Bypassing the town is not good for anyone in Cannon County. The Northern route the was not chosen was much closer to downtown Woodbury, and with careful planning, a whole new area of town could be opened. How can we get the plan changed?
--Douglas Jennings

Do we have a say in this? It does seem like all the plans are in place...democracy??:(

Raise the speed limit through town & maybe so many people would not want to bypass town. Come on, its 45 thought the middle of Murfreesboro!

i hate to see Woodbury lose business,but i imagine those who travel the road frequently would rather get to their destination quicker and not go thru 25mph speed limits,red lights,roadblocks for donations,police radar,and the like.unfortunately,BYPASSES, are designed to do just that.they are not necessarily for the benefit of the local community,but for the benefit of the larger regional traveling and transportation needs.and i might add,Woodbury already HAS a bypass in use every day.Every day people heading from the west side to hwy.53 toward Manchester use this BYPASS to avoid beautiful downtown Woodbury.one thought.make Woodbury so dog-goned WONDERFUL that people wiill simply be unable to stay away.and also advertise and provide easy access from the new bypass to the downtown business district.Make people WANT to come thru Woodbury,rather than AVOID it and save a few minutes traveling time.that just might be the answer.just one poor dumb( non-tobacco spitting) redneck hillbilly's opinion.and like they say "opinions vary"

Annonomoose: I like you thoughts very well put!!!

When I ask Mark Pody about the by-pass I received what I believe to be an honest answer: No final desision has been made due to the uncertainly of the residents of Cannon County. The northern route around Woodbury proves to about 1.5 million dollars cheaper and would only help the sherrif's department and the hospital. The Southern route would draw in industries over the next 15 years or so, which means more people working in Cannon County and local downtown would see benifits because more people would shop closer to where they work. Industries would not build anywhere on the northern route, the land is not fit, so I am told by Mark. TDOT will not build a northern or southern route until the citizens decide what they want, and currently there is three groups, one for the cheaper route to the north, one for the future of Woodbury to the south, and one group that wants things left the way it is. I see the point of view on all three groups and I would not want to make that choice. In my opinion, the citizens of Cannon County should vote in the next election (in two years) for one on the three choices and which vote wins will be the choice of Cannon County. As said earlier, "opinions vary" and this is only my opinion.

I think a bypass is absolutely necessary for the highway....Traffic is bad enough as is...Can you imagine a bunch of 18 wheelers and those huge gravel trucks roaring through downtown at 45-50 miles an hour?? Woodbury is one of the few Tennessee towns that is served by a 4 lane highway that doesn't have a by-pass. My observation is that 95% of motorists that go through town on their way to another destination don't stop here anyway. If there is a need to stop for something they would just as soon get off an exit to come to shop as they would be to stop going through downtown. It might even encourage more traffic since there would be an option.

Fount Bertram

I thought the southern route had been approved a long time ago. If the southern route is more attractive for future employers then by all means that would be the best. Besides the northern route would negatively impact a much more scenic, pastoral countryside along the upper reaches of the Stone's River. It seems to me that most through traffic doesn't stop to spend significant money anyway. There will be less traffic in town and that will be a benefit for the locals who are spending dollars in Woodbury. Let's get the construction started without further delay. TnTnTn

Look around you. Look at the license plates on the car ahead of you while in line at Hardees. Look at the license plates on the cars stopping to get gas. You will see that a great many of them are from counties east of Cannon. These travelers DO stop and do business with local retailers. Once Woodbury is "out of sight" you can bet they will be "out of mind." Brace yourselves. It is coming. Unless Woodbury businesses move to the traffic, they will experience declines in sales. If, or when they relocate nearer the traffic flow, the downtown area of Woodbury will look like a ghost-town. Enjoy it while you have it.

TnTnTn-- you are correct, this most certainly was voted on. I remember it very clearly. It was about 10 years ago. I remember because the first option was going to interfere with where my father-in-law lived and the other option was going to potentially cause my husband grandparents their home. And yes, it was the southern route that was approved. It was slated to be a done deal at that time.

As I recall there were public hearings and a lot of maps on the walls around the high school cafeteria and these same opinions 12 years ago. Why is this coming up again now? Woodbury does need a by pass. I thought the state made the decision to put it to the south because the next 4 lane would be from Woodbury to Manchester and it would connect easier to a by pass to the south. As a Woodbury resident who walks around town and crosses Main Street, I certainly don't want the highway to go through town. Crossing the street is sometimes difficult and I can't image crossing on foot if traffic was traveling faster than 25 mph. Besides the 4 lane needs to be 4 lanes all the way through and where would we put 4 lanes through the middle of town? We need a by pass and it needs to go to the north or the south. I vote south because that seems like the direction for city growth. Lu Ann Curlee

Lu Ann, you might try crossing at the traffic lights. :-)