Interstate 24 in Tennessee
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| Interstate 24 Main route of the Interstate Highway System |
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| Maintained by Tennessee DOT | |||||||||
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| Length: | 180.16 mi (289.9394150400000 km) | ||||||||
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| Formed: | 1962-1978 | ||||||||
| West end: |  I-24 at Kentucky state line |
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| Major junctions: |
 I-65 in Nashville I-40 in Nashville I-440 in Nashville |
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| East end: |  I-75 at Chattanooga |
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In the U.S. state of Tennessee, Interstate 24 runs from Clarksville to Chattanooga by way of Nashville. Just west of Chattanooga, I-24 drops into Georgia for 4 miles (6 km).
One of the most notoriously hazardous stretches of Interstate highway in the United States is approximately 40 miles (64 km) west of Chattanooga on I-24 in Monteagle, where the highway goes over the Cumberland Plateau. Compared to grades elsewhere, Monteagle's 4 to 6% grade does not come close to the steepest highway roads (Interstate 40 between Nashville and Knoxville features 5% grades in each direction), but the slope is protracted over a distance of several miles. While all motorists need to exercise caution, truckers are particularly vexed by Monteagle, and many have died going through this area.[citation needed] The east bound lanes feature several runaway truck ramps where a truck whose brakes have failed due to overheating can exit into a long pit full of loose gravel to safely stop. This dangerous stretch of highway inspired Johnny Cash to write a song about Monteagle Mountain.
Another interesting tidbit about the Monteagle grade is that it sports one of the 3 widest medians of any Interstate highway. (The other 2 being I-8 through the In-Ko-Pah grade in California and I-84 through the Cabbage Hill grade east of Pendleton, Oregon.) There is more than a mile between the eastbound and westbound lanes at one point. The eastbound lanes descend the mountain on one side of a ridge, while the westbound lanes ascend on the other side of the ridge. Also of interest on Monteagle Mountain is the steep grade on I-24 north of Monteagle. This steep grade occurs for Westbound traffic and features a very sharp 45 MPH curve to the right while descending steeply at the same time. This downhill curve also features off-ramp approach style lane dividers, too, in order to tell motorists and truckers both to slow down.
Interstate 124 is an occasional (currently unsigned but still occasionally mentioned in DOT publications) designation of a portion of the US 27 freeway which runs as a spur into downtown Chattanooga and beyond.[1] Also in Chattanooga is the "Ridge Cut", a 1/4 mile section of Missionary Ridge, between the 4th Avenue exit and the Germantown/Belvoir exit. Accidents and severe congestion are common here.
[edit] Major cities
Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs.
[edit] Exit list
| County | Location | #[2] | Destinations | Notes | |
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| Montgomery | Clarksville | 1 |  SR-48 – Clarksville, Trenton |
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| 4 |  US-79 (SR 13) – Guthrie, Clarksville |
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| 8 |  SR-237 (Rossview Road) |
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| 11 |  SR-76 – Adams, Clarksville |
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| Robertson | Adams | 19 |  SR-256 (Maxey Road) – Adams |
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| Springfield | 24 |  SR-49 – Springfield, Ashland City |
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| Cheatham | Ashland City | 31 |  SR-249 (New Hope Road) |
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| Davidson | Nashville | 35 |  US-431 (SR 65) / Union Hill Road – Springfield, Joelton |
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| 40 |  SR-45 (Old Hickory Boulevard) |
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| 43 |  SR-155 (Briley Parkway) – Opryland |
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| 44B | I-65 north - Louisville |
West end of I-65 overlap | |||
| 87 | US-431 (Trinity Lane, SR 65) |
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| 46B | I-65 south to I-40 west – Memphis, Huntsville |
East end of I-65 overlap | |||
| 47 | Jefferson Street | ||||
| 47A |  To US-31E north (Ellington Parkway, SR 6) / Spring Street (US 41, US 431, SR 11) |
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| 48 | James Robertson Parkway (US 31, US 41, US 431, SR 6, SR 11) - State Capitol | ||||
| 49 | Shelby Avenue - LP Field | ||||
| 50B | I-40 west – Memphis |
