Tennessee State Route 386

Western terminus of SR 386 on I-65 northbound

SR 386 begins at a two-way partial Y interchange with Interstate 65 (I-65) in Davidson County north of Nashville. The route is only accessible from I-65 northbound, and I-65 northbound is not directly accessible from SR 386 westbound. The route begins with a 70-mile-per-hour (110 km/h) speed limit in Davidson County, which reduces to 65 mph (105 km/h) upon entering Sumner County less than a mile (1.6 km) later. About two miles (3.2 km) later the route has a trumpet interchange with a connector to US 31E, signed as US 31E. The route then curves slightly to the southeast and enters the central part of Hendersonville and has interchanges with SR 258 (New Shackle Island Road), Indian Lake Boulevard, and Saundersville Road, before coming to a partial y interchange with US 31E in what was originally the eastern terminus of the route. As a result, SR 386 curves sharply to the north, crossing US 31E and a CSX railroad again, and curves to the northeast again, and enters a mix of an urban and rural area, coming to an interchange with Big Station Camp Boulevard about three miles (4.8 km) later. SR 386 then has an interchange with Green Lea Boulevard, and about 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) later it reaches an at-grade intersection with SR 174, where SR 386 runs concurrently with SR 174. The road becomes an undivided four-lane highway. The route continues east into Gallatin, and about a mile later connects to SR 109 via an interchange, where SR 386 becomes unsigned. SR 174/SR 386 then becomes two lanes as it passes through several neighborhoods before coming to a y-intersection and running concurrently with SR 25. The road continues to the western edge of downtown, where SR 386 intersects with US 31E/SR 6.

The route that is now SR 386 was originally proposed to provide more convenient means of transportation to Nashville for residents of Hendersonville, which had grown significantly in the 1960s and 1970s. The Hendersonville Transportation Study of 1978 listed 35 priority projects with the section through Hendersonville as number 1 and the connection to I-65 as number 2. A 1980 transportation study conducted for Nashville and Davidson County initiated the project.[1]

Construction began on the first section, located in Hendersonville, in March 1981.[2] This section, located between SR 258 (New Shackle Island Road) and US 31E, was completed in 1983, and the section between the US 31E connector and SR 258 was completed in 1987. These sections were initially referred to as the Hendersonville Bypass. Construction began on the extension to I-65 in 1988. The segment between Two Mile Pike and Conference Drive was opened on April 5, 1990,[3] and the final leg of the original bypass was opened to traffic on October 4, 1990.[4]

Beginning in 2003, the highway was extended east to Gallatin in two separate projects after that city experienced further growth and transportation needs.[5] This was completed on June 15, 2007.[6]

In 2010 TDOT began studying the possibility of extending the route further east into Gallatin.[7] Also that year the speed limit was reduced from 70 to 65 mph in Sumner County and warning signs were installed around the curve near US 31E in an effort to improve safety on the highway that had developed a high rate of traffic accidents.[8] Early into the route's history it began to experience congestion problems during rush hour. Future plans including widening the highway to six lanes.[9]

On December 1, 2011, a 176 vehicle pileup on SR 386 near the easternmost exit with US 31E resulted in two deaths and 16 injuries.[10] Dense fog and black ice were believed to have contributed to the cause of the accident.[11]

In 1987, SR 386 was renamed the Vietnam Veterans Boulevard after the efforts of the Sumner County chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America.[12] In 2012 the chapter worked with the Tennessee General Assembly to install signs along the highway, located each about a half mile apart, that list the names of the 25 Sumner County residents who died in the Vietnam War.[13]