2007 TOP 10 STORIES OF THE YEAR-7. Construction begins on Woodbury 4-lane

Construction on the much-discussed, and much-desired, four-lane highway to Woodbury is currently under way, though only the first phase of the project, a 1.1-mile stretch to Spring Valley Road, has been funded.

And now, after more than two decades of discussion and planning, drawing support from officials like Jerry Cooper, Congressman Lincoln Davis and Gov. Phil Bredesen, the fate of the rest of the 20-mile highway project is uncertain, with future plans snared in a tangle of federal and state funding that seems to be vanishing.

Where did the money go? Some pundits blame the ever-escalating cost of the war in Iraq for the loss of federal highway funding. But whatever the reason, the fact remains that federal highway dollars are no longer being awarded at a high rate of speed.

This funding traffic jam has left some Warren County officials scratching their heads at the possible termination of what at one point appeared to be a done deal. The project received $9.2 million in federal dollars in 2005 to fund current construction, but there’s no sign of any more money to come.

‘We may end up with a very expensive little stub of a highway,’ said then-County Commissioner Bill Zechman earlier this year, noting how important finishing the four-lane is to highway safety.

It is not known when the Department of Transportation might receive the funds necessary to continue the project after current construction to Spring Valley Road is complete.