boys basketball tournaments will be held at MTSU, March 11-14, and March 18-21, respectively.

With the sudden increase in population at the university, the traffic and parking configuration changes somewhat on campus and has an impact on local traffic along Middle Tennessee Boulevard.

However, TSSAA vistors also have to content with a major bridge repair project that is blocking key parts of Broad Street.

The first week of competition will take place during the university’s spring break, which will alleviate much of the congestion on and around campus. As in the past, the team buses will be parked along the east side of Middle Tennessee Boulevard from the president’s driveway north to Division Street.

This will create single-lane traffic for a brief stretch heading north on Middle Tennessee. Motorists and pedestrians are asked to be particularly cautious in that area. The entrance of Faulkinberry Drive from Middle Tennessee Boulevard will be closed March 11-14 and 18-21. Faulkinberry Drive at the corner of Normal Way also will be closed during the tournaments.

The Greenland Drive parking lots will be reserved for TSSAA ticket-holders, and there will be a charge of $5 to park in those lots. MTSU students and faculty are encouraged to find alternative parking during these times. The following parking lots will be reserved for vehicles displaying the appropriate MTSU parking permits: Woodfin, Maintenance, Horseshow, Corral, and the S-Curve/Nursing lots. Visitors who have the appropriate permit will be permitted to park to these lots.

Other visitors who are attending the TSSAA games will be routed to the exterior lots surrounding the campus, including the Tennessee Livestock Center and Rutherford Boulevard lots.

Raider XPress shuttle buses will run on campus throughout the tournaments. However, shuttle service will be altered somewhat because it will not run through the Greenland lots as usual. Visitors to MTSU are reminded that parking is not permitted in yellow or red emergency zones or handicap (blue) parking spaces. For any questions or information about TSSAA parking, call MTSU Parking Services at 615-898-2850. The TSSAA tournaments attract thousands of prospective students and their parents, alumni and other university supporters to MTSU and to Rutherford County.

As for the bridge project, Broad Street is reduced to two lanes in both directions between Vine Street and Old Fort Parkway for the first phase of the bridges’ repair.

Mostly importantly, no left turns are allowed during the first month of construction.

“The center turn lane will also be closed during construction,” TDOT Public Information Officer B.J. Doughty said. “Main Street will remain open, but left turns from (or to) Northwest Broad will not be allowed due to the work involved.”

The bridges over Lytle Creek, built in 1949, are located at the Main Street intersection and a block north of the intersection. Neither bridge has had major repairs in their 60-year history, but TDOT has done minor concrete repairs over the years, Doughty said. When last inspected by TDOT in December 2006, the bridge at the Main Street intersection was found to be in poor condition, and the northern bridge was found in fair condition.

“The city is not doing this project. … It’s a state project on a state route,” City of Murfreesboro Traffic Engineer Ram Balachandran said, adding questions should be directed to TDOT Representative Jamie Fitzpatrick at 898-8005. He also asks the public to seek alternate routes around the construction zone.

“If you come from the Square you can only make right turns – right in and right out from both directions on Main Street,” Balachandran said, adding traffic crossing Broad Street from Main in both directions is not allowed.

Drivers also are blocked from making left-hand turns into any businesses along the stretch of roadway, he said. Signs will be placed on Old Fort Parkway, Medical Center Parkway at Broad Street, Memorial Boulevard and Medical Center Parkway, Southeast Broad Street and Maney Avenue, and Church Street and Middle Tennessee Boulevard alerting drivers to the construction and possible delays.

Tagged under Event, MTSU, Traffic

Member Opinions:

By: acdsrool on 3/3/09
The title of this article ('Avoid MTSU during TSSAA tourneys this month') lead me to believe the Murfreesboro Post was encouraging its readers to boycott the tourney at MTSU. After reading it, though, it just the traffic/parking that should be avoided. Is it possible the title needs to be corrected to read 'Avoid MTSU traffic during TSSAA tourneys this month'?

By: mm123 on 3/3/09
I saw the title and thought the same thing! Usually after someone points out something like this they change it.

The Tennessee Beef Agribition will be held at MTSU's Livestock Center on the 13th-15th. I would like to encourage people to check out the events. On the 13th and 14th you can preview the cattle at shows, and the sales are held immediately afterwards. Many of the heifers are purchased for children who show them on the 15th.

So don't avoid MTSU that weekend.

By: barrettbear on 3/4/09
It does not matter what day or month it is, It is always a dilemma in town period. Good luck at the TBA and hope all goes well with the tournament.