Work on the Murfreesboro Transit Center continues to progress. The $17.1 million Transit Center, located near the intersection of Bridge Avenue and New Salem Highway and whose groundbreaking ceremony was held back in October 2023, aims to improve the local transportation situation. Considering the rising amount of traffic the city experiences, increased public transportation offerings may help alleviate that traffic while providing mobility to those without vehicles of their own.

The new facility will feature a passenger pavilion, maintenance operations and administration building set to open next year.

The Center, designed by HDR and built by Rock City Construction, will look to enhance public transport in the area by offering a larger space for Murfreesboro Transit buses and support services. The project is part of a response by the Tennessee Department of Transportation and WeGo Public Transit to address ongoing concerns of regional congestion and is funded through a combination of city, state and federal funds.

Murfreesboro Transit currently operates its buses out of the lot at Burton and Walnut streets but will soon have a central hub for operations and passenger services at the new Transit Center location.

Murfreesboro Transit now offers seven routes within the City of Murfreesboro; buses run Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.

City of Murfreesboro’s Assistant Transportation Director Russ Brashear expects to expand those operating times and routes in the future.

“We hope to achieve this sometime after the Transit Center is open. The struggle to achieve that goal is finding drivers,” he said. “We plan to reintroduce service to the Cason Lane and St. Andrews area with a pilot route and ultimately have a permanent route after the Center opens.”

Project planners are looking into options to serve the Joe B. Jackson area as well.

The city says that WeGo/RTA will be using the facility to stage its Nashville-based regional transit buses, though bus lines such as Greyhound will not be permitted to use the site.

Officials say the Murfreesboro Transit Center will be completed by April 2025.

For more information on Murfreesboro Transit and a map of current bus routes, visit murfreesborotn.gov/248.