A Section of Middle Tennessee Boulevard from Bell Street to East Main Street near the MTSU campus will be closed to all through traffic beginning Monday, June 6, for approximately three weeks (June 6-June 26) for the ongoing road-improvement project.

The contractor will be installing underground utilities, a new box culvert at the Lytle Street intersection, and grading activities throughout the closed section. East Main Street and Bell Street will remain open during the closure.

Northbound traffic on MT Boulevard will be detoured onto East Main Street/Rutherford Boulevard and southbound traffic will be detoured onto Greenland Drive/Highland Avenue (See map for details).

An interactive map on the City of Murfreesboro webpage showing the upcoming traffic pattern changes for MT Boulevard between East Main Street and Greenland Drive is available at www.murfreesborotn.gov/mtb. Commuters can also follow the "MT Blvd" project on Twitter @MTBLVD or on the City of Murfreesboro Facebook page athttps://www.facebook.com/cityofmurfreesborotn/.

The $15.7 million improvement project will upgrade the 0.8-mile section of Middle Tennessee Boulevard to a consistent four-lane divided street with a landscaped median between East Main and Greenland Drive. The 30-month project is expected to be completed by the fall of 2018. The enhancement will also include bike lanes, improved sidewalks and lighting, new traffic signals, decorative crosswalks and underground utilities.

Commuters and visitors to the MTSU campus are encouraged to seek alternative campus access from Greenland Drive, Rutherford Boulevard and East Main Street and take advantage of the university's Raider Xpress shuttle bus service and the MTSU mobile app downloadable at www.mtsu.edu/mobile. A searchable campus parking map is available at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParkingMap.

During the three-week closure, MTSU officials have suggested alternative routes for those needing access to the Sam H. Ingram Boulevard. A map of those routes can be found athttp://www.mtsu.edu/parking/ConstructionMap.pdf.

When the MT Boulevard improvement project is completed,

• Traffic flow on Faulkinberry Drive will change to "right turn in, right turn out" onto Middle Tennessee Boulevard.

• A pull-in area for buses will be added to the front of Murphy Center.

• Signalized pedestrian crossings will be added at Lytle and Division streets, and crosswalks at Bell Street and Faulkinberry Drive will be upgraded.

• Brick walls with signage will be erected at the corners of Greenland Drive, and another wall will be added at East Main Street, to better define the university's boundaries.

• Flagpoles will be erected at Faulkinberry Drive.