City of Franklin officials told residents at a town-hall meeting that the city has awarded a contract to rebuild McEwen Drive, funded in large part by federal grants, and that construction is tentatively scheduled to begin in March with an expected three-year timeline.

City Administrator Eric Stuckey said the work “is an important east west connection across our community, but ultimately across the county,” and described ongoing efforts to increase grant funding to stretch local dollars. Stuckey said roughly $30 million of the project’s funding has come from federal grants; he and other staff described the full project cost in different places in the meeting as between about $45.8 million and $47 million.

The city’s project manager, David Hodgett, told residents “this is gonna be a long project. A lot of details. There will be some inconvenience,” and urged people to use the project website for updates. Hodgett said crews will maintain traffic on the existing roadway for much of the work, but the existing road will be reconfigured into a multiuse trail in places and some side streets will be fully closed during reconstruction.

Project scope and schedule
- The work covers McEwen Drive from the roundabout near McKay’s Mill to Wilson Pike and will add additional lanes, medians and turn lanes as well as a 12-foot multimodal path on the south side between the roundabout and Wilson Pike.
- The city described a three-year contract timeline. Officials said the contractor will produce a detailed phasing and schedule at a pre-construction conference; the city expects that schedule to be available publicly after the contractor meets with staff.
- Construction will begin with clearing, grubbing and utility work (new gas, water, sewer mains and overhead utilities). Officials said substantial earthwork, retaining walls and stormwater infrastructure will follow.

Closures and traffic impacts
- Residents were told the old McEwen alignment will remain open for traffic during much of construction through temporary lane shifts and traffic control. However, Players Mill (a neighborhood connector) will be closed for an extended period while a large box culvert (described as a pedestrian tunnel and structural culvert that will carry the trail) is built; staff said at a town-hall that closure could last roughly six to eight months depending on contractor methods.
- The city said it will maintain access to private properties and emergency egress during construction and will provide advance notice of any closures. Equipment staging will use purchased right-of-way and city-owned property near McEwen and Wilson Pike.

Utilities, blasting and environment
- The city said most overhead utility lines will remain overhead for this contract; converting lines to underground would require additional funding paid by the party requesting burial. Middle Tennessee Electric was identified as the utility that would charge for such work.
- Staff said borings indicate some unstable soil (colluvium) and that blasting “may” be required in areas with rock; if blasting is used the Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office protocols apply and pre-blast surveys are required for properties in the zone of influence. City staff urged residents to cooperate with pre-blast surveys so pre-existing conditions are documented.
- The city noted stormwater protections will be required and that the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation inspects erosion-control measures.

Contract and funding details
- At the meeting staff stated that the low bid recorded on the public bid tabulation was $45,844,010.80. A staff speaker also said the board awarded the contract in December.
- At separate points in the meeting staff referred to different contractor names in the meeting transcript; one passage names Oakland Construction Materials as the low bidder and award, while another passage refers to Vulcan Materials in connection with contracting experience on other city projects. The transcript contains both references; city staff did not provide a single clarified contractor name during the public Q&A at the meeting.

Schedule, enforcement and incentives
- Staff said the city plans a pre-construction conference in February and expects a tentative construction start in March. The city described liquidated damages in the contract for missed deadlines (the transcript cited $25,100 per day for late completion) and said federal grant conditions prevent offering positive time-based incentives within this contract.

Resident concerns and city responses
- Residents pressed staff about signal timing at Wilson Pike and McEwen, potential traffic increases from a wider road, left-turn difficulties, staging locations, construction noise and daily working hours. Staff said typical city construction hours are Monday–Friday 7 a.m.–6 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m.–6 p.m., with limited exceptions by approval.
- Staff said they will post regular updates and documents on the City of Franklin project webpage and on the city’s capital-projects dashboard and will distribute notices through HOAs and neighborhood channels for major closures.

What remains unresolved
- Contractor identity: the transcript contains inconsistent references to the awarded contractor (Oakland Construction Materials as low bidder on the bid tabulation and a later, separate reference to Vulcan Materials). City staff stated the board awarded the contract but did not clarify the name and contract number during the event; residents were advised to check the project webpage and the city’s procurement records for the official contract document and award resolution.
- Exact phasing and the duration of specific closures will be set after the contractor submits means-and-methods and the detailed schedule at the pre-construction meeting.

Ending: where to get information
City staff told residents the dedicated McEwen Drive project page on the City of Franklin website will host plans, periodic updates, a Q&A document, contact information for the project team and large-file construction plans. Staff encouraged residents to check that page first and to call or email the project manager with urgent concerns.