Route information | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Maintained by TDOT | ||||
Length | 118.15 mi (190.14 km) | |||
Existed | October 1, 1923 [1] –present | |||
Major junctions | ||||
West end | US 70S near McMinnville | |||
US 127 in Pikeville US 27 in Dayton I-75 in Athens US 411 in Etowah | ||||
East end | US 64 / US 74 in the Cherokee National Forest | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | Tennessee | |||
Counties | Warren, Van Buren, Bledsoe, Rhea, Megis, McMinn, Polk | |||
Highway system | ||||
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State Route 30 (SR 30) is an east-west state highway in the central and eastern portions of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It runs generally west to east, connecting McMinnville in Warren County with Parksville along the Ocoee River in Polk County. It crosses several major geographic features in Tennessee, including the Cumberland Plateau, the Sequatchie Valley, the Tennessee River, and parts of the Cherokee National Forest.
SR 30 begins just east of McMinnville in Warren County at an intersection with US 70S. Just beyond this initial junction, SR 30 intersects SR 127, which connects the area to Tullahoma to the southwest. SR 30 continues eastward, crossing into Van Buren County at the Rocky River. After passing several miles through predominantly-rural western Van Buren, the highway ascends over 900 feet (270 m) through a series of switchback curves to the top of the Cumberland Plateau, where it enters the town of Spencer. [2] Following College Street through Spencer, SR 30 intersects SR 111 just east of the town's downtown area. [3]
Continuing east beyond Spencer, SR 30 descends more than 900 feet (270 m) from the edge of the plateau into the Dry Fork Gulf. [4] This area marks the outer reaches of Fall Creek Falls State Park. At the base of the valley, SR 30 crosses Cane Creek and joins SR 285, which approaches from further down the valley in the direction of Doyle. The merged highway then continues eastward, reascending more than 800 feet (240 m) back to the top of the plateau, [4] before SR 285 diverges northward, and SR 30 continues toward the east. Just before reaching the Van Buren-Bledsoe county line, SR 30 intersects SR 284, which provides the primary access to Fall Creek Falls State Park to the south. [3]
In the Mount Crest area of western Bledsoe, SR 30 intersects SR 101, which runs in a northeastward direction to Crossville. Just past Mount Crest, SR 30 begins another significant elevation change, this time descending more than 1,000 feet (300 m) from the edge of Cumberland Plateau into the Sequatchie Valley. [5] This particularly steep section of the highway endures occasional closures due to rockslides. [6] In Pikeville, SR 30 merges with the north-south-oriented US 127. This merged route travels along the east side of Pikeville before the two highways split just south of the downtown area, with US 127 continuing southward to Dunlap, and SR 30 crossing the Sequatchie River before turning east. [3]
Continuing across the relatively narrow Sequatchie Valley, SR 30 begins another ascent of the Cumberland Plateau, climbing more than 1,000 feet (300 m) before topping out near Summer City. [7] After traversing this section of the plateau, known as Walden Ridge, and crossing into Rhea County, SR 30 enters its final major elevation change, this time winding its way more than 1,200 feet (370 m) down the side of the Cumberland Plateau into the Tennessee Valley. [8] In Dayton, SR 30 intersects US 27, which connects Dayton with Chattanooga to the south. [3]
After crossing the Tennessee River east of Dayton, SR 30 continues winding its away around the various ridges and valleys that characterize the region, and passes through the county seats of Decatur and Athens. In the latter city, SR 30 crosses I-75 and US 11, both of which run northeastward to Knoxville and southwestward to Chattanooga. In Etowah in eastern McMinn County, SR 30 merges with US 411, and veers southward into Polk County. The highway provides access to Hiwassee/Ocoee Scenic River State Park (via Spring Creek Road) before crossing the Hiwassee River, with SR 30 splitting off from US 411 less than a mile later, turning eastward up the Hiwassee Valley into the Cherokee National Forest. [3]
In the old community of Reliance, SR 30 intersects SR 315, which runs northward in the direction of Tellico Plains. Just past this junction, SR 30 turns sharply to the south, and winds its way into the Greasy Creek Valley. The highway follows this valley southwestward to the Parksville area along the Ocoee River, where it terminates at US 64 and US 74. [3]
