Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway in the southeastern and southwestern portions of the United States. At a length of 2,556.61 miles (4,114.46 km), it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to east, it passes through California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Its western terminus is at I-15 in Barstow, California, while its eastern terminus is at a concurrency with U.S. Route 117 (US 117) and North Carolina Highway 132 (NC 132) in Wilmington, North Carolina. Major cities served by the interstate include Flagstaff, Arizona; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Amarillo, Texas; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Little Rock, Arkansas; Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville in Tennessee; and Asheville, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Durham, Raleigh, and Wilmington in North Carolina.
State Route 24 is an unsigned west–east state highway in Tennessee, as it coincides with U.S. Route 70 and U.S. Route 70N for its entire duration from Nashville to Crossville. The road begins in western Nashville and ends in Crossville. It runs alongside Interstate 40 for its entire length.
State Route 1, known as the Memphis to Bristol Highway, is a 538.8-mile-long (867.1 km) mostly-unsigned state highway in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It stretches from the Arkansas state line at Memphis in the southwest corner of the state to Bristol in the northeast part. Most of the route travels concurrently with U.S. Route 70 and US 11W. It is the longest highway of any kind in the state of Tennessee. The route is signed as both in the state of Tennessee, a Primary and Secondary Highway
U.S. Route 31W is the westernmost of two parallel routes for U.S. Route 31 from Nashville, Tennessee to Louisville, Kentucky.
Interstate 81 (I-81) is part of the Interstate Highway System that runs 855.02 miles (1,376.02 km) northward from Dandridge, Tennessee, to the Thousand Islands Bridge at the Canadian border near Fishers Landing, New York. In Tennessee, I-81 serves the northeastern part of the state, running 75.66 miles (121.76 km) from its southern terminus with I-40 in Dandridge to the Virginia state line in Bristol. The route serves the Tri-Cities region of the state and the eastern parts of the Knoxville metropolitan area, terminating about 35 miles (56 km) east of Knoxville. I-81 bypasses most cities that it serves, instead providing access via interchanges with state and federal routes. It remains in the Ridge-and-Valley topographic region of the Appalachian Mountains for its entire length in Tennessee, and runs in a northeast to southwest direction.
State Route 52 is an east–west state highway that crosses eight counties in northern and northeastern Tennessee. The 141.4-mile-long (227.6 km) route originates in Orlinda along SR 49 and ends in Elgin along U.S. Route 27.
Interstate 65 (I-65) is part of the Interstate Highway System that runs 887.30 miles (1,427.97 km) north–south from Mobile, Alabama, to Gary, Indiana. In Tennessee, I-65 traverses the middle portion of the state, running from Ardmore at the Alabama border to the Kentucky border near Portland. The route serves the state capital and largest city of Nashville, along with many of its suburbs. Outside of urban areas, the Interstate bypasses most cities and towns that it serves, instead providing access via state and U.S. Highways. The Interstate passes through the Highland Rim and Nashville Basin physiographic regions of Tennessee, and is often used as the dividing line between the eastern and western portions of the former.
The State Route System of Tennessee is maintained and developed by the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Currently the state has 14,150 miles (22,770 km) of state-maintained roadways, including 1,233 miles (1,984 km) of Interstate Highways and 13,077 miles (21,045 km) of State Highways. All of the U.S. Routes in Tennessee have a state route routed concurrently with them, though the state route is hidden and only signed along the green mile marker signs that display mileage within each county. The state route system in Tennessee was established in 1923. Since the 1983 renumbering, state routes have been divided into primary and secondary routes with separate shields used for each.
U.S. Route 70 enters the state of Tennessee from Arkansas via the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge in Memphis, and runs west to east across 21 counties in all three Grand Divisions of Tennessee, with a total length of 478.48 miles (770.04 km), to end at the North Carolina state line in eastern Cocke County. Along the route, US 70 is accompanied with various U.S. and state highways, including those in three of the state's four major cities.
Several special routes of U.S. Route 41 exist, including three in Wisconsin. In order from south to north they are as follows.
Austin Peay was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of Tennessee from 1923 to 1927. He was the state's first governor since the Civil War to win three consecutive terms and the first to die in office. Prior to his election as governor, he served two terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives (1901–1905).
State Route 26 is an east–west highway in Middle Tennessee. The road begins in Lebanon and ends in Sparta. The current length is 59.25 mi (95.4 km).
State Route 111 (SR 111) is a north–south highway in Middle and East Tennessee. The road begins in Soddy-Daisy and ends north of Byrdstown in the community of Static, at the Tennessee/Kentucky state line. The length is 116 mi (186.7 km).
State Route 49 is a state highway in Tennessee. The route forms a broad southern arc that passes through the rural Middle Tennessee towns of Dover, Erin, Charlotte, Ashland City, Pleasant View, and Springfield.
U.S. Route 41 Alternate, also signed U.S. Route 41A in Tennessee (US 41A), connects the town of Monteagle, Tennessee, with Hopkinsville, Kentucky, 10 miles (16 km) north of the Tennessee line. It serves the city of Clarksville, Tennessee, on its way to Nashville, where it briefly runs concurrently with US 41. It then separates again to serve Shelbyville, Winchester, and Tullahoma before rejoining the main route atop Monteagle Mountain. US 41A runs west of US 41 for its entire length, aside from one mile in downtown Nashville where they are concurrent. US 41A is also concurrent with U.S. Route 31A from Nashville to Triune, Tennessee, for a distance of approximately 25 miles (40 km).
State Route 74 (SR 74) is a north–south state highway located primarily in Bradley County, Tennessee. It runs from the Georgia state line to downtown Cleveland. The route serves as a major shortcut, along with SR 60, for Cleveland citizens to commute to Atlanta, Georgia.
State Route 27 is an east–west state highway in southeastern Tennessee. The 48.51-mile-long (78.07 km) route traverses portions of Marion and Hamilton counties in Tennessee, including the Chattanooga area. Both of this route's termini are at state lines. Its western end is at the Alabama state line near South Pittsburg, and its eastern end is at the Georgia state line on Chattanooga's south side.
The 1983 Tennessee state highway renumbering occurred when the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) took control of approximately 3,300 miles (5,300 km) of city and county maintained roads, designating them as state routes. As part of this process, most state routes with suffixed or special designations were renumbered with general numerical designations, and the state route system was divided into primary and secondary highways.
