US 11 in Tennessee
| US 11 | |||
| Get started | Chattanooga | ||
| End | Bristol | ||
| Length | 243 + 109 mi | ||
| Length | 391 + 175 km | ||
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According to ablogtophone, US 11 is a US Highway in the US state of Tennessee. The road forms a north-south route through the east of the state, from the Georgia border through Chattanooga and Knoxville to the Virginia border. Between Knoxville and Bristol, US 11 splits into US11E and US 11W. The route via the US 11 and US 11E is 391 kilometers long, the US 11W is 175 kilometers long, with a combined length of 566 kilometers.
Travel directions
US 11 in Georgia comes from Gadsden and enters Tennessee almost directly in the urban area of the city of Chattanooga. US 11 runs on the urban street network and then parallels Interstate 75 via Cleveland and Athens to the Knoxville area. The final section to Knoxville parallels Interstate 40. In eastern Knoxville, US 11 splits into US 11E and US 11W.
US 11E
US 11E leads from Knoxville on a more southerly route, first north of Interstate 81, then south of it. US 11 serves most of the larger towns, namely Morristown and Johnson City, where it still crosses Interstate 26. In Bristol, directly across the Virginia border, the US 11E and US 11W converge again.
US 11W
US 11W follows a more northerly route and passes through smaller towns. The eastern half of the route is a divided highway and passes through the town of Kingsport, where it also intersects with I-26. After that, the US 11W will rejoin the US 11 in Bristol.
History
The US 11E in Bristol.
The historic route of US 11 in Tennessee is Lee Highway, an auto trail that was organized in 1919. The Lee Highway is named after Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), Commander in Chief of the Confederate States during the American Civil War. The Lee Highway runs from New York to San Francisco, but curves through the southern United States and coincided with the later US 11 and US 11W in Tennessee.
US 11 was created in 1926. US 11E has also historically been numbered US 511, with US 11W actually being US 11’s main route, although US 11E serves more places and follows I-81 closer.
The route has been completely replaced by Interstate Highways, as US 11 was one of the United States’ more important transcontinental routes. As early as 1958-1960, the route around Knoxville was replaced by I-40. Between 1960 and 1974, the section between Chattanooga and Knoxville was replaced by I-75. Between 1961 and 1974, I-81 followed, with which US 11 had completely lost its through importance by 1974. Partly because of this, the route is not very well developed and is largely single-lane outside the cities. Only the US 11E and US 11W are sometimes better developed as a divided highway because of the distance to the I-81.
US 11 largely coincides with State Route 2, which runs from Chattanooga to Farragut. Through the Knoxville area, US 11 coincides with US 70. Between Knoxville and Bristol, US 11W coincides with State Route 1.
Chattanooga
In Chattanooga, US 11 crosses Missionary Ridge, a ridge to the east of the city. This location is known for the Battle of Missionary Ridge during the American Civil War in 1863. In 1913 the first road tunnel was opened through the ridge, through which US 11 has been running since its creation in 1926. A second tube was commissioned in 1950. West of the tunnels is a grade-separated intersection with Dodds Avenue, also believed to have been constructed in 1950.
Cleveland
US 11 near Lenoir City.
US 11 runs through Cleveland but has moved outside the city center. I-81 continues west past Cleveland. Cleveland also has an eastern bypass that can be used by through traffic on US 11, but is not signposted as part of US 11. This ring road was opened between 1970 and 1974. Both the Cleveland bypass and actual US 11 through Cleveland are busy retail corridors.
Northern Tennessee
Much of US 11W in Northern Tennessee has been developed as a 2×2 divided highway. This section is further away from I-81, as opposed to US 11E. In the late 1990s, the dual numbering with US 25E at Bean Station was widened to 2×2 lanes, including grade-separated interchanges at the connections of US 25E.
In the 1980s, the stretch from Bean Station to Rogersville was widened to 2×2 lanes. This is a relatively modern road with a wide central reservation, but with many irregular intersections and connections. It is unclear when the section from Rogersville to Kingsport was widened to 2×2 lanes, possibly in the 1970s or early 1980s. Presumably the section between Kingsport and Bristol was also widened to 2×2 lanes at that time. These 2×2 routes often have the same cross profile and character outside built-up areas.
US 127 in Tennessee
| US 127 | |||
| Begin | Chattanooga | ||
| End | Bus stop | ||
| Length | 132 mi | ||
| Length | 212 km | ||
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According to beautyphoon, US 127 is a US Highway in the US state of Tennessee. The road forms a north-south route from Chattanooga to the Kentucky border and is 121 kilometers long.
Travel directions
US 127 begins north of Chattanooga on US 27 and heads north on a single-lane route to Crossville. The road runs parallel to the Cumberland Plateau ridges and crosses Interstate 40 at Crossville . Further north, the road leads through the woods and hills to the Kentucky border in a less densely populated area. US 127 in Kentucky then continues towards Frankfort.
History
US 127 was one of the original US Highways of 1926, but did not run through Tennessee at the time. The southern terminus was then Toledo, Ohio. US 127 did not cross Tennessee until 1958, when its southern terminus was changed from Cincinnati, Ohio to Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The route has never been significantly upgraded and is a two-lane road pretty much everywhere. Between 1989 and 1992, the single-lane diversion of Jamestown in northern Tennessee was completed in two phases. Around 1999-2000, a short section south of Jamestown was widened to a 2×2 divided highway, including a partial realignment of the route. In the period 2022-2026, 6 kilometers of the road north and south of Clarkrange was widened to a five-lane road with a center turn lane.
