Interstate 24
Interstate 24 (I-24) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It runs diagonally from I-57, 10 miles (16 km) south of Marion, Illinois, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, at I-75. It travels through Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia. As an even-numbered Interstate, it is signed as an east–west route, though the route follows a more southeast–northwest routing, passing through Nashville, Tennessee. The numbering deviates from the standard Interstate Highway System grid, lying further north than its number would indicate west of Nashville. The short segment within Georgia bears the unsigned designation State Route 409 (SR 409).
"I-24" redirects here. For the submarines of the Japanese Imperial Navy, see Japanese submarine I-24.
Interstate 24
Interstate 24
316.36 mi[1] (509.13 km)
August 14, 1957[2]–present
Entire route
I-69 from Calvert City, KY to Eddyville, KY
I-65 in Nashville, TN
I-40 in Nashville, TN
US 41 in Nashville, TN
I-59 near Wildwood, GA
US 27 in Chattanooga, TN
I-24 between Nashville and Chattanooga is part of a longer north–south freight corridor which runs between Chicago and Atlanta. The Interstate has facilitated the rapid growth of the largest suburban corridor in the Nashville metropolitan area, which runs for more than 30 miles (48 km) southeast of the city and is considered the most congested stretch of highway in the state. The stretch through Chattanooga also experiences severe congestion, due to an unusually high volume of truck traffic.[3] The stretch of I-24 across the Cumberland Plateau, commonly known as "Monteagle Mountain", is considered one of the most hazardous stretches of highway in the US, particularly for trucks, due to its steep descents, which measure a maximum of six-percent grade.
As proposed by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, the western terminus of I-24 was originally located in Nashville. Most of the route between Nashville and Chattanooga was constructed in the 1960s, with the final section opening in 1971. After extensive lobbying from local politicians, the Bureau of Public Roads, the predecessor agency to the Federal Highway Administration, authorized an extension of I-24 to its present-day western terminus in Pulleys Mill, Illinois, in 1964. As a result, I-24 was the last mainline Interstate Highway in Tennessee and Kentucky to be completed, with the last sections in the two states opening in 1978 and 1980, respectively.
History[edit]
Planning[edit]
A controlled-access highway between Nashville and Chattanooga was first included in the National Interregional Highway Committee's 1944 report, titled Interregional Highways, and a subsequent 1947 plan produced by the Public Roads Administration of the now-defunct Federal Works Agency.[13][14] The route was subsequently part of the original 1,047.6 miles (1,685.9 km) of Interstate Highways authorized for Tennessee by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, commonly known as the Interstate Highway Act.[15] The numbering was approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) on August 14, 1957.[2] While most of the routing of I-24 proved was chosen without difficulty, the mountainous topography of the Chattanooga area posed a challenged to planners. The route was initially slated to pass near 38th Street through the Alton Park and East Lake neighborhoods, but was moved approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north in August 1955. The route was also planned to pass through a tunnel under Missionary Ridge until October 1960, when planners announced that a 120-foot (37 m) deep and 850-foot (260 m) wide cut would be made through the ridge.[16] Engineers also initially recommended that the Interstate cross the Tennessee River onto Moccasin Bend south of downtown, and then again cross the river into Lookout Valley a short distance beyond, but this was rejected by the Bureau of Public Roads in April 1958 as too expensive.[17][18]
Future[edit]
TDOT and GDOT are jointly making preparations to widen the 10-mile (16 km) stretch of I-24 from I-59 to US 27 in Chattanooga to six lanes. This project is expected to be split into three phases, due to its location within two states and the difficulties of expanding the stretch which is located on a narrow artificial causeway between Lookout Mountain and the Tennessee River. This stretch has long experienced severe congestion issues and is considered a major bottleneck, particularly for trucks.[118]
Other stretches of I-24 planned to be widened in the near future include the stretch through Clarksville, the stretch between SR 45 and I-65 northwest of Nashville, and the eastern leg of the downtown loop in Nashville between I-65 and I-40.[119][120]
