Interstate 24 in Tennessee

Interstate 24
Route information
Maintained by Tennessee DOT and Georgia DOT
Length:	184.26 mi[1][2] (296.54 km) 180.16 located in TN, 4.10 mi. located in GA
Existed:	1962-1978 – present
Major junctions
West end:	I-24 at Kentucky state line
	I-65 in Nashville I-40 in Nashville I-440 in Nashville I-59 in Wildwood, GA
East end:	I-75 in East Ridge
Location
Counties:	Montgomery, Robertson, Cheatham, Davidson, Rutherford, Bedford, Coffee, Grundy, Marion, Dade (GA), Hamilton
Highway system
Main route of the Interstate Highway System Main • Auxiliary • Business Tennessee State Routes Interstate • US ← SR-23 SR-24 → ← SR 23 SR 24 → ← SR 408 SR 410 →

In the U.S. state of Tennessee, Interstate 24 (I-24) runs from Clarksville to Chattanooga via Nashville. Just west of Chattanooga, I-24 drops into Georgia's Dade County for 4.10 miles (6.60 km) before reentering Tennessee.^[2]

In Georgia, mileage and exit numbers for I-24 are a continuation of Tennessee's numbering scheme. It is also designated, but not signed as, State Route 409. The portion east of Interstate 59 runs along the U.S. Route 11 corridor.

Contents 1 Route description 2 History 3 Exit list 4 References

Route description

One of the more hazardous stretches of Interstate highway in the United States is located approximately 40 miles (64 km) west of Chattanooga on I-24 in Monteagle, where the highway crosses the Cumberland Plateau. Compared to grades elsewhere, Monteagle's 4–6% grade does not come close to the steepest (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. As runaway trucks had been a regular and deadly occurrence, in part of the failure or inability of truckers to slow down to the 35 mph (56 km/h) truck speed limit once on the slope, the eastbound lanes were rebuilt in the late 1980s. This work reduced the grade, widened the road, added a required stopping area with traffic lights for trucks prior to descending the mountain, and added two 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. Owing to geography, these two ramps are on the left side of the grade. This stretch of highway inspired Johnny Cash to write a song about Monteagle Mountain.

The Monteagle grade also has one of the three widest medians of any Interstate highway, with the others 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 the other. 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 sharp 45 mph (72 km/h) curve to the right while descending steeply at the same time. This downhill curve also features off-ramp approach style lane dividers, in order to slow both motorists and truckers.

Interstate 124 is an occasional (currently unsigned but occasionally noted in DOT publications) designation of a portion of the US 27 freeway which runs as a spur into downtown Chattanooga and beyond.^[3] 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.

History

On 18 May 2010, it was announced that a sinkhole was found in the eastbound lanes of I-24 in Grundy County. This was announced at 8:10 AM CDT near the exit of Tennessee State Route 50. Tennessee Department of Transportation officials stated that hole was growing with traffic diverted onto the westbound lanes.^[4] However, emergency repairs commenced and was reopened several days later.^[5]

Exit list

County	Location	Mile	Exit[6]	Destinations	Notes
Montgomery	Clarksville		1	SR-48 – Clarksville, Trenton
			4	US-79 (SR 13) – Guthrie, Clarksville
			8	SR-237 (Rossview Road)
			11	SR-76 – Adams, Clarksville
Robertson	Adams		19	SR-256 (Maxey Road) – Adams
	Springfield		24	SR-49 – Springfield, Ashland City
Cheatham	Ashland City		31	SR-249 (New Hope Road)
Davidson	Nashville		35	US-431 (SR 65) / Union Hill Road – Springfield, Joelton
			40	SR-45 (Old Hickory Boulevard)
			43	SR-155 (Briley Parkway) – Opryland
			44B	I-65 north – Louisville	West end of I-65 overlap
			87	US-431 (Trinity Lane, SR 65)
			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)
			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)
			53	I-440 west – Memphis
			54	SR-155 (Briley Parkway)
			56	SR-255 (Harding Place)
			57	Haywood Lane – Antioch	Signed as exits 57A (west) and 57B (east) eastbound
			59	SR-254 (Bell Road)
			60	Hickory Hollow Parkway
			62	SR-171 (Old Hickory Boulevard)
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
	Murfreesboro		74	SR-840 – Franklin, Lebanon, Knoxville	Signed as exits 74A (west) and 74B (east)
			76	Fortress Boulevard, Medical Center Parkway
			78	SR-96 – Franklin, Murfreesboro	Signed as exits 78A (west) and 78B (east)
			80	SR-99 – Murfreesboro
			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
			105	US-41 (SR 2) – Manchester
			110	SR-53 – Manchester, Woodbury
			111	SR-55 – Manchester, McMinnville
			114	US-41 (SR 2) – Manchester
			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
			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 (3 km) 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
			158	SR-27 east – Nickajack Dam, Powells Crossroads	East end of SR 27 overlap
			Interstate 24 Bridge over the Nickajack Lake
			161	SR-156 – Haletown, New Hope
Hamilton		No interchanges in this segment of Hamilton County
Dade County, Georgia			167	I-59 south (SR 406) – Birmingham	Left exit westbound
			169	SR 299 to US 11 – Wildwood
Hamilton	Chattanooga		174	US-41 / US-64 (US 72, SR 2) to US-11 – Lookout Valley, Lookout Mountain
			175	Browns Ferry Road, Mountain View Drive - Lookout Mountain
			178	US-27 north (I-124 north) 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 north) 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)

References

Interstate 24
Previous state: Kentucky	Tennessee	Next state: Terminus

Interstate Highways in Georgia Current 16 516 20 520 24 59 75 475 575 675 85 185 285 985 95 Cancelled 485