Interstate 24
Encyclopedia
Interstate 24 is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern
United States
. It runs diagonally from Interstate 57
(10 miles south of Marion, Illinois
) to Chattanooga, Tennessee
, at Interstate 75
.
I-24 makes up the majority of a high-traffic corridor between St. Louis, Missouri
, and Atlanta, Georgia
. This corridor utilizes Interstate 64
and Interstate 57
west of I-24, and Interstate 75
east of I-24.
|IL
|38.73
|62.33
|-
|KY
|93.37
|150.26
|-
|TN
|180.16
|289.94
|-
|GA
|4.10
|6.60
|-
|Total
|316.36
|509.13
|}
, Interstate 24 is a remote, four-lane freeway that travels through hilly rural southern Illinois and the Shawnee National Forest
. There are only five mainline exits; of those five, four have services. Interstate 24 crosses into Kentucky via the Interstate 24 Bridge
from Metropolis, Illinois
, to Paducah, Kentucky
.
, Interstate 24 runs from Paducah
to the Tennessee border just northwest of Clarksville
. Along its route are Kentucky Dam
, which forms Kentucky Lake
, and Barkley Dam
, which forms Lake Barkley
, Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area
("LBL"; under the management of the US Forest Service), and Fort Campbell
.
Future extensions of Interstate 69
and possibly Interstate 66
are proposed to run concurrent
with Interstate 24 in the Eddyville
-to-Calvert City
corridor.
In the state of Tennessee
, Interstate 24 runs from Clarksville
to Chattanooga
by way of Nashville
. Just west of Chattanooga, I-24 drops into Georgia for 4 miles (6 km).
One of the most notoriously hazardous stretches of Interstate Highway in the United States is approximately 40 miles (64 km) west of Chattanooga on I-24 in Monteagle
, where the highway goes over the Cumberland Plateau
. Compared to grades elsewhere, Monteagle's 4- to 6-percent grade does not come close to the steepest highway roads (the Siskiyou Pass
of Interstate 5 in Oregon
has some the steepest grades in the nation), but the slope
is protracted over a distance of several miles.
Interstate 124
is an occasional (currently unsigned) designation of a portion of the US 27 freeway, which runs as a spur into downtown Chattanooga and beyond. Also in Chattanooga is the Ridge Cut, a quarter-mile section of Missionary Ridge
between the 4th Avenue exit and the Germantown–Belvoir exit. Accidents and severe congestion are common here.
, Interstate 24 runs for 4 miles (6 km), running along the southern flank of Raccoon Mountain and intersecting with Interstate 59
before turning back north to the Tennessee River
and around the northern flank of Lookout Mountain
. The exits remain numbered according to Tennessee's mileposts. However, the mileposts are Georgia's mileposts.
This segment is also officially State Route 409.
(western terminus)
Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It runs diagonally from Interstate 57
Interstate 57
Interstate 57 is an Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central rail line for much of its route. It goes from Miner, Missouri, at Interstate 55 to Chicago, Illinois, at Interstate 94. I-57 essentially serves as a shortcut route for travelers headed between...
(10 miles south of Marion, Illinois
Marion, Illinois
The city of Marion is the county seat of Williamson County, Illinois. The 2010 census counted 17,193 residents, making Marion the 25th most populated city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area, in Illinois, and the second most populous city in Southern Illinois, outside of the Metro-East, behind...
) to Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
, at Interstate 75
Interstate 75
Interstate 75 is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. It travels from State Road 826 and State Road 924 in Hialeah, Florida to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, at the Ontario, Canada, border...
.
I-24 makes up the majority of a high-traffic corridor between St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, and Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. This corridor utilizes Interstate 64
Interstate 64
Interstate 64 is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. 40, and U.S. 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchange with I-264 and I-664 at Bowers Hill in Chesapeake, Virginia. As I-64 is concurrent with...
and Interstate 57
Interstate 57
Interstate 57 is an Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central rail line for much of its route. It goes from Miner, Missouri, at Interstate 55 to Chicago, Illinois, at Interstate 94. I-57 essentially serves as a shortcut route for travelers headed between...
west of I-24, and Interstate 75
Interstate 75
Interstate 75 is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. It travels from State Road 826 and State Road 924 in Hialeah, Florida to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, at the Ontario, Canada, border...
east of I-24.
