The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) has awarded a $670,488 federal Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality (CMAQ) grant earmarked for the Middle Tennessee Boulevard Improvement Project to complete the .8 mile section from Greenland Drive to Main Street along the MTSU campus.

"We are delighted to receive the necessary grant funding for this important part of the Middle Tennessee Boulevard Improvement Project," said Transportation Director Dana Richardson. "We hope to bid for the project sometime in the latter part of 2014."

The Greenland Drive to Main Street section of the Middle Tennessee Boulevard Improvement Project will reconstruct the existing four and five lane roadway to a consistent four lane divided roadway with a median, including bike lanes, improved sidewalks, new traffic signals, decorative crosswalks, landscaping, and underground utilities.

The City of Murfreesboro Transportation Department applied for the supplemental funding necessary to cover the additional cost of construction estimated at approximately $11 million. The TDOT grant allows the City to make-up the deficit in the estimated construction cost. MTSU provided a $167,622 cash contribution for the required 20 percent local matching funds.