The Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure (NDOT) is marking one year as a Metro Nashville department. The department, recommended in the 2020 Metro Nashville Transportation Plan, launched on July 1, 2021. Since then, NDOT has worked to develop and enhance policies, programs, and projects that improve Nashville’s local transportation network. Vision Zero, sidewalks, bikeways, roadway resurfacing and maintenance, traffic calming, traffic signal management, right-of-way permitting, litter collection and pothole repair have all been priorities of the department since its launch. The department was created under the leadership of Nashville Mayor John Cooper and in coordination with Nashville’s Metro Council.
“Since its inception a year ago, NDOT’s mission has been to keep our people on the move – safely and efficiently,’’ said Mayor John Cooper. “From construction of sidewalks to traffic calming projects, litter prevention and pothole repairs, NDOT is positively impacting Nashville neighborhoods for all families. I am grateful to all our Metro employees at NDOT for their service. Our city is proud of their commitment and achievements, and I look forward to all of us working together to build a Nashville that works for everyone.”
In the past 12 months the department has been committed to improving existing efforts and laying the groundwork for future success. NDOT recently completed an update to the city’s sidewalk and bikeways master plan, WalknBike 2022 as well as Nashville’s first Vision Zero Action Plan to create a framework to achieve zero fatalities and serious injuries on the city’s roads. Developing a safer transportation network for all roadway users in Nashville is a major priority for NDOT, and NDOT Director Diana Alarcon is placing a major emphasis on multimodal safety.
“Vision Zero is at the heart of everything we do here at NDOT,” said Alarcon. “As we continue to transform Nashville’s transportation network, safety is the top priority, and one my whole team is deeply committed to as we move ahead into our second year. I’m pleased with much of the progress we’ve made in my first 6 months on the job but I know there’s much more work to do.”
Highlights of NDOT’s year one accomplishments include:
- Repairing 36,852 potholes on Metro roads
- Collecting 622 tons of litter from the right-of-way
- Organizing 273 neighborhood clean-ups with 4,331 volunteers participating
- Repairing or replacing 33 bridges and culverts
- Issuing 42,505 right-of-way permits
- Building 4.8 miles of bikeways, with 3.86 additional miles currently under construction
- Building 7.1 miles of sidewalks , with 3.4 additional miles currently under construction
- Delivering sidewalks around 26% cheaper and 58% faster than in previous years, at the direction of Mayor Cooper
- Paving 163.3 lane miles of Nashville roadways
- Selecting 49 Neighborhood Traffic Calming projects to slow traffic on local streets
- Receiving approximately $36.5 million in grants and partnership funding to spend on transportation-related projects
- Hiring 41 new fiscal year 2022 positions
“Nashville needed a department that is fully dedicated to our growing transportation needs and I’m pleased with the progress NDOT has made in the first year,” said District 10 Metro Council Member Zach Young. “As a city, we must focus on getting the fundamentals of our transportation network right and I know that the team at NDOT is committed to that goal. I look forward to seeing the department make even more progress in its next year.”
In addition to current work being done to build out a multimodal, safe and efficient transportation network across Nashville, a few additional goals for year two include: the release and deployment of the Vision Zero Five-Year Implementation Plan, continued development of a grant-funded Traffic Management Center, and completion of a comprehensive study of transportation needs in downtown Nashville, called Connect Downtown.
- NDOT plans to release the Vision Zero Five Year Implementation Plan in the coming weeks. This plan outlines specific, measurable actions, including quick-build safety projects, to occur over the next five year. The plan emphasizes specific strategies related to the five E’s: Engineering, Education, Enforcement, Evaluation & Encouragement. Implementation of Vision Zero related projects has already begun, with work ramping up in NDOT’s second year.
- Work on the Traffic Management Center, or TMC, will begin this fall with the center becoming operational in summer 2023. The TMC will enable NDOT to manage Nashville’s traffic network in real time resulting in increased travel time reliability for all travel modes, a reduction in crashes on our arterial network, and the ability to deploy innovative technology-based approaches to strengthen our multi-modal network such as transit priority and LIDAR detection.
- NDOT—in partnership with WeGo, TDOT, and the Nashville Downtown Partnership—will release recommendations from the comprehensive study of downtown transportation needs, called Connect Downtown. The ongoing study looks at all the needs that downtown’s street network must serve. Study work will analyze options to address how downtown’s increasing congestion can be better managed through improvements in trac operations, curbside access, transit connectivity, pedestrian and bicyclist safety, and parking & other curb management strategies while also supporting the needs of our businesses and residents.
The Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure was created as the result of a restructuring and realignment of the former Department of Public Works, with waste services being transferred to Metro Water Services beginning July 1, 2021. Residents will have the opportunity to vote on a Metro charter amendment on August 4 that formally adds NDOT to Metro’s charter.
More information on the August 4, 2022 election.
Learn more about Nashville Department of Transportation.
To report a non-emergency issue affecting a Metro Nashville street, visit hub.nashville.gov.