"I didn't realize the amount of local work going on there in Franklin, so we wanna be mindful." That was Erin Ziegler of the Tennessee Department of Transportation, speaking to NewsChannel 5 in June about replacing the East Main Street bridge over the Harpeth River. The same report said the private Margin District development and the new City Hall project had already changed traffic flow downtown.
Four months later, all three projects are underway, and they finish one after another. For anyone who lives downtown or comes in from the east side of the river, the next two years depend less on the car lanes on East Main than on which river crossing stays open on foot. The answer to that changes partway through.
The 1929 bridge is the one coming out
TDOT awarded the replacement of the State Route 6/East Main Street bridge to Bell & Associates. The bridge was built in 1929. Barrier walls went up on the night of Thursday, September 10, and by the morning of September 11 the bridge was down to one 10-foot travel lane with a one-foot shoulder in each direction. The southbound sidewalk closed at the same time. According to TDOT's notice, as reported by Williamson Source, this first phase runs about a year. Then work moves to the northbound side.
The rules for daytime driving are simple. TDOT allows intermittent flagging only between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Any full closure for work like setting beams happens at night and is announced ahead of time. TDOT's terms also bar weekend closures of the Harpeth River for recreational use. In practice, the morning and evening commutes keep one lane each way without flaggers, the middle of the day may bring short stops, and a Saturday on the river is unaffected.
Three finish lines, spread across about a year
The bridge is not the only job going on near Five Points. The new City Hall is being built on the Public Square block, and the Margin District is going up one block south of Five Points. Here is where each one stands as of October 2026:
| Project | Location | Where it stands now | What's next |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Main Street bridge | SR 6 over the Harpeth | Phase one since Sept. 11, 2026, with one lane each way | Work moves to the northbound side after about a year. Estimated completion is summer 2028 |
| New City Hall | Public Square block, Third Avenue South | Final steel beam set at the June 4, 2026 topping out | City says it opens in 2027 |
| The Margin District | Columbia Avenue at South Margin Street, between Columbia and Cummins Street | The developer said in 2026 that vertical construction was about to begin | Residents move in before the end of 2027. Grand opening expected in Q1 2028 |
Earlier reports gave the bridge different end dates. NewsChannel 5 said July 2028 in June, and a Williamson Herald report on the June public meeting said December 2028. TDOT's newest notices say summer 2028, and that is the date in the table.
The Margin District has already changed the street grid. South Margin Street between Columbia Avenue and Cummins Street was scheduled to close permanently on October 13, 2025, and 9th Avenue will extend to Cummins once the redevelopment is finished. The project also keeps an old landmark. The Willoughby family ran Handy Hardware at 731 Columbia Ave. for nearly 50 years, and the building's bricks were taken apart by hand. The developer told the Williamson Herald that it has more than 60 pallets of salvaged brick in off-site storage, set aside for use in the new development. The restored building will also have a community gathering space, and the tenant for that space has not been announced.
Year two of the bridge closes both sidewalks
Most of the attention goes to the car lanes, but the bigger change is for people on foot. NewsChannel 5 reported that one sidewalk on the bridge stays open during the first year and both sidewalks close in the second year. The first phase started on September 11 and runs about a year, so the northbound sidewalk is the only walkway across East Main until roughly next fall. After that, East Main has no walkway over the river until the new bridge opens.
Around the same time, the other two projects reach their busiest stretch. City Hall is set to open in 2027, and Margin District residents are expected before the end of that year. Late 2027 is when downtown gets the most new activity and when the walk over the river on East Main closes.
The crossing that stays open the whole time
The Sue Douglas Berry Memorial pedestrian bridge is not part of TDOT's project. According to the City of Franklin, it connects downtown with Pinkerton Park. The 34-acre park sits on Murfreesboro Road, with the Harpeth along its west side. A city list of park amenities can't confirm whether the footbridge will stay open for every day of construction. Still, nothing in TDOT's notices mentions it.
Crossing the river this way also gets you somewhere worth going:
- Cross the Sue Douglas Berry Memorial bridge into Pinkerton Park.
- Follow the one-mile paved track around the park, which takes you past Tinkerbell playground and the three picnic pavilions.
- Head north into Fort Granger, where a walking trail climbs to an overlook and the Civil War earthworks.
If you plan to rent one of the pavilions this fall, the Parks Department suggests calling the administration office at 615-794-2103 first to check for special events that could conflict.
What's open between Five Points and the river
The work zone starts at the water, and the storefronts on East Main between Five Points and the river are open. Several have changed in the last couple of years.
- Perenn Bakery, 94 E. Main. It moved into the former Americana Taphouse space, according to Williamson Source, and Downtown Franklin's summer 2025 openings roundup confirmed it was open.
- Tony Gemignani's Slice House, 98 E. Main. It was on the same list of summer 2025 openings.
- Franklin Bakehouse, 100 E. Main. The bakery's site lists current hours and online ordering.
- Landmark Booksellers, 114 E. Main. The shop held an author event on August 27, 2026.
- Olivia Olive Oil, 118 E. Main. The tasting bar welcomes walk-in visitors.
- JJ's Wine Bar, Main Street at Second Avenue. Its site lists weekly service hours.
If you're coming from Pinkerton Park, the footbridge lets you reach all of these without crossing the bridge on East Main.
What the east end gains by 2028
What makes the construction worth it is how much better the finished east end works for people on foot. The Williamson Herald's account of the June work session describes the new East Main bridge. It will have three travel lanes, 3.5-foot bike lanes, and 6.5-foot sidewalks separated from traffic by a concrete barrier. Today each direction has one 10-foot lane and a one-foot shoulder, and the bridge has one sidewalk. The new bridge also goes from six spans to four.
Parking increases too. The City Hall project includes a 200-space underground garage. The city says that garage plus the existing Second Avenue garage will give the block more than 500 spaces. The Margin District's lower-level garage is planned to have 475 spaces open to the public. Together that is 675 new public spaces within a few blocks of Five Points.
The City Hall block also adds a larger plaza on the Square with a pedestrian promenade. Other pieces include a one-acre public park with a fountain, gardens and shade trees, wider sidewalks and street trees on both sides of Third Avenue South, and expanded public restrooms for downtown. Mayor Dr. Ken Moore invited every resident to sign the final beam at the June 4 topping out. Most of that work finishes in 2027, and the East Main bridge follows the next summer.
If you own a home near Five Points or Pinkerton Park and you're thinking about selling or renovating while the work goes on, the timing matters. It affects when photography looks its best, how showings get scheduled, and which improvements make sense before the new bridge opens. At C&S Residential, we follow these construction schedules because our own clients live near them. Get in touch, and we'll help you plan your move around the construction dates.
