Franklin leaders outline $3.68 million paving plan, multiple road and park projects

At a June 2025 Franklin City Council meeting held at 6 p.m., the mayor provided a progress update on the city’s capital project list, outlining timelines, funding sources and near-term work on paving, bridges, sidewalks, parks and several development-related infrastructure items. The council approved the consent agenda by voice vote before hearing the report.

The mayor said the city’s mill-and-overlay paving program is underway and called it “about a $3,683,000 project,” adding that a Community Crossings grant will cover half of that cost. He said the city’s street department has been repairing concrete sections in subdivisions and noted a roughly $30,000 materials cost for recent North Main Street concrete repairs, separate from labor.

The mayor described several near-term road projects: Duke Energy began about 14 days of work tied to the Paul Hann Road reconstruction, which will require short-term road closures; Essex Drive work is about half complete with the developer Malarkey funding construction there; and a Commerce Drive traffic signal design is in progress tied to a planned Chick-fil-A development, with construction possibly in the fall or next spring depending on the developer’s schedule.

He said bridge decking repair is on hold while the county re-assumes ownership of certain bridges and that the city will coordinate with the county on next steps. Separately, he said engineering is underway for Graham Road to replace a bridge and widen the roadway between Paul Hann and Earlywood, and estimated the overall Graham Road project at about $6,000,000 with work planned to start in 2026 and finish in 2027.

The mayor reported the US 31 project is under construction and described expected pedestrian safety and drainage improvements. He noted a near-complete pedestrian crosswalk at the Farm Girl location and ongoing sidewalk work: a Park Avenue sidewalk remains in right-of-way acquisition, contractor sidewalk replacement is nearly complete on Johnson Avenue, and the street department plans focused work on trip hazards in the coming two weeks.

Cemetery road work is under contract but not finished, and the mayor said the $50,000 headstone-repair appropriation approved last year is complete and this year’s $50,000 program is also done. He said a new fire ladder truck has arrived and is awaiting decals before entering service.

On city facilities and parks, the mayor said the active adult center is preparing a punch list with a planned ribbon cutting on July 1. The comprehensive plan consultant contract is in place with HWC, the DPW plant is being readied to go out to bid, and Foresight Street culvert replacement is in engineering. He also said the city and the Redevelopment Commission closed on property for the Scott Park outdoor-sports expansion and staff have met with Crossroads engineers to begin design work.

Other items noted as ongoing or in early discussion included Innovation Park and talks with Franklin College and outside developers, pursuit of a Westview Trail grant, early-stage Youngs Creek bank-improvement talks, Simon Road improvements (a county road the mayor said the county wants to improve but where a landowner is not yet willing to sell), and Hurricane Road work comprising alternating city and county segments. The mayor said the East Annex parking garage site is county-owned and likely to be pursued as a public–private partnership; he said the county declined an offer for the city to take ownership of a certain road.

No ordinances or policy measures were before the council at the meeting; the mayor’s project list update was presented as information and status. The council took no formal votes tied to those projects at the meeting beyond approving the consent agenda minutes.

The city indicated near-term items citizens can expect are traffic interruptions around Paul Hann Road as utility work continues, further sidewalk and trip-hazard repairs by the street department within weeks, and a July 1 ribbon cutting for the active adult center. Staff will continue coordinating with the county and developers on the bridge, Simon Road and East Annex matters, and engineering work will proceed on Graham Road and several culvert and drainage items.