West end of I-40 overlap, formerly the point where I-24, I-40, and I-65 met | |||
| 212 | Hermitage Avenue (US 70, SR 24) | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |||
| 212 | Fesslers Lane | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |||
| 52B | I-40 east – Knoxville |
East end of I-40 overlap | |||
| 52 |  US-41 (Murfreesboro Road, US 70S, SR 1) |
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| 53 | I-440 west – Memphis |
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| 54 |  SR-155 (Briley Parkway) |
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| 56 |  SR-255 (Harding Place) |
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| 57 | Haywood Lane - Antioch | Signed as exits 57A (west) and 57B (east) eastbound | |||
| 59 |  SR-254 (Bell Road) |
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| 60 | Hickory Hollow Parkway | ||||
| 62 |  SR-171 (Old Hickory Boulevard) |
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| Rutherford | La Vergne | 64 | Waldron Road - La Vergne | ||
| Smyrna | 66 |  SR-266 east (Sam Ridley Parkway) – Smyrna |
Signed as exits 66A (west) and 66B (east) eastbound | ||
| 70 |  SR-102 (Lee Victory Parkway, Almaville Road) – Smyrna |
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| Murfreesboro | 74 |  SR-840 – Franklin, Lebanon, Knoxville |
Signed as exits 74A (west) and 74B (east) | ||
| 76 | Manson Pike, Medical Center Parkway | ||||
| 78 |  SR-96 – Franklin, Murfreesboro |
Signed as exits 78A (west) and 78B (east) | |||
| 80 |  SR-99 – Murfreesboro |
Under construction and expected to open by 6/1/2008[3] | |||
| 81 |  US-231 (SR 10) – Shelbyville, Murfreesboro |
Signed as exits 81A (south) and 81B (north) eastbound | |||
| 84 | Joe B. Jackson Parkway | Signed as exits 84A (south) and 84B (north) eastbound | |||
| 89 | Buchanan Road | ||||
| Bedford | Beechgrove | No interchanges in Bedford County | |||
| Coffee | Manchester | 97 |   SR-64 (Beechgrove Road) – Shelbyville |
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| 105 | US-41 (SR 2) – Manchester |
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| 110 |   SR-53 – Manchester, Woodbury |
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| 112 |  SR-55 – Manchester, McMinnville |
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| 114 | US-41 (SR 2) – Manchester |
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| 117 | U.S. Air Force Arnold Center, Tullahoma | ||||
| Grundy | Pelham | 127 |    US-64 west / SR-50 – Pelham, Winchester |
West end of US 64 overlap | |
| Marion | Monteagle | 134 |  US-41A (SR 15) – Monteagle, Sewanee |
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| 135 | To US-41 north (SR 2 west) – Monteagle, Tracy City |
West end of SR 2 overlap | |||
| The eastbound and westbound lanes split apart for up to two miles while on the south side of Monteagle Mountain | |||||
| Kimball | 143 | Martin Springs Road (SR 2 east) | East end of SR 2 overlap | ||
| 152 |  US-64 east / US-72 (SR 27 west, SR 150) to US-41 – Kimball, South Pittsburg |
East end of US 64 overlap; west end of SR 27 overlap | |||
| Jasper | 155 |  SR-28 – Jasper, Dunlap |
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| 158 |  SR-27 east – Nickajack Dam, Powells Crossroads |
East end of SR 27 overlap | |||
| Bridge over Nickajack Lake | |||||
| 161 |  SR-156 – Haletown, New Hope |
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| See Interstate 24 in Georgia' | |||||
| Hamilton | Chattanooga | 174 |  US-41 / US-64 (US 72, SR 2) to US-11 – Lookout Valley, Lookout Mountain |
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| 175 | Browns Ferry Road, Mountain View Drive - Lookout Mountain | ||||
| 178 |   US-27 north / I-124 north (unsigned) Downtown Chattanooga |
West end of US 27 overlap | |||
| 178 | US-11 / US-41 / US-64 (Broad Street, US 72, SR 2) – Lookout Mountain |
Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |||
| 178 |  SR-58 (Market Street) to US-41 – Lookout Mountain |
Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |||
| 180 |  US-27 south (Rossville Boulevard, SR 27) to SR-8 north / Central Avenue |
East end of US 27 overlap; signed as exits 180A (north) and 180B (south) | |||
| 181 | 4th Avenue | ||||
| 181A | US-41 south (US 76 east, SR 8 south) – East Ridge |
Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |||
| I-24 climbs Missionary Ridge | |||||
| 183 | Germantown Road, Belvoir Avenue | ||||
| 184 | Moore Road | ||||
| 185 |  I-75 / US-74 east - Atlanta, Knoxville |
Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; signed as exits 185A (south) and 185B (north) | |||
[edit] References
| Interstate 24 |
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| Previous state: Kentucky |
Tennessee | Next state: Georgia |
| Previous state: Georgia |
Next state: Terminus |
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