Collierville, TN
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Traffic News & Safety
Keeping Collierville Moving Safely
Our community streets are more than just pavement—they are where families walk, children bike to school, neighbors connect, and local businesses grow. Behind every road project, intersection adjustment, and striping plan is rigorous data analysis, traffic modeling, and engineering design.
Road Project News:
Shelby Dr. Closure Extended
The road widening project near Highway 72 is set to open Aug. 2026.
The Town of Collierville announces an extension to the closure of Shelby Drive between Quinn Road and Collierville High School (CHS) until August 2026. This extended closure ensures the safety of students, residents, and workers and will expedite the project’s completion.
The contractor, Madden-Phillips, requested to extend the closure of Shelby Drive between Quinn Road and the eastern driveway to CHS (Driveway #5) from late 2025 until August 2026. After receiving the request, Town Engineers met with affected parties, including the Fire and Police Departments and Collierville Schools’ representatives. All parties concluded keeping the road closed is essential for safety and to complete the project ahead of schedule. Allowing fire and police access through the construction zone is paramount, especially with the opening of Fire Station 6.
“By granting this request, it is estimated the entire project will be completed by December 2026, approximately five months ahead of schedule. Allowing the road to remain closed eliminates the need for multiple intermittent closures in the future to accommodate utility installations,” said Tim Gwaltney, Deputy Town Engineer.
The Shelby Drive Improvements Project includes widening the current two-lane roadway from just east of Sycamore Road to Highway 72 into a four-lane, median-divided urban street. Improvements include the replacement of two bridges, installation of major drainage culverts, upgraded water, sewer, and irrigation utilities, new street lighting and bike lanes, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, and modernization of the traffic signal at Shelby Drive and Highway 72. This transformative project is part of a joint infrastructure initiative with the Memphis Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT). The Town of Collierville is overseeing construction in line with federal and state regulations and will receive reimbursement for 80% of eligible expenses.
Once completed, the widened roadway will enhance traffic flow and significantly boost safety for Collierville High School students and nearby residents. Recent upgrades to Sycamore Road, including the installation of a traffic signal at Highway 72, have already contributed to safer travel through the area.
We appreciate the community's continued support of this project. We will continue to keep the public updated throughout construction.
The Science of Safety
What is Traffic Calming?
It’s the practice of using physical design, like narrower lanes, roundabouts, or radar feedback signs, to naturally encourage drivers to travel at safer speeds, relying on human psychology rather than just enforcement.
What is a Traffic Study?
Before a single line is painted, our engineering team deploys radar counters, evaluates historical crash data, and models peak-hour capacities to ensure changes are mathematically validated to keep traffic moving fluidly.
What is a Conflict Point?
A conflict point is any spot on a road where the paths of two vehicles (or a vehicle and a pedestrian) cross. A standard four-way intersection has 32 of these points! Engineering projects, like adding a center turn lane, aim to eliminate these spots, significantly reducing the chances of a crash.
This is the length of the road that a driver can see clearly ahead before a curve, hill, or obstruction blocks their view. Our Engineers us data on travel speeds and braking times to ensure trees, fences, and signs are kept clear of intersections so drivers always have time to react safely.