Ten years from now, the stretch of road on Broad Street between the Discovery Center and Cannonsburgh Village will look much different than it does today.

The line of businesses on the west side of Broad Street will be gone, replaced by a natural area with a stream, an extended bike path and perhaps a pedestrian bridge.

In January 2022, the Murfreesboro City Council voted unanimously to approve proceeding with appraisal, negotiation and acquisition of property along Broad Street for “daylighting” of Town Creek, an underground stream that originates in Murfree Spring at the Discovery Center.

While the Discovery Center is a private nonprofit museum, Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation operates and maintains Murfree Spring, the nearby outdoor area that includes the boardwalk, the walking trail, playground, restrooms, the overlook and other outdoor amenities. This area also includes Town Creek.

Right now, the creek discards into a pod system near the intersection of South Church Street and SE Broad Street.

Town Creek currently flows in underground concrete culverts and a series of corrugated metal pipes from Murfree Spring to Cannonsburgh Village before emptying into Lytle Creek. Town Creek was placed in underground culverts as part of Broad Street/Hwy 41 development and redevelopment projects in the 1950s and ’60s.

This area along Broad Street—also referred to as The Historic Bottoms area—is designated as a redevelopment priority, said Murfreesboro Development Services Executive Director Sam Huddleston

“Addressing stormwater improvements to this location, which historically was subject to significant flooding, is environmentally important as is the aesthetic enhancements that can assist with redevelopment of this area,” he recently told the Pulse.

Huddleston, also an engineer, said the biggest reason the city is doing this is the aging infrastructure, causing concerns that the 75-year-old underground system will fail. He says the cost of reinstalling the culvert system and maintaining it is very expensive. With the daylighting project, the city can avoid that recurring cost of having to maintain a constructed system in the future.

“The other thing it does for us in our downtown area is the likability factor—a destination factor where we actually have an urban stream that would be amenitized,” Huddleston said. “There will also be the walking trail and some other things to connect the neighborhood to the area for something to see and something to do.

“There is also a significant water quality benefit by reintroducing sunlight, and recreating that sort of stream bank setting. We turn that area green that is concrete and asphalt right now. Also, when we help the water quality, we create a better opportunity for biological diversity. The critters that live in or near the water will have a higher chance of biological success.”

A fourth reason for the change, from a floodplain management standpoint, an open stream is a better long-term flooding management approach than a closed pod system, Huddleston said.

The work will be completed in two phases. For Phase 1, one of the businesses that will be impacted to some degree is the McDonald’s at Church and Broad streets; the city of Murfreesboro has already purchased the land of some closed businesses on that corner.

“For Phase 2, we will have to acquire several of the properties along Broad Street, and part of our acquisition will be helping them with the relocation costs,” Huddleston said. “They would be working to relocate their business if they want to stay in business or reshape or reformat.”

Some of the companies impacted by Phase 2 include Budget Brakes, Copymatte Printing, Subway and the building that formerly contained 219 Broad Street Mixed Cuisine (which recently announced its closure). The Longhorn Liquor Store property will be impacted to some degree.

According to information provided by Michael Browning, public information officer for the city of Murfreesboro, reimbursement funding for the purchase of property is anticipated from the Federal American Rescue Plan economic stimulus funds. Phase I of the Town Creek Redevelopment Project will daylight Town Creek from Murfree Springs to Church Street. Phase II will daylight Town Creek from Church Street to Front Street at Cannonsburgh Village.

The Murfreesboro City Council vote in January authorized the city to retain three professional services to conduct appraisal, negotiation and acquisition of affected property to daylight Town Creek between South Church Street and Front Street, Phase II.

The city council initially voted in December 2016 to authorize Griggs & Maloney Engineering to conduct Phase I planning and design of the project.

“By daylighting Town Creek, the stream will be returned to a natural condition which can be credited for stream mitigation with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation,” said Huddleston. “The credits would be applied for requirements to stream mitigation for other projects.”

Photo taken in early 1950’s of The Bottoms which were located southwest of the courthouse between West Main Street and South Church Street.

The Historic Bottoms Planning Study, written by Ragan Smith Associates, recommended “daylighting Town Creek and extending the Lytle Creek Greenway to the Discovery Center.”

TDEC responded favorably when city engineers and consultants presented the concept.

According to previous engineering inspections, the culverts are in poor condition and in need of repair or replacement. In 2007, a portion of the culvert system failed in the former KFC parking lot (which used to be located near McDonald’s) and had to be replaced. Over the coming years, though, Murfreesboro plans to abandon this pipe and culvert underground infrastructure and daylight Town Creek rather than replace the structure.

Find a video of a recent public input meeting on a proposed pedestrian bridge that would connect downtown Murfreesboro to the Historic Bottoms area near Cannonsburgh Village on YouTube:

To access the full Historic Bottoms and other Murfreesboro Land Use studies, visit murfreesborotn.gov.