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Concert goers navigate traffic nightmare during FirstBank Amphitheater opening night

Posted at 10:50 PM, Aug 04, 2021
and last updated 2021-08-04 23:50:06-04

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WTVF) — What will tomorrow night look like near the new FirstBank Amphitheater in Franklin?

That's what neighbors and a whole lot of ticket holders want to know after a traffic nightmare at the amphitheater's first-ever show Tuesday night.

Video shows traffic backups for miles around the venue with people driving into and out of the new Firstbank Amphitheater in Franklin to see Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett, Marin Morris and others.

To make matters worse, Cody Buford says during the backup, several popular GPS apps were routing drivers on a road right through his grandfather's privately owned farm.

"For some reason, Google and Waze apps have determined this is a public road and it's a cut-through for anyone that wants to use it," Buford said.

Rick Mceachern, the FirstBank Amphitheater owner, says they've been in meetings since 2 a.m. Wednesday to figure out a new set of plans to get people in and out faster, ahead of shows continuing Thursday.

"Of course its our number one priority to fix this problem and fix it right away," Mceachern said. "We've been talking to authorities in town and in the county to make sure the best minds are on this and we have cooperation all up and down to make sure we can figure out how to make this better next time."

The owners say traffic studies show the roads can support the amount of traffic that's expected to turn out for these shows. Neighbors just hope those changes can be in place as soon as possible, so this kind of thing doesn't happen again.