WILSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — From speeding cars to crashes, those are a few concerns parents have shared on Lebanon Road. After years of complaints, TDOT is scheduled to begin safety improvements outside a Wilson County elementary school.
Whether you are picking up or dropping off your student at West Elementary, parents describe it as ‘”chaos.”
“If you go on that stretch of roadway during, drop off or pick up time you already know…it is a mess,” said Bart Barker, Public Information Officer for Wilson County Schools.
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Parents have shared videos with News 2 in the past showing drivers using the bicycle lane as a turn lane.
“We are using the whole bicycle lane and half the shoulder to create a car line for access to the school on both sides of the highway,” said Jenna Brent, parent of a West Elementary student.
Brent said it creates a major safety hazard. For years, she has expressed her concerns to school officials. Two years ago, her neighbors were sideswiped while waiting in line.
“I also have personally seen a Wilson County school bus in the bicycle lane which is horrible, and I communicated that because we have to deter people from breaking the law and utilizing this makeshift lane as the car line for West Elementary,” Brent said.
TDOT is now adding some safety improvements that include a center turn lane to the school and upgrading reflective signage. Brent said for now it’s a step in the right direction.
“Once upon a time it was a sleepy highway and now it’s fully awake and overcrowded,” Barker said.
Barker said the project is an indicator that growth continues to not only impact the schools but infrastructure. “There’s kind of a domino effect from every phase from car rider traffic, bus traffic, heavy machinery, heavy truck traffic.”
TDOT anticipates the project to begin this summer and be completed by August 2026.
The department said complex water and sewer relocations in the area could potentially delay the project.
