Interstate 40

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Interstate 40
Primary route of the Interstate Highway System
Length: 2555.10 mi[1] (4112.03 km)
West end: I-15 in Barstow, CA
Major
junctions:		 I-25 in Albuquerque, NM
I-35 in Oklahoma City, OK
I-30 in North Little Rock, AR
I-55 in West Memphis, AR
I-65 in Nashville, TN
I-75 in Knoxville, TN
I-85 in Greensboro, NC
I-95 in Benson, NC
East end: US 117/NC 132 in Wilmington, NC

Interstate 40 (abbreviated I-40) is a major west-east interstate highway in the United States. Its western terminus is at Interstate 15 in Barstow, California; its eastern terminus is at a concurrency of U.S. Route 117 and North Carolina Highway 132 in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Much of the western portion of I-40, from Oklahoma City to Barstow, parallels historic Route 66.

Contents

[edit] Route description

[edit] California

[edit] State law

Legal Definition of Route 40: California Streets and Highways Code, Chapter 2, Article 3, Section 340

 Route 40 is part of the Scenic Highway System, as stated by section 263.4 of the California State Highway Code.

[edit] Length

In West Memphis, Arkansas, Interstate 40 is credited as a Blue Star Memorial Highway.
Enlarge
In West Memphis, Arkansas, Interstate 40 is credited as a Blue Star Memorial Highway.
Miles km state
155 249 California
359 578 Arizona
373 600 New Mexico
177 285 Texas
331 533 Oklahoma
284 457 Arkansas
455 733 Tennessee
420 675 North Carolina
2,554 4,110 Total

[edit] Control cities

Officially-designated control cities for signs.

Note: Los Angeles, California is also used as a control city west of the New Mexico-Arizona state line, even though I-40 does not enter Los Angeles, and neither does the interstate at its western terminus (I-15)

[edit] Intersections with other interstates

Interstate 40
Enlarge
Interstate 40

[edit] Auxillary routes

 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

[edit] Business routes

Note: Links with italics are routes that have been decommissioned.[3]

[edit] Notes

  • In Memphis, I-40 was originally intended to go through the city's Overton Park toward downtown. Several miles of interstate were actually built within the I-240 loop; this portion of highway still exists and is in regular use as Sam Cooper Boulevard, reaching the eastern end of Chickasaw Country Club. Environmentalist opposition, combined with a victory in the United States Supreme Court by opponents of the Overton Park route (see Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe) forced abandonment of the original plans, and the road never reached the park. For over 20 years, I-40 signage existed on the dead-end route toward Overton Park. Eventually, the northern portion of the I-240 loop was redesignated as I-40.
  • In North Carolina, I-40 merges with I-85 between Greensboro and Hillsborough, just west of Durham. In Alamance County, the highway is also known as the Sam Hunt Freeway. Due to a recent rerouting of I-85 around Greensboro, I-40 departs from it eight miles (13 km) east of the original split. However, I-40 will be moved to a new alignment south of Greensboro, which currently carries the new I-85 bypass and will eventually carry Interstate 73 as well. The existing I-40 through Greensboro will become a second I-40 freeway Business Loop once the new alignment is finished by 2007. The concurrency with I-85 will be extended another 12 miles (19 km) on this new alignment.
  • In Oklahoma City, the designation I-440 had been given to a stretch of Interstate highway from I-240 to US-66; a part of Grand Boulevard that had been built compliant with Interstate standards. In 1982, as part of Oklahoma's "Diamond Jubilee", I-44's western terminus was moved from the I-35/I-44 junction to the Texas/Oklahoma border via the Belle Isle Freeway (connecting I-440 with I-35), I-440, the H.E. Bailey Turnpike, and the turnpike connector road on the eastern edge of Lawton, Oklahoma. The I-440 designation was dropped at the time, but may return in the future.
  • In Albuquerque, New Mexico, I-40 was originally meant to replace Central Avenue through the center of the city. However, due to development and public opposition, a path going northward was chosen. The freeway intersects Central at either end of the city.
  • An at-grade intersection on Interstate 40, as of 2003.
    Enlarge
    An at-grade intersection on Interstate 40, as of 2003.
    In violation of Interstate standards, I-40 has one marked and two unmarked at-grade crossings in western North Carolina. About eight miles (13 km) from the Tennessee border in North Carolina, when going westbound, a sign for "Hurricane Road" will appear. Hurricane Road is a local dirt road whose quality is below that of the breakdown lane, and the intersection is controlled by a stop sign. It is a right-in, right-out entrance. A couple other unmarked local roads also directly link onto I-40 in the area, including a private access road for Walters Dam between mile markers 11 and 12 on the westbound side. In the west Texas panhandle area and New Mexico, there are several ranch roads connected directly to the interstate. One of the marked at-grade crossings is shown in the picture. Satellite photo of an at-grade crossing in New Mexico.
  • When the last portion of I-40, connecting Wilmington to Raleigh, was completed in the late 1980s, Charles Kuralt stated, "Thanks to the interstate highway system, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything."[6]
  • In 2008, a section of I-40 through downtown Knoxville near the Malfunction Junction will be completely closed to all traffic for about 18 months for a massive reconstruction. Through traffic will be required to use Interstate 640 or be funnelled onto surface streets. The section is currently 4 lanes wide and quite substandard and congested, with many accidents.[7]

[edit] Appearances in pop culture

  • I-40 and its replacement of Route 66 are prominently featured in the Disney/Pixar movie Cars.
  • In an episode of Three's Company, Jack pretends to know how to ski. When about to leave the lodge, he asks Janet what the drop is like. After explaining, he inquires, "What happens if I don't make the turn?"
    Janet replies, "You hit Interstate 40 at 100 MPH"
    Jack then says, "I'm in trouble."
    "I know-- that's a 55-MPH zone."

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Route Log - Main Routes of the Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways - Table 1
  2. ^ Strategic Highway Corridors Vision Plan Triangle Area (PDF). Retrieved on March 31, 2006. See Note 2 on map regarding renumbering current I-540 as I-640.
  3. ^ Interstate Guide - Business 40 Routes
  4. ^ Kirby, J.P. et al. misc.transport.road FAQ. URL accessed 21:00, 18 February 2006 (UTC).
  5. ^ Waller, Jeff. Interstate 40 Extension and Bakersfield Freeway Network. California Streets. URL accessed 21:19, 18 February 2006 (UTC).
  6. ^ Wilson, Amy. U.S. Route 66: Historic Road Is Time Line of America. National Geographic News. January 18, 2002. URL accessed 21:31, 18 February 2006 (UTC).
  7. ^ http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/smartfix/jwp/

[edit] External links

 Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[edit] Arizona

[edit] California


edit
Main Interstate Highways (multiples of 5 in pink)		 Interstate Highway marker
4 5 8 10 12 15 16 17 19 20 22 24 25 26 27 29 30
35 37 39 40 43 44 45 49 55 57 59 64 65 66 66 (W) 68
69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 (W) 76 (E) 77 78 79 80 81 82
83 84 (W) 84 (E) 85 86 (W) 86 (E) 87 88 (W) 88 (E) 89 90
91 93 94 95 96 97 99 (238) H-1 H-2 H-3
Unsigned  A-1 A-2 A-3 A-4 PRI-1 PRI-2 PRI-3
Lists  Main - Auxiliary - Suffixed - Business - Proposed - Unsigned
Gaps - Intrastate - Interstate standards - Replaced
Browse numbered routes
< SR 39 CA SR 41 >
< SH-39 OK SH-40A >
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