By SAM HATCHER

On today’s front page there is a story about the scheduled opening of the new five-lane portion of Highway 109.

This state route has become in recent years one of the county’s most important thoroughfares as it enables traffic to move from Sumner County and west Lebanon to I-40 and on south to State Route 840.

It’s not uncommon to see long lines of traffic jammed bumper to bumper in the early morning hours and late afternoon as commuters go to and from work maneuvering north and south on Hwy. 109.

Hopefully with the improvements and the highway’s opening in July these problems will be relieved.

In many respects this road is a principle artery to Wilson County’s already viable transportation system.

It serves to connect travelers to I-40 to SR 840 and from there on to I-24. Traveling north the route is convenient to I-65 through Sumner County.

While we tend to say this a lot, our transportation system in Wilson County is a major asset to our growth and prosperity for the future.

It’s because of this transportation system that we can boast that Wilson County is within a day’s drive of 75 percent of the population of the U.S.

And that’s something to hang our hat on and something for us all to brag about.