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Interstate 40
Main route of the Interstate Highway System |
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| Length: |
2555.10 mi[1] (4112.03 km) |
| West end: |
 I-15 in Barstow, CA |
Major
junctions: |
 I-25 in Albuquerque, NM
 I-35 in Oklahoma City, OK
 I-30 in North Little Rock, AR
 I-55 in West Memphis, AR
 I-65 in Nashville, TN
 I-75 in Knoxville, TN
 I-85 in Greensboro, NC
 I-95 in Benson, NC |
| East end: |
  US 117/NC 132 in Wilmington, NC |
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Interstate 40 (abbreviated I-40) is a major west-east interstate highway in the United States. Its western terminus is at Interstate 15 in Barstow, California; its eastern terminus is at a concurrency of U.S. Route 117 and North Carolina Highway 132 in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Much of the western portion of I-40, from Oklahoma City to Barstow, parallels historic Route 66.
[edit] Route description
[edit] California
[edit] State law
Legal Definition of Route 40: California Streets and Highways Code, Chapter 2, Article 3, Section 340
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Route 40 is part of the Scenic Highway System, as stated by section 263.4 of the California State Highway Code. |
[edit] Length
[edit] Major cities
Cities in bold are officially-designated control cities for signs.
- Barstow, California
- Needles, California
- Kingman, Arizona
- Flagstaff, Arizona
- Gallup, New Mexico
- Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Santa Rosa, New Mexico
- Tucumcari, New Mexico
- Amarillo, Texas
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Fort Smith, Arkansas
- Little Rock, Arkansas
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Knoxville, Tennessee
- Asheville, North Carolina
- Hickory, North Carolina
- Statesville, North Carolina
- Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Greensboro, North Carolina
- Durham, North Carolina
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- Benson, North Carolina
- Wilmington, North Carolina
Note: Los Angeles, California is also used as a control city west of the New Mexico-Arizona state line, even though I-40 does not enter Los Angeles, and neither does the interstate at its western terminus (I-15)
[edit] Intersections with other interstates
- Interstate 15 in Barstow, California
- Interstate 17 in Flagstaff, Arizona
- Interstate 25 in Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Interstate 27 in Amarillo, Texas
- Interstate 44 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Interstate 35 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Interstate 235 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Interstate 240 in Midwest City, Oklahoma
- Interstate 540 in Van Buren, Arkansas (merged for 5 miles until Alma, Arkansas)
- Interstate 430 in North Little Rock, Arkansas
- Interstate 30 in North Little Rock, Arkansas
- Interstate 440 in North Little Rock, Arkansas
- Interstate 55 in West Memphis, Arkansas (the freeways are merged throughout the city)
- Interstate 240 in Memphis, Tennessee
- Proposed Interstate 69 in Memphis, Tennessee
- Interstate 440 in Nashville, Tennessee
- Interstate 65 in Nashville, Tennessee (merged for approximately 3 miles)
- Interstate 24 in Nashville, Tennessee (merged for approximately 2 miles)
- Interstate 75 near Dixie Lee Junction, Tennessee. They stay merged until Knoxville, Tennessee.
- Interstate 640 near Dixie Lee Junction (west) and Knoxville, Tennessee (east)
- Interstate 275 in Knoxville, Tennessee
- Interstate 81 near Dandridge, Tennessee
- Interstate 26 in Asheville, North Carolina
- Interstate 240 in Asheville, North Carolina
- Interstate 77 in Statesville, North Carolina
- Future Interstate 74 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Future Interstate 73 in Greensboro, North Carolina
- Interstate 85 in Greensboro, North Carolina. They stay merged until Hillsborough, North Carolina.
- Interstate 540 between Durham and Raleigh, North Carolina
- Interstate 440 in Raleigh, North Carolina (twice)
- Interstate 95 in Benson, North Carolina (Map)
[edit] Auxiliary routes
- I-140 - Farragut, Tennessee
- I-140 - Wilmington, North Carolina
- I-240 - Asheville, North Carolina
- I-240 - Memphis, Tennessee
- I-240 - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- I-440 - Little Rock, Arkansas
- I-440 - Nashville, Tennessee
- I-440 - Raleigh, North Carolina
- I-540 - Spurs to Fort Smith, Arkansas and Bentonville, Arkansas; proposed to become part of an expanded Interstate 49
- I-540 - Raleigh, North Carolina (may be resigned as I-640 when the northern loop of the road is completed back around to I-40 near Garner. [2])
- I-640 - Knoxville, Tennessee
- I-840 - Greensboro, North Carolina
[edit] Business routes
Note: Links with italics are routes that have been decommissioned.[3]
- In Memphis, I-40 was originally intended to go through the city's Overton Park toward downtown. Several miles of interstate were actually built within the I-240 loop; this portion of highway still exists and is in regular use as Sam Cooper Boulevard, reaching the eastern end of Chickasaw Country Club. Environmentalist opposition, combined with a victory in the United States Supreme Court by opponents of the Overton Park route (see Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe) forced abandonment of the original plans, and the road never reached the park. For over 20 years, I-40 signage existed on the dead-end route toward Overton Park. Eventually, the northern portion of the I-240 loop was redesignated as I-40.
