MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WGNS News) – A proposed $8.5 million land purchase by the City of Murfreesboro could eventually help make room for a new interstate interchange, another major roadway connection and a future Rutherford County high school. The proposal centers on property known as the Dismukes property, with city leaders looking to buy the land now and preserve it before future development limits their options. See more information here (PDF).
A major reason for the purchase involves the long-planned Stonesbattle Parkway corridor. The larger transportation plan calls for a route stretching from the Walter Hill and Memorial Boulevard area near Interstate 840, westward to Interstate 24 and eventually Blackman Road. Plans call for a possible new interchange with I-24. If a full interstate interchange is not approved by the Tennessee Department of Transportation, the resolution says the City would instead support a grade-separated connection between Stonesbattle Parkway and Blackman Road, providing another route for motorists in the Blackman and Florence communities.
But transportation is only part of the proposal. The Rutherford County Board of Education is also considering the Dismukes property, or part of it, as a possible location for a future high school. Murfreesboro’s plan is essentially to buy the property now, reserve the land needed for roads, utilities and a possible interchange, and protect the remaining suitable acreage for a future school. That could prevent the land from being developed for something else while the County waits for money to build another high school…