Since the morning of Friday, September 11, the East Main Street bridge over the Harpeth River has carried one 10-foot travel lane in each direction behind a new barrier wall, and its southbound sidewalk has been closed. The Tennessee Department of Transportation expects the work to continue until summer 2028. Drivers will have a lane in each direction the whole time. Pedestrians lose sidewalk space as the phases advance, with one walkway already closed and both expected to close later.
That changes the walk between downtown Franklin and the east bank more than it changes the drive. A Saturday walk to Pinkerton Park, a coffee and pastry at Perenn, or a pizza at Slice House can all still happen. Over the next two years, the way you get there on foot will change more than the way you drive there.
What the 1929 Bridge Is Carrying This Fall
The structure is State Route 6, built in 1929. TDOT's August 20 announcement said Bell & Associates won the contract to fully replace it, and preliminary work began Monday, August 24. The Williamson Herald reported that the bridge had received a "poor" rating from TDOT, and that TDOT puts a typical bridge's lifespan at 50 to 70 years.
The rules for traffic during construction are short:
- One lane stays open in each direction.
- Crews may flag traffic intermittently between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., outside the rush hours.
- Full closures for work like setting beams will happen at night and will be announced in advance.
- Franklin Transit Authority shuttles can keep crossing. Semi-trucks and other commercial vehicles cannot, according to the Herald's account of TDOT's June 24 public meeting.
When the barrier went up, FOX17 reported that the northbound sidewalk would stay open while the southbound side closed. For now, people who walk across East Main to the east bank all use one side of the bridge.
The Schedule Takes Sidewalks Away Faster Than Lanes
Through all three phases, the bridge keeps a lane open in each direction, while its sidewalks close in stages.
| Phase | Approximate timing | Where crews work | Sidewalks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | From September 11, 2026, for roughly one year | Southbound side | Southbound closed, northbound open |
| Phase 2 | About one year after Phase 1 | Northbound side | Reported closed |
| Phase 3 | Final stretch to summer 2028 | Signing and painting | Reported closed |
TDOT has said Phase 1 lasts "roughly one year" before work moves to the northbound side. Going by that estimate, the current arrangement runs into about fall 2027. The Herald reported that the project has three phases. The first two take about a year each, and the third covers signing and painting. The paper also reported that sidewalks will close during the second and third phases. TDOT's phase notices give the official dates. For conditions on a given day, TDOT points travelers to its SmartWay map and the 511 line.
This fall, a pedestrian crossing East Main shares the northbound walkway with every other pedestrian. As the later phases begin, the shared walkway goes away too, and the other route across the river becomes the main one.
The Sue Douglas Berry Bridge Becomes the Front Door to Pinkerton Park
The City of Franklin describes the Sue Douglas Berry Memorial pedestrian bridge as the link between downtown Franklin and Pinkerton Park. It is a separate crossing for pedestrians only, so the lane shifts on East Main do not apply to it.
The pedestrian bridge brings you into a park built for walking. Pinkerton Park runs along the Harpeth and has a one-mile paved track around the grounds. Fort Granger sits behind the park to the north, and its walking trail climbs to an overlook. A loop from downtown across the footbridge, around Pinkerton's paved track and up to the Fort Granger overlook never crosses the East Main bridge. If you want to map a longer route, the City's Greenways & Trails page links the Franklin Parks Trails Map.
The two crossings now do different jobs. East Main carries cars and Franklin Transit Authority shuttles, plus walkers on its one open sidewalk. The Sue Douglas Berry bridge carries only pedestrians, and when the remaining East Main sidewalk closes, it will be the walking route into the park.
Breakfast and Pizza at the Foot of the Bridge
The Herald places the bridge between Battle Ground Academy's Lower School and the former Puckett's Boat House building, now home to Perenn and Slice House. Both are open, and their hours line up with the flagging window in different ways.
Perenn, at 94 East Main Street, is a bread and pastry bakery, European café and rotisserie. It is open daily from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and its Sunday roast runs from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. It moved into the former Boathouse with a May 24, 2025 opening date, according to the Williamson Herald. Most of Perenn's day falls inside TDOT's 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. flagging window. The 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. stretch is the only part that is always outside it.
Slice House, next door at 98 East Main Street, serves New York, Detroit, Grandma and Sicilian pizzas in a fast-casual format. It is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The Herald covered its opening in the space it identified as the former Americana Taphouse. Slice House's evening hours fall entirely after flagging ends at 3 p.m.
Traffic to both businesses is allowed throughout construction, since the one-lane-each-way rule applies to everyone except commercial trucks. For a weekday morning visit, the timing above is the useful detail. On weekends, TDOT's notices schedule no flagging, and the river stays open.
The River Keeps Its Weekends
TDOT has committed to no weekend closures of recreational use on the Harpeth and says any weekday closures will be announced in advance. City officials, as the Herald reported, set that notice at two weeks. That matters because Pinkerton Park is on the City's list of Harpeth River canoe and kayak access points.
The busiest paddling stretch is already over for this year. Float Franklin, which runs a tube route from Pinkerton Park to Harlinsdale Farm and meets its floaters at Pinkerton, says it is closed until Float Season 2027, and its kayak rental is listed as temporarily closed. When that season starts, Phase 1 should be nearing its end. The weekend rule will still apply through the rest of the project.
The calendar has one more fixed point. The Herald reported that construction will pause for the Pilgrimage Festival in both 2027 and 2028, and that Franklin Transit Authority shuttles will keep running in the area through every phase.
What Opens in Summer 2028
The finished bridge gives back more walking space than the current one has had. City Engineering Director Paul Holzen told aldermen in June that the new bridge will have three travel lanes, 3.5-foot bike lanes and 6.5-foot sidewalks separated from traffic by a concrete barrier, according to the Williamson Herald. The bike lanes will follow the same pattern as the current bridge, and the new span will rest on fewer pillars, the paper reported from TDOT's June meeting. TDOT's Jon Storey told attendees, "It will be a good feature for downtown Franklin."
Early local reports gave completion dates ranging from July to December 2028. TDOT's two most recent releases both say summer 2028. Until then, the work will most visibly change how Franklin walks its east bank. People on foot are concentrated on one sidewalk this fall, and later phases will route them to the Sue Douglas Berry bridge.
If you are planning a sale, a purchase or a renovation near downtown Franklin while this work continues, construction timelines like this one affect showings, access and timing. Jack Miller and Robert Stutts of Stutts Miller Properties follow these projects closely on behalf of their clients. Request a private consultation to discuss how the East Main Street schedule fits your own plans.
