Transportation Assets Make Rutherford a Distribution Mainstay
With its access to major interstates and a network of highways that put it within a day's drive of 75 percent of U.S. markets, Rutherford County is a prime location for warehousing, distribution and logistics operations.
With its access to major interstates and a network of highways that put it within a day’s drive of 75 percent of U.S. markets, Rutherford County is a prime location for warehousing, distribution and logistics operations.
Interstate 24 cuts through the center of the county, providing a major link to markets in the Southeast and Midwest. The four-lane limited access highway State Route 840 provides a quick connection to east-west route I-40 and north-south route I-65.
More than 140 carriers and 150 terminals serve the region, offering trucks with refrigeration, tank and heavy hauling, hazardous waste and flatbed capabilities. Sixteen freight carriers serve Rutherford County directly, with 16 terminals in Smyrna, La Vergne and Murfreesboro.
CSX Transportation, the nation’s largest transportation and natural resources company, provides Tier I rail service to the county, with access to piggyback and container services located just a few miles away in Nashville. CSX’s rail system covers a major portion of the eastern United States and links 20 states.
The county is adjacent to Nashville and a short drive from Nashville International Airport, which offers 375 daily flights to 74 cities and handles nearly 10 million passengers a year.
A major transportation asset for the county is the Smyrna/Rutherford County Airport Authority, which offers a number of services for private aviation, more than 60 acres of ramp space, access to charter services and 22 hangars for commercial and corporate aircraft.
Since 1991, more than $22 million has been spent on infrastructure improvements at the airport, which is jointly owned by Smyrna and Rutherford County and governed by the Smyrna/Rutherford County Airport Authority.
The airport, which has 5,500-foot and 8,000-foot runways, is also home to a number of flight training operators. Operations for aircraft structural repair, avionics work, and airframe and power plant maintenance for single engine rotorcraft to large transport jets are also housed there. Facilities include a 15,000-square-foot terminal and business center with public access areas, a pilots lounge and scheduling area, weather center, Internet access locations and multi-use conference facilities.
Located on 1,700 acres, the airport is the third-largest of the state’s 78 general aviation airports and the busiest general aviation facility in Tennessee in terms of flight traffic. A key component of the airport is the 400-acre Smyrna Airport Business Park, which has nearly three dozen tenants that include aviation-related businesses, corporate headquarters and manufacturers. Tenants are able to take advantage of the airport’s proximity to major interstates and availability of sites that include direct runway access. One of the newer tenants is Franke Foodservice System, which built a $25 million headquarters and distribution operation at the park.