- In North Carolina, I-40 merges with I-85 between Greensboro and Hillsborough, just west of Durham. In Alamance County, the highway is also known as the Sam Hunt Freeway. Due to a recent rerouting of I-85 around Greensboro, I-40 departs from it eight miles (13 km) east of the original split. However, I-40 will be moved to a new alignment south of Greensboro, which currently carries the new I-85 bypass and will eventually carry Interstate 73 as well. The existing I-40 through Greensboro will become a second I-40 freeway Business Loop once the new alignment is finished by 2007. The concurrency with I-85 will be extended another 12 miles (19 km) on this new alignment.
- The first Business Loop of I-40, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is actually a freeway for its entire length, a rarity for Business Interstates. That's because I-40 was originally routed through downtown Winston-Salem, and it continued to follow that route until a new bypass was built. After the bypass was completed around 1992, I-40 was relocated to the new freeway. There are arguments that the former I-40 freeway in Winston-Salem should become an interstate again, especially since the road is currently undergoing an upgrade. There are no even loop numbers left for I-40, however, since the NCDOT has plans to use last available one Interstate 840 for the northern loop of a beltway that's being built around nearby Greensboro. Other Business Loop freeways include the former Interstate 80 in Sacramento, California and two separate sections of what was once the mainline of Interstate 85 in Spartanburg, South Carolina and Greensboro, North Carolina.
- In Oklahoma City, the designation I-440 had been given to a stretch of Interstate highway from I-240 to US-66; a part of Grand Boulevard that had been built compliant with Interstate standards. In 1982, as part of Oklahoma's "Diamond Jubilee", I-44's western terminus was moved from the I-35/I-44 junction to the Texas/Oklahoma border via the Belle Isle Freeway (connecting I-440 with I-35), I-440, the H.E. Bailey Turnpike, and the turnpike connector road on the eastern edge of Lawton, Oklahoma. The I-440 designation was dropped at the time, but may return in the future.
- In Albuquerque, New Mexico, I-40 was originally meant to replace Central Avenue through the center of the city. However, due to development and public opposition, a path going northward was chosen. The freeway intersects Central at either end of the city.
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An at-grade intersection on Interstate 40, as of 2003.
In violation of Interstate standards, I-40 has one marked and two unmarked at-grade crossings in western North Carolina. About eight miles (13 km) from the Tennessee border in North Carolina, when going westbound, a sign for "Hurricane Road" will appear. Hurricane Road is a local dirt road whose quality is below that of the breakdown lane, and the intersection is controlled by a stop sign. It is a right-in, right-out entrance. A couple other unmarked local roads also directly link onto I-40 in the area, including a private access road for Walters Dam between mile markers 11 and 12 on the westbound side. In the west Texas panhandle area and New Mexico, there are several ranch roads connected directly to the interstate. One of the marked at-grade crossings is shown in the picture. Satellite photo of an at-grade crossing in New Mexico.
- When the last portion of I-40, connecting Wilmington to Raleigh, was completed in the late 1980s, Charles Kuralt stated, "Thanks to the interstate highway system, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything."[6]
- In 2008, a section of I-40 through downtown Knoxville near the Malfunction Junction will be completely closed to all traffic for about 18 months for a massive reconstruction. Through traffic will be required to use Interstate 640 or be funnelled onto surface streets. The section is currently 4 lanes wide and quite substandard and congested, with many accidents.[7]
[edit] Appearances in pop culture
- I-40 and its replacement of Route 66 are prominently featured in the Disney/Pixar movie Cars.
- In an episode of Three's Company, Jack pretends to know how to ski. When about to leave the lodge, he asks Janet what the drop is like. After explaining, he inquires, "What happens if I don't make the turn?"
- Janet replies, "You hit Interstate 40 at 100 MPH"
- Jack then says, "I'm in trouble."
- "I know-- that's a 55-MPH zone."
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
[edit] Arizona
[edit] California
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