Interstate 55 in Tennessee

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Interstate 55
Primary route of the Interstate Highway System

Length:

12 mi (19 km)

South end:

I-55 / I-69 at Mississippi line

Major
junctions:

I-69 north / I-240 in Memphis, Tennessee

North end:

I-55 at Arkansas line

Tennessee State Routes
< SR-55		SR-56 >

Interstate 55 in Tennessee lies entirely within the city of Memphis, located in Shelby County. The highway enters the city from Southaven in Desoto County, Mississippi and passes through the Whitehaven area of the city, bypassing Memphis International Airport to the west.

At Interstate 240, I-55 turns westward for a brief period before turning northward again. Just before reaching downtown, the highway turns westward again at E.H. Crump Boulevard and crosses the Mississippi River via the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge into West Memphis, in Crittenden County, Arkansas.

I-55 provides an alternate route for motorists who do not want to take Interstates 240 and 40 through downtown to cross the Mississippi River.

On January 18, 2008, the Federal Highway Administration authorized the states of Mississippi and Tennessee to extend I-69 from the I-40/TN 300 interchange in north Memphis to the I-55/I-69 interchange in Hernando; however, Tennessee has not yet signed the extension of the route, although Mississippi has already done so.^[1]

[edit] Exit list

The entire route is in Memphis, Shelby County.

#	Destinations	Notes
2	SR-175 (Shelby Drive) – Whitehaven, Capleville	Signed as exits 2A (east) and 2B (west) southbound
5A	US-51 (Elvis Presley Boulevard, SR 3) / Brooks Road – Graceland	Signed as exits 5A (Brooks Road) and 5B (US 51 south)
6A	I-240 east – Nashville
6B	I-69 north / I-240 west - Little Rock, Arkansas
	End concurrency
7	US-61 (3rd Street, SR 14) - Vicksburg, Mississippi
8	Horn Lake Road	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
9	Mallory Avenue
10	South Parkway
11	McLemore Avenue - Presidents Island
12A	US-61 south / US-64 east / US-70 east / US-79 east (Crump Boulevard, SR 1 east)	South end of US 61/US 64/US 70/US 79 overlap
12B	Riverside Drive - Downtown
13	Metal Museum Drive	Serves the National Ornamental Metal Museum
Memphis-Arkansas Bridge over the Mississippi River