Route description
|-|IL
|38.73
|62.33
|-
|KY
|93.37
|150.26
|-
|TN
|180.16
|289.94
|-
|GA
|4.10
|6.60
|-
|Total
|316.36
|509.13
|}
Illinois
In the state of IllinoisIllinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Interstate 24 is a remote, four-lane freeway that travels through hilly rural southern Illinois and the Shawnee National Forest
Shawnee National Forest
The Shawnee National Forest, located in the Ozark and Shawnee Hills of Southern Illinois, consists of approximately 280,000 acres of federally managed lands. In descending order of land area it is located in parts of Pope, Jackson, Union, Hardin, Alexander, Saline, Gallatin, Johnson, and Massac...
. There are only five mainline exits; of those five, four have services. Interstate 24 crosses into Kentucky via the Interstate 24 Bridge
Interstate 24 Bridge
- Illinois-Kentucky :The Interstate 24 Bridge is a two-span tied arch bridge that carries I-24 across the Ohio River. Built in 1973, it is in length. The bridge is one of two that connects the Metropolis, Illinois area with Paducah, Kentucky.- Tennessee :...
from Metropolis, Illinois
Metropolis, Illinois
Metropolis is a city located along the Ohio River in Massac County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,482...
, to Paducah, Kentucky
Paducah, Kentucky
Paducah is the largest city in Kentucky's Jackson Purchase Region and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Tennessee River and the Ohio River, halfway between the metropolitan areas of St. Louis, Missouri, to the west and Nashville,...
.
Kentucky
In the state of KentuckyKentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, Interstate 24 runs from Paducah
Paducah, Kentucky
Paducah is the largest city in Kentucky's Jackson Purchase Region and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Tennessee River and the Ohio River, halfway between the metropolitan areas of St. Louis, Missouri, to the west and Nashville,...
to the Tennessee border just northwest of Clarksville
Clarksville, Tennessee
Clarksville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States, and the fifth largest city in the state. The population was 132,929 in 2010 United States Census...
. Along its route are Kentucky Dam
Kentucky Dam
Kentucky Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River on the county line between Livingston County and Marshall County in the U.S. state of Kentucky...
, which forms Kentucky Lake
Kentucky Lake
Kentucky Lake is a major navigable reservoir along the Tennessee River in Kentucky and Tennessee. Created in 1944 by the Tennessee Valley Authority's impounding of the Tennessee River by Kentucky Dam, the lake is the largest artificial lake by surface area in the United States east of the...
, and Barkley Dam
Barkley Dam
Barkley Dam is a dam along the Cumberland River in Kentucky. Its construction, along with Kentucky Dam formed the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area by stopping the flow of the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers, forming Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake respectively.The dam and artificial...
, which forms Lake Barkley
Lake Barkley
Lake Barkley, a reservoir in Livingston, Lyon, and Trigg counties in Kentucky and extending into Stewart and Houston counties in Tennessee, was impounded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1966 upon the completion of Barkley Dam. Both the lake and the dam are named for Vice President Alben...
, Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area
Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area
The Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area is a United States National Recreation Area located in Kentucky and Tennessee between Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake. The area was designated a national recreation area by President John F. Kennedy in 1963...
("LBL"; under the management of the US Forest Service), and Fort Campbell
Fort Campbell
Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astraddle the Kentucky-Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Tennessee...
.
Future extensions of Interstate 69
Interstate 69
Interstate 69 is an Interstate Highway in the United States. It exists in two parts: a completed highway from Indianapolis, Indiana, northeast to the Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan, and a mostly proposed extension southwest to the Mexican border in Texas...
and possibly Interstate 66
Interstate 66
Interstate 66 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. As indicated by its even route number, it runs in an east–west direction. Its western terminus is at Middletown, Virginia, at an intersection with Interstate 81; its eastern terminus is in Washington, D.C., at an...
are proposed to run concurrent
Concurrency (road)
A concurrency, overlap, or coincidence in a road network is an instance of one physical road bearing two or more different highway, motorway, or other route numbers...
with Interstate 24 in the Eddyville
Eddyville, Kentucky
Eddyville is a city in Lyon County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,350 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lyon County . The Kentucky State Penitentiary is located in Eddyville.-History:...
-to-Calvert City
Calvert City, Kentucky
Calvert City is a city in Marshall County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,701 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Calvert City is located at ....
corridor.
Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, Interstate 24 runs from Clarksville
Clarksville, Tennessee
Clarksville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States, and the fifth largest city in the state. The population was 132,929 in 2010 United States Census...
to Chattanooga
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
by way of Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. Just west of Chattanooga, I-24 drops into Georgia for 4 miles (6 km).
One of the most notoriously hazardous stretches of Interstate Highway in the United States is approximately 40 miles (64 km) west of Chattanooga on I-24 in Monteagle
Monteagle, Tennessee
Monteagle is a town in Franklin, Grundy, and Marion counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, in the Cumberland Plateau region of the southeastern part of the state...
