Impaired and/or aggressive drivers will be the focus of enhanced traffic enforcement throughout Nashville during the Fourth of July holiday.
Thirteen officers paid through a grant from the Governor’s Highway Safety Office, will work the special enforcement program. Those officers will complement the seven-member DUI squad, crash investigations, and other officers in watching for impaired drivers and those not wearing seatbelts. They will focus attention on the interstate system and roads leading to and from area lakes and marinas.
Locations targeted for sobriety checkpoints on the Fourth of July include Harding Place near McGavock Pike and on Natchez Trace near West End Avenue.
Citizens coming downtown for the Riverfront Park festival and fireworks show on Wednesday are urged to arrive early and seek legal parking on city streets or in downtown parking lots.
Festivities begin at 11 a.m., with the main stage concert beginning at 7:30 p.m., followed by the fireworks display at 9:30 p.m. More than 100 police officers will be working in the downtown area in shifts to keep people safe and traffic moving.
Titans Way and Victory Drive will be closed Sunday at 9 a.m. in preparation for the festival. Street closures continue Monday and Tuesday with the closing of 1st Avenue between Broadway and Church Street from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. to allow for set-up.
The following downtown streets will be closed beginning Wednesday at 6 a.m. through the early morning hours of July 5:
1st and 2nd Avenues between Demonbreun and Church Streets
Broadway from 3rd Avenue to Riverfront Park
The Gay Street Connector will close to vehicular traffic at 4 p.m.
The Woodland Street Bridge will close at 8:45 p.m. and the Gateway Bridge will close at 9:15 p.m. Both bridges will be open to pedestrians only until 10:15 p.m.
Motorists are prohibited from stopping vehicles on the shoulders of the interstate to watch the fireworks display. Those who stop on the interstate without a legitimate reason are subject to being ticketed. Cars left unattended on the interstate will be ticketed and towed.
The police department reminds Nashvillians that it is illegal to sell at retail, possess and/or use fireworks in Davidson County. A private act passed by the state legislature in 1947 makes fireworks offenses within Davidson County a misdemeanor, and also allows officers to confiscate fireworks. Large-scale fireworks displays held for public entertainment are exempt from the law and require a permit from the Metropolitan Fire Marshal.
Officers will take use of fireworks complaints in neighborhoods and congested areas very seriously, especially during the late evening and early morning hours.
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