Road work, closures and trail detours in Germantown, updated weekly: city projects, TDOT routes, the SmartWay and TN511 link and who to call (901-757-7200).

Last checked Oct. 17, 2026. This page is refreshed every week. Facts come from the City of Germantown Streets and Drainage, Traffic Engineering and city news pages and the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

Before you drive: check TDOT’s SmartWay traffic map, which includes TN511, for crashes and lane closures on state routes. In Germantown, Poplar Avenue and Germantown Road are state routes maintained by TDOT; the city’s Public Works Department maintains every other public street, nearly 220 miles of them.

Who to call

Closed now

Western Greenway, closed from the Memphis side. Construction on the city’s Greenway Trail Improvement Project began Thursday, Aug. 6, according to the city’s announcement. A section of the western Greenway has been closed since May 2024 because the old boardwalk deteriorated, and trail users have been detouring on the narrow Beaver Loop Trail. Alexander Construction LLC is turning that route into a permanent 10-foot-wide asphalt trail with 2-foot shoulders under a $214,545 contract. The city said the work would take up to 120 days, weather permitting, which points to early December. Until then, enter the Greenway at the Poplar Estates Trailhead.

Cameron Brown Park pedestrian bridge. The city closed the bridge June 17 after an inspection found insect and environmental damage and noticeable shifting and bouncing, according to its notice. The city said it would announce a timeline once a replacement plan was set; it had not posted one on Oct. 17. Walkers and runners must turn around at the bridge.

No city street closure was posted on the city’s news page on Oct. 17.

State routes

TDOT lists Shelby County projects under its Region 4. The project list had no active project page for a road in Germantown on Oct. 17; the nearest listed Shelby County projects were in Memphis, including the Interstate 240 interchange at Airways Boulevard and Lamar Avenue. For short-term lane closures on Poplar Avenue, Germantown Road and State Route 385 (Bill Morris Parkway), check SmartWay on the day you travel.

Coming up: TDOT-funded city projects

On Oct. 12 the city asked engineering firms for proposals on three projects carrying TDOT project numbers, according to its Bid Opportunities page:

  • Resurfacing Wolf River Boulevard from Kimbrough Road east to the city limits
  • Intersection improvements at Poplar Avenue (State Route 57) and Poplar Pike / Chapel Woods Cove
  • An ITS and traffic signal master plan

Proposals are due Oct. 26, with recommendations to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen set for January. The solicitations are for professional services; no construction dates have been announced.

How the city manages its streets

  • Public Works crews resurface 8 to 10 miles of pavement a year and focus on preventive maintenance to limit potholes and cracking.
  • The Engineering Department runs 40 signalized intersections, most with sensors that adjust green lights to waiting traffic, plus school zone warning lights and two rapid flashing beacon crosswalks.
  • The city’s SmartStreets dashboard on the Traffic Engineering page combines TDOT SmartWay incidents, MLGW outages that knock out signals, and every railroad crossing with its crossing ID and the railroad’s emergency number for a long blockage.
  • Major road and intersection projects are often a joint effort of the city, Shelby County and the state.

Traffic calming on your street

The city’s Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program covers minor residential streets only. A homeowners group representing at least 10% of the owners on a street must ask in writing, and the street generally must carry at least 500 vehicles a day, have a posted limit of 35 mph or less and an 85th percentile speed at least 7 mph over the limit. The Traffic Engineering page has a speed and volume map to check first.

What is being built

The city’s interactive development map shows construction and development projects across Germantown, a good guide to where trucks and lane shifts are likely.

Related: getting around Germantown, parks and trails and power outages.

Frequently asked questions

Who maintains Poplar Avenue and Germantown Road?

The Tennessee Department of Transportation. The city says every other public street in Germantown, nearly 220 miles in all, is maintained by its Public Works Department.

How do I report a pothole in Germantown?

Report it online through the city’s service request portal or call 901-757-7200. Traffic signal problems go to the same number or engineering@germantown-tn.gov.

Is the Germantown Greenway closed?

Part of it. The western Greenway has been closed from the Memphis side since Aug. 6 while the old boardwalk route is rebuilt as a 10-foot asphalt trail; the city says enter from the Poplar Estates Trailhead.

Where can I check traffic and lane closures near Germantown?

TDOT’s SmartWay map, which includes TN511, shows incidents and lane closures on state routes, and the city’s Traffic Engineering page feeds that data into its own SmartStreets dashboard.