, where the highway goes over the Cumberland Plateau
Cumberland Plateau
The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and western West Virginia, part of Tennessee, and a small portion of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia . The terms "Allegheny Plateau" and the "Cumberland Plateau" both refer to the...
. Compared to grades elsewhere, Monteagle's 4- to 6-percent grade does not come close to the steepest highway roads (the Siskiyou Pass
Siskiyou Summit
Siskiyou Summit is a mountain pass that carries Interstate 5 through the Siskiyou Mountains near the border between the U.S. states of California and Oregon. The summit is located on the Oregon side, approximately north of the state line, and, at , is the highest point on Interstate 5...
of Interstate 5 in Oregon
Interstate 5 in Oregon
In the U.S. state of Oregon, Interstate 5 traverses the state from north to south, passing through the major cities of Portland, Salem, Eugene, and Medford.-Route description:...
has some the steepest grades in the nation), but the slope
Slope
In mathematics, the slope or gradient of a line describes its steepness, incline, or grade. A higher slope value indicates a steeper incline....
is protracted over a distance of several miles.
Interstate 124
Interstate 124
Interstate 124 is an unsigned designation for a short segment of a four-lane limited access highway located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA. During periods where this two miles long segment of U.S. Route 27 has been signed as I-124, it has served as a spur route of Interstate 24 to downtown...
is an occasional (currently unsigned) designation of a portion of the US 27 freeway, which runs as a spur into downtown Chattanooga and beyond. Also in Chattanooga is the Ridge Cut, a quarter-mile section of Missionary Ridge
Missionary Ridge
Missionary Ridge is a geographic feature in Chattanooga, Tennessee, site of the Battle of Missionary Ridge, a battle in the American Civil War, fought on November 25, 1863. Union forces under Maj. Gens. Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, and George H...
between the 4th Avenue exit and the Germantown–Belvoir exit. Accidents and severe congestion are common here.
Georgia
In the state of GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, Interstate 24 runs for 4 miles (6 km), running along the southern flank of Raccoon Mountain and intersecting with Interstate 59
Interstate 59
Interstate 59 is an Interstate Highway in the southern United States. Its southern terminus is near Slidell, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans, at an intersection with Interstate 10 and Interstate 12, its northern terminus is at Wildwood, Georgia, at an intersection with Interstate 24.The road's...
before turning back north to the Tennessee River
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names...
and around the northern flank of Lookout Mountain
Lookout Mountain
thumb|right|See seven statesLookout Mountain is located at the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Georgia, the northeast corner of Alabama, and along the southern border of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Lookout Mountain, along with Sand Mountain to the northwest, makes up a large portion of the...
. The exits remain numbered according to Tennessee's mileposts. However, the mileposts are Georgia's mileposts.
This segment is also officially State Route 409.
Major intersections
Interstate 24 intersects with the following freeways, from west to east: in Pulleys Mill, IllinoisPulleys Mill, Illinois
Pulley's Mill is an unincorporated community in southern Williamson County, Illinois. It is generally located north of Goreville, near the intersection of Interstate 24 and Interstate 57....
(western terminus)
- Julian M. Carroll Purchase Parkway in Calvert City, Kentucky
Calvert City, KentuckyCalvert City is a city in Marshall County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,701 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Calvert City is located at ....
in Eddyville, KentuckyEddyville, KentuckyEddyville is a city in Lyon County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,350 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lyon County . The Kentucky State Penitentiary is located in Eddyville.-History:...
in Nashville, TennesseeNashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
in Nashville, TennesseeNashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
(concurrent for about 2 miles (3 km)) in Nashville, TennesseeNashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
(concurrent for about 2 miles (3 km)) in Nashville, TennesseeNashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
in Murfreesboro, TennesseeMurfreesboro, TennesseeMurfreesboro is a city in and the county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 108,755 according to the United States Census Bureau's 2010 U.S. Census, up from 68,816 residents certified during the 2000 census. The center of population of Tennessee is located in...
in Wildwood, GeorgiaWildwood, GeorgiaWildwood is a small unincorporated community located in the northeastern corner of Dade County, Georgia, United States. It is close to the Tennessee state line and the Chattanooga city limits, and is considered part of the Chattanooga metropolitan area...
in Chattanooga, TennesseeChattanooga, TennesseeChattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
in Chattanooga, TennesseeChattanooga, TennesseeChattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
(eastern terminus)