Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced this week that a $3.65 million grant of federal dollars will fully fund a new traffic management center.
According to Cooper’s office, the new traffic management center will help the Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure (NDOT) “better manage traffic signals, gather traffic-flow information and share updates with drivers in real time – all to improve safety and reduce congestion.”
“We’re so grateful to TDOT for awarding us the federal CMAQ grant, and we know this new Traffic Management Center is going to transform the way we manage congestion here in Nashville,” said NDOT director Diana Alarcon. “Our department is committed to providing residents with a complete, connected transportation system, and managing traffic is a major component of that.”
At the new traffic management center, NDOT engineers and technicians will be able to utilize “advanced traffic signal control systems, sensor-based traffic monitoring technologies and other tools to monitor traffic and better manage congestion.” It will be located at 700 Second Ave. S.
The new center will share traffic updates in real-time with TDOT, other Metro agencies, on dynamic roadway message signs, on social media, and other places.
“[Thursday]’s achievement affirms our transportation strategy: have an adopted plan, leverage that plan to unlock state and federal funding, and recruit and retain experts who will focus solely on delivering results for residents,” Mayor Cooper said in a statement.
“With every step we take forward on our transportation plan, we must thank residents – nearly three thousand in all – who stepped up and contributed their ideas for it,” the mayor added. “This is an example of city government doing its job: solving problems with practical, achievable strategies and bringing our community together.”
The federal funds came from a Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) program grant selected through the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT).
Metro Nashville Council must sign off on the grant before the city can receive the money. The grant agreement does not require any matching city funds. Metro Council’s next meeting is scheduled for February 1st.
Nashville adopted a Metro Transportation plan in late 2020 and since then, has secured nearly $44 million in grant and partnership awards.
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Traffic money that’s not dedicated to improving the daily Franklin to downtown Nashville commute?? The nerve of those people….
This is another federal government circle jerk do nothing program and who better to operate a do nothing program than John “The Taxman” Cooper. What a waste, clean up the city and get rid of all these nasty street people bums. What a waste! More people, same streets = more congestion, morons!
More “free” dollars from the feds. No wonder our federal taxes are outrageous. How about repealing the insidious tax on social security payments?
Who is going to pay for this Center when the grant runs out? Do we really need more government experts? Do we actually need a special, potentially future expensive “Center” for this department?
Atlanta redux without light rail. Here we go again. Parking lot 101.