Interstate 240 (Tennessee)

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Interstate 240
Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System

Length:

19.27 mi (31.0 km)

West end:

Interstate 40, Memphis, Tennessee

East end:

Interstate 40, Memphis, Tennessee

Interstate 240 (abbreviated I-240) is an Interstate highway in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Running 19.27 miles or 31.0km, it loops southward from Interstate 40 in east Memphis, then turning west at TN 385 (Bill Morris Parkway). At I-55, the highway turns north and runs through midtown to end at I-40.

I-240 was first planned circa 1955, but it was to have been a 30.8 mile or 49.6km beltway to completely encircle midtown Memphis, with the exception of the segment between Interstates 40 and 55, which was proposed as Interstate 255. Later, that number was decommissioned in favor of I-240 running in a full loop, with I-40 running from downtown to east Memphis. However, in 1957 citizens collected 10,000 signatures protesting the route, which cut through Overton Park in midtown. The controversy lasted until the 1970s, when the Supreme Court ruled that the Overton Park route be canceled, shifting I-40 onto the northern leg of I-240. Part of the proposed I-40 route was already built -- from N. Highland St. east to the I-40/240 junction. The road is now called Sam Cooper Boulevard, and is owned by the city. Recently, the City of Memphis built an extension to the former I-40 section of Sam Cooper Blvd. This extension runs west from N. Tillman St. (the former entry/end point for Sam Cooper Boulevard) as a limited access parkway to East Parkway N. (a former exit for the proposed "Overton Park route").

The interstates were duplexed around the northern bypass of Memphis for many years, but I-240 signs were later removed from the northern leg for reasons of redundancy. (The exit numbers for I-240 -- the exception being exits 1A-1C, which were changed to 1E-1G -- remain, causing redundancy on I-40 exits 1, 1A-G, 12, and 12A-C.)

I-240 has seen much reconstruction over the past decade, as area growth has demanded increased capacity. Both interchanges with I-40 are currently under reconstruction due to the amount of traffic taking I-40 through Memphis.

[edit] Exit list

This includes the northern loop, which is now only I-40.

#	Destinations	Notes
1E	Interstate 40 west - Little Rock, AR	exit 31B northbound
1F-G	State Route 14 - Jackson Avenue	split into 1F and 1G
2	Chelsea Avenue; Smith Avenue
2A	U.S. Highway 51 - Millington (State Route 300 to State Route 3)
3	Watkins Street
5	Hollywood Street
6	Warford Street
8	State Route 14 - Jackson Avenue; Austin Peay Highway	split into 8A and 8B westbound
10	State Route 204 - Covington Pike
12A	U.S. Highway 64; U.S. Highway 70; U.S. Highway 79 - White Station Road; Summer Avenue (State Route 1)
12B	Sam Cooper Boulevard
12C	Interstate 40 east - Nashville
13	Walnut Grove Road (State Route 23)
15	U.S. Highway 72 - Poplar Avenue; Germantown (State Route 57)	split into 15A and 15B northbound
16	State Route 385 east
17	Mount Moriah Road
18	Perkins Road
20	Getwell Road (State Route 176)
21	U.S. Highway 78 - Lamar Avenue; Birmingham, AL (State Route 4)
23	Airways Boulevard - International Airport	split into 23A and 23B
24	Millbranch Road; Nonconnah Boulevard
25A	Interstate 55 south - Jackson, MS
25B	Interstate 55 north - St. Louis, MO
26	Norris Road
28	South Parkway	split into 28A and 28B
29	Lamar Avenue; Crump Boulevard (U.S. Highway 78; State Route 4)
30	Union Avenue (U.S. Highway 51; U.S. Highway 64; U.S. Highway 70; U.S. Highway 79; State Route 3)	northbound exit and southbound entrance
30	Madison Avenue	southbound exit and northbound entrance

	edit Auxiliary routes of Interstate 40
I-140	Tennessee - North Carolina
I-240	Tennessee - North Carolina - Oklahoma
I-440	Tennessee - North Carolina - Arkansas
I-540	Arkansas - North Carolina
I-640	Tennessee
I-840	North Carolina