Interstate 275 (I-275) is an

Interstate Highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

that serves

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's ...

by connecting the downtown with

I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from St ...

/ I-640/ US Route 25W (US 25W). Measuring in length, it runs from a northern terminus at the junction with I-75/I-640/US 25W to a southern terminus at

I-40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

Route description

I-275 begins at a complicated interchange with I-40 in

Downtown Knoxville Downtown Knoxville is the downtown area of Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. It contains the city's central business district and primary city and county municipal offices. It is also home to several retail establishments, residential buildi ...

. US 441 southbound (Henley Street), State Route 62 (SR 62, Western Avenue), and 11th Street are also directly accessible from I-275 southbound at this interchange, and northbound I-275 is directly accessible from US 441 northbound and SR 62 here. About north of this point, I-275 has an interchange with Baxter Avenue and then Woodland Avenue about later. The route then curves sharply to the northwest and then sharply to the northeast about later and crosses a railroad before reaching an interchange with Heiskell Avenue about later. Passing through Sharp's Gap, a low point in

Sharp's Ridge Sharp's Ridge is a steep ridge in Knoxville, Tennessee, north of the city's downtown. A area of the ridge is maintained as Sharp's Ridge Memorial Park, a city park dedicated to the honor of the area's war veterans. The ridge also is the site of ...

, I-275 reaches its northern terminus with I-75, I-640, and US 25W about later. At this interchange, the route crosses I-640, and continues north as I-75. US 25W northbound is accessible from a flyover ramp that splits off from I-275 northbound about south of I-640.

History

The freeway that is now I-275 was first planned in the 1940s as part of a series of freeways for the city of Knoxville and was known initially as the North–South Expressway. The route was integrated into the Interstate System as part of

, and the southern terminus was the end of a concurrency with I-40 and I-75. The route was renumbered I-275 in December 1980, when I-75 was rerouted onto the new I-640 to divert traffic from the downtown area. Work on most of the route began in March 1958, and the first section, located between I-40 and Baxter Avenue, opened on October 28, 1960, after several delays. The final section, located between Oldham Avenue and Heiskell Avenue, opened on January 24, 1962. A dedication ceremony for this section took place on February 9, 1962. Between December 1, 2006, and January 26, 2008, the existing cloverleaf exits (1A–B, 1C–D, 2A–B) were replaced with traditional diamond interchanges to add a continuous third lane in each direction. This was done to handle increased traffic flow for the shutdown of I-40 in Downtown Knoxville that took place on May 1, 2008. I-275 was the designated detour route for I-75 northbound traffic during the I-40 shutdown to avoid traffic congestion at the I-75/I-640/I-275/US 25W junction as the ramp for I-75 northbound from I-640 eastbound is only one lane.

Exit list

References

External links

Interstate 275 (Tennessee)
at AARoads.com {{3di, 75 75-2 Tennessee 75-2 2 Tennessee Transportation in Knoxville, Tennessee Transportation in Knox County, Tennessee