PROJECT:

Murray Lane Extension Phase I

HFR designed roadway improvements to a section of Murray Lane, between Granny White Pike and Franklin Road in Williamson County upgrading it from a two-lane to a four-lane highway. Population growth in the area, as well as the added traffic associated with Granny White Park and the three schools that used this as a main access point, rendered the roadway insufficient to accommodate the number of vehicles traveling it each day. The existing two-lane road had significant problems in addition to its traffic capacity, a stopping site distance for less than 20 miles per hour, a mature tree line which residents wanted maintained, and a historic, pre-Civil War rock wall presumed to have been built by slave labor. These problems were solved with a cost saving plan to maintain the existing traffic lanes, with some improvements to eliminate sight distance problems for eastbound traffic. Two new lanes for westbound traffic were planned on the north side of a 42 foot median which would encompass the tree line and historic wall.

With this plan, normal traffic could be maintained on the 1.1 mile segment of Murray Lane during construction by shifting traffic back and forth between the old and new sections. It wasn’t until the work began that the City uncovered what would be its biggest obstacle, the discovery of a slave cemetery, with approximately 38 graves, partially in the path of the two new lanes. Once again with careful attention to historic preservation and intrinsic value, the median design allowed the graves to remain and be enclosed within a newly constructed stone wall. Additionally, a “pull off” from the road was constructed in the oversized median to allow people to safely park and view the cemetery.