Tennessee State Route 56

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

State Route 56 is a 146-mile (235 km) highway that runs north to south in the middle of the state of Tennessee.

Starting at the northern border, TN-56 is considered a secondary road; at the Kentucky state line, it terminates with KY-63. From there it starts its southern journey through the small town of Red Boiling Springs and on to the town of Gainesboro in Jackson County. It there becomes a primary route and a division of the Tennessee Scenic Parkway system, and it proceeds south to U.S. Route 70 N just outside of Baxter in Putnam County.

Before Interstate 40 was built in the 1960s, TN-56 went directly through the town of Baxter and proceeded down what is now the Old Baxter Road to Silver Point and then to Smithville. After the interstate came through, a spur route was built to intersect with Exit 280 (the Baxter - Gainesboro exit) that bypasses Baxter. Also, the route from I-40 to Gainesboro is known to Upper Cumberland residents as part of the Corridor J project. At the junction of I-40 and TN-56, TN-56 accompanies I-40 west for 7 miles. At Exit 273 (Smithville - McMinnville exit) TN-56 proceeds south towards Smithville and then to McMinnville in Warren County. This stretch of road between I-40 and Smithville was notorious for terrible curves prior to the late 1970s, but it was rebuilt and is now considered a good route to follow. Some refer to this route as the I-40 to I-24 corridor. In McMinnville, drivers can travel west on State Route 55 to Manchester to reach I-24. Beyond McMinnville, TN-56 once again is considered a secondary route. It goes through Altamont, Tracey City, and then terminates in Monteagle, Tennessee at U.S. Route 41 and Interstate 24.