MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WKRN) — A long-awaited project in Mt. Juliet has received significant funding.

The Central Pike/Interstate 40 interchange is one step closer to reality after the city of Mt. Juliet got nearly $25 million in federal grant money.

The need for a new interchange has grown alongside the city.

The Mt. Juliet District 4 Commissioner Jennifer Milele told News 2 it will alleviate 60% of the traffic on the very busy Mt. Juliet road interchange.

The new interchange project will also include the widening of Central Pike from the proposed interchange to Mt. Juliet Road.

The city is managing and funding the first stages of widening, and then the Tennessee Department of Transportation will take over with the rest of the management.

Milele said she's been hearing talk about this for about 30 years, so the next steps can’t come soon enough.

However, she added the city still has some work to do to meet the 2029 construction deadline.

"If they don't start the construction by 2029, we risk losing the grant, so it's very important that this get going. There's so many phases and pre-construction, and I know they're in that now," Milele said.

Both the interchange and widening projects are scheduled in TDOT’s 10-year project plan.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/middle-tn-neighborhood-news/mt-juliet-federal-grant-new-interchange/