| State Route 840 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by TDOT | ||||
| Length: | 78 mi (125.5 km) | |||
| Existed: | 1991 – present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| Beltway around Nashville, Tennessee | ||||
| West end: | I-40 near Dickson | |||
| I-65 near Franklin I-24 near Murfreesboro |
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| East end: | I-40 near Lebanon | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Tennessee State Routes
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State Route 840 is a state highway, a limited-access expressway being built around Nashville, Tennessee, and directed by the Tennessee Department of Transportation. First proposed by former Governor Lamar Alexander as part of a system of "Bicentennial Parkways", construction began on this expressway in 1991 - on the first segment extending south from Interstate 40 at Lebanon. The roadway currently serves the cities of Lebanon, Murfreesboro, and Franklin. The halfway-completed southern loop will eventually be about 78 mi (125.5 km) long. Much construction remains to be done on the western half of this semicircle, between U.S. Route 31 near Franklin and Interstate 40 near Dickson. The Tennessee Department of Transportation estimates that the final 20.9 mi (33.6 km) segment will probably be completed and opened up to traffic sometime in the year 2012.[1]
Plans to construct a northern loop of Tenn-840 north of Nashville and past Dickson, Clarksville, Springfield, and Gallatin were put on hold since the Tennessee General Assembly ordered the Department of Transportation to discontinue further studies and planning of that highway because of the current state budget problems and the quite high costs of major highway construction in that area. An entire circular loop would possibly be about 178 mi (286.5 km) long.
Other important objections against additional extensions of the Tenn-840 highway include the hilly nature of the terrain north of Nashville, which would require huge and costly amounts of excavation, soil relocation, and bridge construction, especially in comparison with the partially completed southern bypass Tenn-840 route. In October 2003, the Department of Transportation placed the northern loop project into an indefinite hold situation, citing a lack of documented transportation needs, and lack of participation from local politicians.[2]
While initially referred to as "Interstate 840", or "I-840" by the press, all current official materials refers to the highway as a "State Route". It has been constructed entirely with state transportation funds, and it is not part of the Federal Interstate Highway System or the Federal Highway System (such as U.S. Route 31). The route number 840 was chosen for an easy transition if the road ever becomes Interstate 840 (with Interstate numbers 140, 240, 440, and 640 already being in use in Tennessee).
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The planned and partially completed route of the southern loop of Tenn-840 passes across five counties. The figures for Williamson County reflects the projected distance once the highway is completed.[3] Scheduled completion date is now December 2012.
| County | Location | # | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dickson | 1A/B | I-40 – Nashville, Memphis | Currently the terminus while the northern route remains on indefinite hold; signed as exits 1A (west) and 1B (east); no eastbound exit to I-40 west and I-40 to westbound; western terminus | |
| Williamson | 7 | SR-100 / SR-46 – Fairview | ||
| 14 | SR-46 – Leiper's Fork | Eastern terminus of western segment of TN 840 | ||
| 28 | US-31 – Columbia, Spring Hill | Western terminus of eastern segment of TN 840 | ||
| 30 | US-431 – Franklin | |||
| 31A/B | I-65 – Nashville, Birmingham, Ala. | also the route to Huntsville, Alabama; signed as exits 31A (south) and 31B (north) | ||
| 34 | Peytonsville-Trinity Road | |||
| 37 | Arno Road | |||
| 42 | US-31A / US-41A – Triune | |||
| Rutherford | 47 | SR-102 (Almaville Road) – Smyrna | ||
| 50 | Veterans Parkway - Blackman | |||
| Murfreesboro | 53A/B | I-24 – Nashville, Chattanooga | exit to Smyrna & Murfreesboro, Tennessee; signed as exits 53A (east) and 53B (west) | |
| 55A/B | US-41 / US-70S (NW Broad Street) – Murfreesboro, Smyrna | Signed as exits 55A (south/east) and 55B (north/west) eastbound | ||
| 57 | Sulphur Springs Road | |||
| 61 | SR-266 (West Jefferson Pike) – Smyrna | |||
| 65 | SR-452 (Bill France Blvd.) | exit to Nashville Superspeedway | ||
| Wilson | 67 | Couchville Pike | exit to Cedars of Lebanon State Park | |
| 70 | Stewarts Ferry Pike - Gladeville | |||
| 72 | SR-265 to SR-109 (Central Pike) | |||
| 76A/B | I-40 – Nashville, Knoxville | exit to Lebanon, Tenn.; signed as exits 76A (east) and 76B (west) eastbound; eastern terminus |