Murfreesboro, TN - The City of Murfreesboro took another step closer to the beginning of the Daylighting Town Creek project. Four large underground gas tanks were removed from the land. Engineers discovered that a gas station was located there in the late 1940s. The City project will unearth the creek that runs in a culvert from Murfree Springs wetlands at Discovery Center to Cannonsburgh Village along NW Broad Street.

Professional Geologist Donnie Sheumaker explained, “We sampled the water in the tanks previously a month or so ago to make sure the land had not been polluted.” 

The water in the tanks revealed low levels of petroleum, but well below the commercial cleanup levels that the State of Tennessee allows for the rainwater to be directed into the sanitary sewer for treatment. Getting the sand-filled tanks out of the ground posed a challenge to excavators due to the sheer weight. It took a couple of days to remove all four tanks that had been buried for almost 80-years. 

The tanks were completely removed and the backfill was tested. No problems were detected and the dirst was replaced by the close of the day this past Friday (11/22/2024). 

Now the daylighting of Town Creek project continues along NW Broad, near South Church Street.