Interstate 240 (Tennessee)

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Interstate 240 (abbreviated I-240) is an Interstate highway in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Running 19.27 miles or 31.0km, it loops southward from Interstate 40 in east Memphis, then turning west at TN 385 (Bill Morris Parkway). At I-55, the highway turns north and runs through midtown to end at I-40.

I-240 was first planned circa 1955, but it was to have been a 30.8 mile or 49.6km beltway to completely encircle midtown Memphis, with the exception of the segment between Interstates 40 and 55, which was proposed as Interstate 255. Later, that number was decommissioned in favor of I-240 running in a full loop, with I-40 running from downtown to east Memphis. However, in 1957 citizens collected 10,000 signatures protesting the route, which cut through Overton Park in midtown. The controversy lasted until the 1970s, when the Supreme Court ruled that the Overton Park route be canceled, shifting I-40 onto the northern leg of I-240. Part of the proposed I-40 route was already built -- from N. Highland St. east to the I-40/240 junction. The road is now called Sam Cooper Boulevard, and is owned by the city. Recently, the City of Memphis built an extension to the former I-40 section of Sam Cooper Blvd. This extension runs west from N. Tillman St. (the former entry/end point for Sam Cooper Boulevard) as a limited access parkway to East Parkway N. (a former exit for the proposed "Overton Park route").

The interstates overlapped around the northern bypass of Memphis for many years, but I-240 signs were later removed from the northern leg for reasons of redundancy. (The exit numbers for I-240 -- the exception being exits 1A-1C, which were changed to 1E-1G -- remain, causing redundancy on I-40 exits 1, 1A-G, 12, and 12A-C.)

I-240 has seen much reconstruction over the past decade, as area growth has demanded increased capacity. Both interchanges with I-40 are currently under reconstruction due to the amount of traffic taking I-40 through Memphis.

Exit list

#	Destinations	Notes
	- Little Rock, AR	Counterclockwise exit and clockwise entrance
12B	Sam Cooper Boulevard	Counterclockwise exit and clockwise entrance
12C	- Nashville, TN	Counterclockwise exit and clockwise entrance
13	Walnut Grove Road (SR 23)
15	- Germantown, TN	Signed as exits 15A (east) and 15B (west) counterclockwise
16
17	Mount Moriah Road
18	Perkins Road
20		Signed as exits 20A (south) and 20B (north) counterclockwise
21	- Birmingham, AL
23	Airways Boulevard - Memphis International Airport	Signed as exits 23A (north) and 23B (south)
24	Millbranch Road, Nonconnah Boulevard
25A	- Jackson, MS
25B	- St. Louis, MO
26	Norris Road
28	South Parkway	Signed as exits 28A (east) and 28B (west)
29	Lamar Avenue, Crump Boulevard (US 78, SR 4)
30	Union Avenue (US 51, US 64, US 70, US 79, SR 3)	Clockwise exit and counterclockwise entrance
30	Madison Avenue	Counterclockwise exit and clockwise entrance
31	- Little Rock, AR	Clockwise exit and counterclockwise entrance
32		Clockwise exit and counterclockwise entrance
	- Nashville, TN	Clockwise exit and counterclockwise entrance

References

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Last updated on Tuesday March 11, 2008 at 12:57:10 PDT (GMT -0700)
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