RUTHERFORD COUNTY, TN - Construction is steadily moving forward on the long-awaited daylighting of Town Creek, an effort now visible to drivers along Northwest Broad Street between South Church and Front Street near the Murfreesboro square. The large-scale project, funded in part by federal dollars, is transforming a section of downtown that most residents never realized was home to a hidden waterway... That was Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland, who emphasized that because federal funding is involved, the project must be completed by a firm, non-negotiable deadline: October 2026.

For decades, Town Creek has gone completely unnoticed by passing motorists — and for good reason. The creek was buried in the 1950s and placed into a culvert system due to persistent flooding issues. At the time, the land sat lower than today’s current elevation of Broad Street. The area was a patchwork of industrial buildings, a busy railroad yard, and low-income housing.

Much of that housing, built before modern zoning and planning, was cleared during mid-century urban renewal projects and the construction of Broad Street, then part of Highway 41 — a major state route.

Once completed, the project will reshape the landscape into a park-like environment featuring green space and a walking path running beside the restored creek. The water will visibly flow between the Murfree Spring Wetlands and Lytle Creek...

Plans also call for the future construction of a pedestrian bridge over Broad Street, better connecting the downtown square with Town Creek and Cannonsburgh Village — a move expected to improve both mobility and pedestrian access to historic areas.

Historically, this part of Murfreesboro carries deep roots. From the post–Civil War era through the 1940s, the area now known as The Bottoms was home to a predominantly African American neighborhood. Flooding was a constant problem — tied directly to the same creek now being brought back into view.

The daylighting of Town Creek is not just an infrastructure project — it’s a restoration of both land and history, revealing a piece of the city long buried beneath concrete and time.

Project Background (From the City of Murfreesboro): Part of the Town Creek Project will be the construction of a Pedestrian Bridge over Broad Street. The pedestrian bridge concept was one of the “big ideas” from the Historic Bottoms Planning Study intended to connect the Bottoms with downtown.  

This connection will provide a safe pedestrian alternative from Murfreesboro’s downtown area to the proposed Town Creek project and the Historic Bottoms Corridor. Completion of the Town Creek Phase II project will provide walking and biking trail connectivity from the Discovery Center and Murfree Spring to Cannonsburgh Village and the Greenway Trail System.

Town Creek currently flows in underground concrete culverts and a series of corrugated metal pipes from Murfree Springs to Cannonsburgh Village before emptying into Lytle Creek. Town Creek was placed in culverts as part of development and redevelopment projects in the 1950s and 1960s including Broad Street. The culvert system is approximately 70 years old.  

The Town Creek Project and related public improvements will enhance the entrance to the downtown area and encourage redevelopment of the Historic Bottoms. By daylighting Town Creek, the stream will be returned to a natural condition which provides the environmental benefit required by ARPA and it removes a large, aging stormwater culvert installed in the 1950s.\