This section contains a table that is missing mileposts for one or more junctions. |
County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Warren | | 0.0 | 0.0 | US 70S (Sparta Highway/SR 1) – McMinnville, Doyle, Sparta | Western terminus; SR 30 begins as a primary highway |
| SR 127 south (Shellsford Road) – McMinnville, Viola | Northern terminus of SR 127 | |||
Van Buren | Spencer | SR 111 (Artillery Road) – Sparta, Dunlap | Interchange | ||
| SR 285 west (Cane Creek-Cummingsville Road) – Doyle | Western end of SR 285 concurrency | |||
| SR 285 east (Mooneyham Road) | Eastern end of SR 285 concurrency | |||
Bledsoe | | SR 284 west (Park Road) – Fall Creek Falls State Park | Eastern terminus of SR 284 | ||
Mount Crest | SR 101 north (Lantana Road) – Lake Tansi Village, Crossville | Southern terminus of SR 101 | |||
Pikeville | US 127 north (Alvin C. York Highway/SR 28 north) – Crossville | Western end of US 127/SR 28 concurrency | |||
US 127 south (Alvin C. York Highway/SR 28 south) – Dunlap | Eastern end of US 127/SR 28 overlap | ||||
Bridge over the Sequatchie River | |||||
Summer City | SR 443 east (New Harmony Road) – New Harmony | Western terminus of SR 443 | |||
Rhea | | SR 443 west (Ogden Road) – Ogden | Eastern terminus of SR 443 | ||
| SR 303 south (Cranmore Cove Road) – Graysville | Northern terminus of SR 303 | |||
Dayton | SR 378 north (Market Street) | Western end of SR 378 concurrency | |||
SR 378 south (Market Street) | Eastern end of SR 378 concurrency | ||||
US 27 (Rhea County Highway/SR 29) – Chattanooga, Soddy-Daisy, Spring City | |||||
Old Washington | SR 302 north (Old Dixie Highway) – Spring City | Southern terminus of SR 302 | |||
Tennessee River | Washington Ferry Bridge over the Tennessee River | ||||
Meigs | Decatur | SR 58 (Meigs County Highway) – Kingston, Georgetown, Chattanooga | |||
McMinn | Athens | I-75 – Chattanooga, Knoxville | I-75 exit 49 | ||
US 11 (Congress Parkway/SR 2) – Cleveland, Calhoun, Charleston, Niota, Sweetwater | |||||
US 11 Bus. (N Jackson Street) – Downtown | |||||
SR 39 west (E Washington Avenue/E Madison Avenue) – Downtown, Riceville | one-way pair; western end of SR 39 concurrency | ||||
SR 305 north (Ingleside Avenue) / SR 307 north (E Madison Avenue) to I-75 – Sweetwater | Southern terminus of SR 305 and SR 307 | ||||
SR 39 east (New Englewood Road) – Englewood | Eastern end of SR 39 concurrency | ||||
Etowah | US 411 north (Tennessee Avenue/SR 33 north) – Englewood | Western end of US 411/SR 33 concurrency | |||
SR 310 east (Mecca Pike) – Tellico Plains | Western terminus of SR 310 | ||||
Polk | Delano | SR 163 west (Bowater Road) to I-75 – Calhoun | Eastern terminus of SR 163 | ||
Bridge over the Hiwassee River | |||||
US 411 south (SR 33 south) – Benton | Eastern end of US 411/SR 33 concurrency; SR 30 turns secondary | ||||
Reliance | SR 315 north (Reliance Road) – Tellico Plains | Southern terminus of SR 315 | |||
Cherokee National Forest | 118.15 | 190.14 | US 64 / US 74 (Ocoee Scenic Byway/SR 40) – Cleveland, Ocoee, Ducktown | Eastern terminus; SR 30 ends as a secondary highway | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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Sequatchie County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,826. Its county seat is Dunlap. Sequatchie County is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Pikeville is a city in Bledsoe County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,251 at the 2010 census. It is also the county seat of Bledsoe County.
Dunlap is a city in and the county seat of Sequatchie County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 5,357 at the 2020 census and 4,815 at the 2010 census.
East Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. Geographically and socioculturally distinct, it comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee. East Tennessee consists of 33 counties, 30 located within the Eastern Time Zone and three counties in the Central Time Zone, namely Bledsoe, Cumberland, and Marion. East Tennessee is entirely located within the Appalachian Mountains, although the landforms range from densely forested 6,000-foot (1,800 m) mountains to broad river valleys. The region contains the major cities of Knoxville and Chattanooga, Tennessee's third and fourth largest cities, respectively, and the Tri-Cities, the state's sixth largest population center.
