Interstate 640 or I -640 is an Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The highway forms a northern bypass around the city of Knoxville and is 17 kilometers long.
Travel directions
The starting point of I-640.
Interstate 640 forms Knoxville ‘s northern bypass and begins and ends at Interstate 40. I-640 runs 5 to 8 miles from downtown Knoxville, through the suburbs of the city. The western section is also double-numbered with Interstate 75. On the north side of Knoxville is a five-branch interchange between I-640, I-75, I-275, and Clinton Highway. I-640 has 2×3 lanes for its entire length.
Topschoolsoflaw: State overview and brief history of Tennessee, including its geography and popular cities.
History
The highway opened in April 1982 for the 1982 World’s Fair in Knoxville. It is intended as a bypass, but because I-40 is shorter through the center, a lot of through traffic still goes on I-40.
Traffic intensities
Every day, 77,000 vehicles drive on the western portion of I-75 and 52,000 to 75,000 vehicles on the rest of the route.
Interstate 69 in Tennessee
I-69
Get started
South Fulton
End
Memphis
Length
~135 mi
Length
~220 km
Interstate 69 or I -69 is a future Interstate Highway in the US state of Tennessee. The highway is to form a north-south route in the far west of the state, from Memphis to Fulton. The planned route is approximately 220 kilometers long.
Travel directions
Interstate 69 begins at the Mississippi border in Memphis and continues right through the city, past downtown, over Interstate 55 and Interstate 240. North of Memphis, I-69 follows the corridor of US 51, past Covington, Ripley, and Halls to the regional town of Dyersburg, where I-69 joins Interstate 155. From Dyersburg, I-69 heads northeast through agricultural land and passes around the town of Union City. Near Fulton, the border with Kentucky follows, after which Interstate 69 in Kentucky continues in a northeasterly direction.
thembaprograms: Nashville, Tennessee, including animals and plants. Also covers brief history and major cities of the state.
History
Portions of the route are pre-existing Interstate Highways that opened around Memphis in the 1960s and 1970s. A large part of the route between the border with Kentucky at South Fulton and Dyersburg has already been developed as a highway, although a part is still missing around Union City.
Future
It is not yet known when I-69 will be built through Tennessee. A toll road has been considered in the past. Between Dyersburg and Memphis, I-69 is about 30 miles shorter than I-155, I-55, and I-40 through southern Missouri and Arkansas. Compared to US 51, the route is no shorter. Exactly how the route will be integrated is not yet known, it may be a (partial) upgrade of the US 51, but a new route is presumably necessary closer to Memphis.
Construction of I-69 is severely delayed due to a lack of funds. The political priority for the construction of I-69 is small, so parts sometimes do not progress for years. The Union City bypass lay unfinished for over 10 years.
Union City
Around Union City, a 7-kilometer stretch of freeway has been constructed along the northwest side of the town, parallel to US 51. However, this new stretch of highway did not yet logically connect to the existing through roads. Its construction started in October 2009 but had not progressed further since the beginning of 2012. In 2016, the construction of the southwestern part from US 51 that connected to this was started. In 2019, the northeastern part was also started. The Union City bypass is due to open in mid-2023.
Troy
South of Union City, I-69 is to be constructed along Troy, east of existing US 51. The Union City bypass is already designed to extend south of Troy. On the south side of Troy, I-69 connects to US 51, which has already been developed as a freeway, to Dyersburg.
Memphis – Dyersburg
In 2006, the planning of I-69 between Memphis and Dyersburg began. However, the planning has been suspended indefinitely due to a lack of funds.
Traffic intensities
Every day, 103,000 vehicles travel north of I-240 in Memphis, dropping to 73,000 vehicles as far as the I-40 interchange and up to 122,000 vehicles on the double-numbered I-40. The section between I-40 and US 51 in northern Memphis handles 21,000 vehicles per day.
