| Fountainhead Control Rooms

As Nashville’s population and tourism have surged, so have congestion, unreliable travel times, and safety concerns on high‑injury corridors like Clarksville Pike and Nolensville Pike. Long bus rides, difficult transfers, and unsafe crossings made it clear that timing‑plan‑only operations were no longer enough. NDOT needed a central place to see the entire network in real time and actively manage it for safety, reliability, and multimodal performance.

In 2024, NDOT opened its first Traffic Management Center, giving staff a central place to see Nashville’s transportation network in real time and actively manage it for safety, reliability, and multimodal performance. Fountainhead Control Rooms delivered the turnkey control room from concept to completion, designing the layout, operator consoles, and visualization systems so the space can scale with Nashville's smart signal and safety programs.

NDOT Traffic Management Center – At a Glance

Agency: Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure (NDOT)

Role: Central hub for traffic signal operations, incident management, and multimodal safety across Metro Nashville and Davidson County

Opened: 2024, at NDOT’s centralized operations facility

Control room partner: Fountainhead Control Rooms, turnkey design‑build including layout, consoles, and visualization systems

Core focus areas: Smart signals, proactive safety, multimodal reliability, and data‑driven operations aligned with Nashville’s Vision Zero and “Choose How You Move” initiatives

The TMC gives NDOT staff a consolidated environment to monitor signals, traffic conditions, and incidents across Metro Nashville, with the room sized to support multiple operators and partner agencies as the system scales.

Why Nashville Needed a Traffic Management Center

Nashville’s rapid growth created recurring congestion, unpredictable travel times, and safety issues on key corridors that serve both high‑frequency transit and vulnerable road users. Traditional, time‑of‑day timing plans and distributed field operations could not keep up with changing conditions driven by events, construction, and land‑use change.

NDOT’s leadership identified three core needs:

A single operational picture of the network, from downtown to suburban arterials
Tools to actively manage signals and corridors in real time, not just re‑time them every few years
Better safety intelligence for people walking, biking, and riding transit, beyond what crash reports could show

The new TMC answers those needs by bringing together operators, engineers, and partner agencies in one purpose‑built control environment designed for continuous operations.

Smart Signals and Real‑Time Operations

From the TMC, NDOT is rolling out a seven‑year program to upgrade roughly 600 signals to smart, centrally managed infrastructure supported by “Choose How You Move” and federal grants. Smart signals allow operators to view conditions, adjust timing and coordination, and support transit priority based on real‑time demand.

The first smart‑signal deployment on Clarksville Pike focuses on improving safety and reliability on a high‑injury, transit‑rich corridor in North Nashville. TMC staff coordinate with field crews, first responders, and partner agencies to manage incidents and work zones so travelers see fewer surprises and smoother flow.

LiDAR, AI, and Safer Intersections in North Nashville

NDOT and Vanderbilt University are using LiDAR and AI at seven intersections in North Nashville to detect dangerous behavior before it becomes a crash. The work is supported by a 10-million-dollar U.S. DOT SMART grant focused on safety and multimodal performance.

LiDAR‑based sensing creates anonymized trajectories of vehicles, buses, and pedestrians, allowing NDOT to see near‑misses and conflict patterns that traditional crash data can miss. These insights guide safety countermeasures and signal strategies along high‑injury corridors, tying advanced analytics directly to real‑world intersection changes.

Choose How You Move: Funding the Vision

The Traffic Management Center and smart‑signal program are anchored in Nashville’s “Choose How You Move” initiative, which funds more than 100 million dollars in transportation improvements through a local sales‑tax increase.

To deliver the TMC and its supporting technology, NDOT combined local and federal funding sources:

Local “Choose How You Move” initiative funding for capital and operations
Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds to develop the fully functional TMC
Two federal SMART grants totaling 12 million dollars for LiDAR, AI, and multimodal safety work

This blended approach created a sustainable funding model that links smart‑city technology to a long‑term transportation investment program.

Control Room Design by Fountainhead

Fountainhead Control Rooms delivered the NDOT Traffic Management Center as a turnkey control room furniture and technology solution, leading the project from concept to reality.

Fountainhead designed the control room layout, operator consoles, and large‑format visualization so operators can quickly interpret data and coordinate responses from a shared operational picture.
The room is configured to support multiple operators and partner agencies, giving NDOT space to expand as more signals, corridors, and data sources come online.

Results at a Glance

Centralized visibility: One environment now covers signals, incidents, and traffic conditions across Metro Nashville.
600 signals, seven years: Smart‑signal upgrades are underway, with Clarksville Pike as the first real‑time deployment.
Proactive safety detection: LiDAR and AI at seven intersections help identify near‑misses and conflict patterns before they become crashes.
Scalable from day one: The Fountainhead‑designed control room is configured to grow with NDOT’s smart mobility program.

Replicable funding model: Nashville combined local initiative funding, CMAQ, and SMART grants to finance the TMC and associated technology.

What’s Next

NDOT continues to connect more intersections, corridors, and data sources into the Traffic Management Center as part of its broader smart mobility and safety strategy. In fall 2025, NDOT completed a rollout of more than 1,000 new cabinet locks to secure signal cabinets, Intelligent Transportation System boxes, and other infrastructure that supports critical traffic operations. As the system grows, Nashville’s TMC offers a scalable model for transportation leaders looking to turn smart‑city concepts into day‑to‑day operations.