Connecting Communities Through Regional Transportation: Mobility, Smart Infrastructure, and the Work Ahead

By Jaclyn Tidwell | Programs & Strategy for Cumberland Region Tomorrow 

This blog is the sixth of a series based on the November 2025 Power of 10 Summit. 

At this year’s Power of 10 Summit, one theme surfaced again and again: how we move is inseparable from how our region grows. Housing, workforce, economic opportunity, and quality of life all hinge on transportation—and in Middle Tennessee, the stakes have never been higher.

The session Mobility and Smart Infrastructure: Connecting Communities Through Regional Transportation brought together leaders who are shaping that future in real time. Moderated by Michael Skipper, Executive Director of the Greater Nashville Regional Council, the panel featured Sabrina Sussman of Choose How You Move, Preston Elliott of the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), and Catherine Withers of HNTB.

Together, they reflected on how far the region has come—and how much work still lies ahead.

Transportation as the Backbone of Regional Growth

Transportation has been a centerpiece of the Power of 10 Summit since its earliest days. Over nearly two decades, these convenings have helped spark major milestones: the launch of regional transit coalitions, the unveiling of long-range transportation plans, passage of the Improve Act in 2017, and more recently, the Transportation Modernization Act and Nashville’s voter-approved Choose How You Move referendum.

These moments matter because Middle Tennessee is growing fast—on pace to add millions of new residents in the coming decades. How we plan, fund, and deliver transportation now will shape whether that growth strengthens communities or strains them.

From Referendum to Reality: One Year of Choose How You Move

Just one year after voters approved Choose How You Move, Nashville has moved from vision to visible progress.

As Sabrina Sussman shared, the program went “from referendum to ribbon cutting in 365 days”—an unusually rapid timeline in the world of public infrastructure. In its first year:

• $163 million in capital funding has already been released.

• 86 miles of sidewalks are planned or underway, filling long-standing gaps in connectivity.

• Nearly 600 traffic signals—many untouched for decades—are being modernized to improve flow and safety.

• Bus service has expanded, with frequency improvements that make transit a more realistic option for everyday trips.

  
  

Safety runs through all of it, from street design to transit security. And while individual projects may seem modest on their own—an intersection here, a corridor there—they add up to something larger: a transportation system that gives people real choices in how they move.

State Tools, Regional Impact

At the state level, the Transportation Modernization Act has reshaped how TDOT approaches planning and delivery. Preston Elliott emphasized that the legislation did more than provide funding—it unlocked new tools.

The Act:

• Enables public-private partnerships and alternative project delivery.

• Introduces managed or “choice” lanes to better manage congestion and demand.

• Invests $3 billion in one-time funding, jumpstarting projects that would otherwise take decades to advance.

  
  

These tools are already being applied across the state, including major corridor efforts like I-24, I-65, and regional transit-supportive investments. Still, Elliott was clear-eyed: $3 billion is a kickstart, not a cure-all. Long-term needs far exceed current revenue, especially as fuel taxes stagnate and vehicles become more efficient.

Collaboration Is Not Optional

One message came through clearly: none of this works without coordination.

Many of Nashville’s most important corridors are state routes, meaning meaningful change requires close partnership between Metro, TDOT, and the legislature. For Choose How You Move to succeed—particularly along its all-access corridors—goals must be aligned around safety, capacity, and multimodal movement.

Panelists described ongoing collaboration not just at the project level, but organizationally: aligning staff, updating design guidance, and rethinking how corridors function as complete systems rather than isolated segments.

This kind of coordination is difficult, but essential—especially in a region where growth doesn’t stop at city or county lines.

Land Use, Infrastructure, and the Bigger Picture

Catherine Withers brought the conversation back to a foundational truth: transportation doesn’t exist in isolation.

Land use decisions—made locally—shape whether infrastructure investments are efficient or strained. Jobs and housing located near transit corridors reduce pressure on roadways and utilities. Underutilized properties offer opportunities to add capacity without expanding outward. And thoughtful planning today can avoid costly retrofits tomorrow.

Engineering firms, planners, advocates, and residents all have a role to play—from comprehensive plans to zoning hearings to community conversations that help people see change not as a threat, but as a chance to do better.

Persistent Challenges—and the Path Forward

Despite recent wins, major challenges remain:

• Funding gaps that grow as needs outpace revenue.

• Institutional capacity, as agencies and private partners scale up to deliver unprecedented levels of investment.

• Public trust, built one conversation—and one successful project—at a time.

  
  

Yet the panel also highlighted reasons for optimism. New technologies are helping agencies move from reactive to proactive management. Data, sensors, and smarter signals may not sound glamorous, but in a system untouched for decades, they can be transformative.

A Call to Engage—and to Build

The conversation closed with a clear call to action. Whether you’re a policymaker, practitioner, advocate, or someone looking for a way to contribute, this moment matters.

Regional transportation planning is underway, with a long-range vision stretching to 2050. Opportunities to engage are real—and needed. So is talent. As panelists emphasized, the scale of work ahead requires people who are willing to show up, learn, collaborate, and persist.

Transportation is not just about moving vehicles. It’s about connecting people to opportunity, communities to one another, and a growing region to a more resilient future. And in Middle Tennessee, that work is very much underway.