The Calfkiller River is a 42.4-mile-long (68.2 km) stream in the east-central portion of Middle Tennessee in the United States. It is a tributary of the Caney Fork, and is part of the Cumberland, Ohio, and Mississippi watersheds. The river is believed to be named for a Cherokee chief who once lived in the area.
The Collins River is a 67-mile-long (108 km) stream in the east-central portion of Middle Tennessee in the United States. It is a tributary of the Caney Fork, and is part of the Cumberland, Ohio and Mississippi watersheds. The river drains the scenic Savage Gulf area, located just below the river's source, and empties into Great Falls Lake at Rock Island State Park.
The Rocky River is a 31.0-mile-long (49.9 km) stream in the east-central portion of Middle Tennessee in the United States. It is a tributary of the Caney Fork River, and is part of the Cumberland, Ohio and Mississippi watersheds. The lower portion of the river is part of the reservoir created by Great Falls Dam, which is located near the river's confluence with the Caney Fork.
The Sequatchie River is a 116-mile-long (187 km) waterway that drains the Sequatchie Valley, a large valley in the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. It empties into the Tennessee River downstream from Chattanooga near the Tennessee-Alabama state line.
U.S. Route 411 (US 411) is an alternate parallel-highway associated with US 11. It extends for about 309.7 miles (498.4 km) from US 78 in Leeds, Alabama, to US 25W/US 70 in Newport, Tennessee. US 411 travels through northeastern Alabama, northwestern Georgia, and southeastern Tennessee. It is signed north-south, as with most highways that have odd numbers, but the route runs primarily in a northeast-southwest direction, and covers a more east-west mileage than it does north-south. Notable towns and cities along its route include Gadsden, Alabama; Rome, Georgia; Cartersville, Georgia; Maryville, Tennessee; Sevierville, Tennessee, and Newport, Tennessee.
State Route 2 is a 197-mile-long (317 km) west–to–east state highway in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It begins in Murfreesboro, in Rutherford County, and ends near Farragut in Loudon County. The route is both a primary and secondary route. Most of the route is unsigned.
State Route 58, also locally called "Highway 58", is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of Tennessee that serves as a major route for many communities in Roane, Meigs, and Hamilton counties.
Sequatchie Valley is a relatively long and narrow valley in the U.S. state of Tennessee and, in some definitions, Alabama. It is generally considered to be part of the Cumberland Plateau region of the Appalachian Mountains; it was probably formed by erosion of a compression anticline, rather than rifting process as had been formerly theorized.
U.S. Route 27 in Tennessee runs from the Georgia state line in Chattanooga to the Kentucky state line in Isham. It forms the informal border between the Eastern and Central Time Zones of the state. However, it stays in the Eastern Time Zone.
State Route 8 is a 75.43-mile-long (121.39 km) north–south state highway in East and Middle Tennessee. It connects the cities of Chattanooga and McMinnville via Signal Mountain and Dunlap.
In Tennessee, U.S. Route 64 stretches 404.1 miles (650.3 km) from the Mississippi River in Memphis to the North Carolina state line near Ducktown. The highway, along with US 72, is a major route for travel between Memphis and Chattanooga.
U.S. Route 127 in Tennessee is a 129.5-mile-long (208.4 km) United States Numbered Highway from Chattanooga to the Kentucky state line at Static. The highways connects through Dunlap, Pikeville, Crossville, and Jamestown. Throughout its length, US 127 straddles the line between East Tennessee and Middle Tennessee.
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 33 is a primary and secondary route in East Tennessee. It runs 176 miles, from the Georgia state line in Polk County, northeast to the Virginia state line north of Kyles Ford in Hancock County. South of Maryville, SR 33 is a "hidden" route which shares a concurrency with US 411.
State Route 156 is a spur route of Tennessee State Route 56 (SR 56) and a state highway in Franklin and Marion counties in the southern central and southeastern portions of Tennessee, United States. It traverses the southern Cumberland Plateau before descending into the Sequatchie Valley, where follows the shores of Nickajack Lake for its final few miles.
State Route 28 is a state highway in the state of Tennessee, traversing the state in a north–south axis from south of Jasper to the Kentucky state line at Static.
Media related to Tennessee State Route 30 at Wikimedia Commons