Liberty Pike's Dual-Lane Roundabouts Set to Finish Mid-2026: What Franklin Commuters Need to Know
If you live in Franklin and your daily route puts you through the Mallory Lane / Liberty Pike / North Royal Oaks Boulevard intersection, you've been driving through one of the city's most consistently congested choke points for years. That's about to change. Two new dual-lane roundabouts, one at Liberty Pike and Stanwick Drive, and one at the Mallory Lane / Royal Oaks / Liberty Pike intersection, are scheduled to be complete by mid-2026 as part of the Liberty Pike corridor improvements.
For a city that has spent the past decade absorbing population growth without proportional roadway expansion, this is one of the higher-impact local infrastructure projects coming online this year. Here's what's actually being built, when, and why it matters for the routes most relocators end up using.
What's being built
The Liberty Pike upgrade includes two separate dual-lane roundabouts at adjacent intersections, plus broader corridor improvements:
- A dual-lane roundabout at Liberty Pike and Stanwick Drive
- A dual-lane roundabout at Mallory Lane, North Royal Oaks Boulevard, and Liberty Pike
- Sidewalk improvements along the corridor
- Utility relocations to support the new intersection geometry
The Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen previously approved $2.2 million in funding for the design and right-of-way acquisition phase under the city's FY 2017 to 2026 Capital Investment Program. Construction has been underway, and the city's published timeline targets mid-2026 for completion.
The dual-lane geometry matters. Single-lane roundabouts handle moderate traffic well but can become bottlenecks at high volumes. Dual-lane roundabouts, like the existing one at Cool Springs Boulevard and Oxford Glen Drive that East McEwen drivers already use, handle significantly higher throughput because two cars can negotiate the circle simultaneously. For an intersection that handles peak-hour commuter volumes from both the Cool Springs office corridor and the Carothers Parkway residential growth, dual-lane is the right call.
Why this intersection in particular
Anyone who has driven the Mallory Lane / Liberty Pike / Royal Oaks intersection at 5:30 p.m. on a weekday already knows the answer. The current signalized configuration has been operating well above its original design capacity for years. Backups onto Mallory Lane during peak hours are routine. Left turns from Liberty Pike onto Mallory Lane require timing that doesn't exist in the current signal pattern.
There's also a safety dimension. Roundabouts, particularly modern dual-lane designs, have a substantially better safety record than equivalent signalized intersections: fewer angle and head-on collisions, slower vehicle speeds through the intersection itself, and less driver decision complexity in low-visibility conditions. The federal data on this is well-established, and Franklin's engineering department has been steadily converting key intersections to roundabouts where geometry allows.
The Liberty Pike corridor specifically serves a high-mix traffic load: Cool Springs office commuters, Mallory Lane retail traffic, residents from the Westhaven and McKays Mill area cutting toward I-65, and traffic moving between the Cool Springs Galleria and the Carothers Parkway corridor.
What it means for your commute during construction
This is the part most Franklin commuters will care about more than the long-term throughput improvement: how rough is the construction period?
Honestly, it's been moderate. The Liberty Pike work has been visible for months but has not produced full closures. Most of the impact has been lane shifts, occasional signal disruptions, and slower-than-usual movement through the work zone. The final months of construction, typically when paving, striping, and signage are installed, can introduce more concentrated nighttime work, but daytime traffic disruption is generally minimal.
If your normal route uses this intersection during peak hours, give yourself an extra 5 to 10 minutes during the final construction push. Once the roundabouts open, the throughput improvement should be immediate and significant.
The bigger picture: Franklin's 10-year infrastructure plan
This project is one of several major roadway improvements moving through Franklin's capital plan in 2026 and 2027. The most significant others:
East McEwen Drive widening. The $45.8 million project to widen East McEwen Drive from Cool Springs Boulevard to Wilson Pike is currently under construction and is expected to take three years to complete. When done, it will be a median-divided four-lane road with left-turn lanes, curb and gutter, sidewalk, a multi-use path, and street lighting. More than $30 million in federal grant funding was secured for the project.
Mack Hatcher Parkway, Southeast widening. Franklin has partnered with the state of Tennessee on widening Mack Hatcher Parkway's southeastern segment. This was one of only nine partnership projects approved by the state in its 10-year roadway plan and was the largest single approved partnership.
Franklin Road corridor improvements along US-31. Ongoing streetscape and infrastructure work.
All of these are funded within the city's 10-year capital plan. The pattern is consistent: Franklin is spending real money on roadway capacity in the corridors absorbing the most growth, and the funding is staying ahead of the project pipeline rather than lagging it.
What this means if you're moving to Franklin
If you're evaluating Franklin neighborhoods and commute time matters in your decision, the Liberty Pike roundabouts are one of several near-term improvements that will materially change drive times across the Cool Springs and Carothers corridors. The 2026 commute experience is going to be measurably better than 2025's, and substantially better than the worst points of the 2022 to 2024 growth-without-infrastructure squeeze that early relocators sometimes encountered.
The broader read: Franklin's growth pressures are real, but the infrastructure response is funded and visible. The city isn't pretending the growth isn't happening, and the capital investment plan reflects that.
Source: North Royal Oaks Blvd / Mallory Lane and Liberty Pike Intersection Upgrade, City of Franklin
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