Interstate 55 (I-55) in Tennessee lies entirely within the city of Memphis, located in Shelby County. The highway enters the city from

Southaven Southaven is a city in DeSoto County, Mississippi, United States. It is a principal city in Greater Memphis. The 2020 census reported a population of 54,648, making Southaven the third-largest city in Mississippi and the second most populous ...

in Desoto County,

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, and passes through the

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It i ...

area of the city, bypassing Memphis International Airport to the west.

Route description

I-55 enters Tennessee from Mississippi, heading north to an interchange with I-240. I-55 then turns westward for a brief period before turning northward again. Just before reaching downtown, the highway turns westward again at E.H. Crump Boulevard and crosses the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

via the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge into West Memphis, in Crittenden County,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

. I-55 provides an alternate route for motorists who do not want to take I-240 and

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 ...

through downtown to cross the Mississippi River.

History

The Memphis and Arkansas Bridge, the first link of what is now I-55, was integrated into the Interstate system. Construction began on September 12, 1945, and the bridge opened to traffic on December 17, 1949. The first segment of I-55 to begin construction after the passage of the

Interstate Highway Act The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, also known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, was enacted on June 29, 1956, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill into law. With an original authorization of $25 billion for ...

of 1956 was the section between the Mississippi State Line and U.S. Route 51 (US 51)/Brooks Road in early 1959. This segment opened to traffic on December 2, 1961, and was the first completed freeway segment in Memphis. On March 18, 1966, the section between I-240 and US 61 was opened. I-55 was widened from four to eight lanes between the Mississippi state line and the I-240 interchange in two phases. The first phase, which took place between February 1999 and June 2001, widened the section between Winchester Road and I-240, and the second phase, which ran from early 2000 to July 2002, widened the highway between the state line and Winchester Road. On January 18, 2008, the

Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program ...

(FHWA) authorized the states of Mississippi and Tennessee to extend I-69 from the

/ State Route 300 (SR 300) interchange in north Memphis to the I-55/I-69 interchange in Hernando; however, Tennessee has signed the extension of the route, although Mississippi has already done so. I-55 is one of Tennessee's Interstates where the speed limit is instead of .

Future

There are currently plans to revamp the I-55/Crump Boulevard Interchange. The current design (a cloverleaf interchange) causes northbound motorists, especially truck drivers, to slow down from to when going from the section they are on to the section passing over the Mississippi River. Prior to 2011, northbound traffic had to merge on a one-lane loop with a tight radius while traffic going from I-55 southbound to Riverside Drive merged into traffic on another loop ramp. This has caused several accidents over the years. A temporary solution has been put into effect by making the northbound loop into two lanes, eliminating I-55 southbound to Riverside Drive loop and creating a left turn lane for I-55 to Riverside Drive traffic. This eliminated having to make a lane change in order to stay on I-55 northbound. In 2021, a second lane was added for I-55 southbound in response to the Hernando de Soto Bridge closure. In 2012, the FHWA approved TDOT's permanent solution. The planned project eliminated the cloverleaf entirely and added two flyover ramps for Interstate traffic and a roundabout to accommodate Riverside Drive traffic, E.H. Crump Boulevard traffic, and the I-55 entrance/exit ramps. The project, originally scheduled to begin in 2018, was on hold due to controversy over the nine-month closure of the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge during the project. On March 30, 2022, TDOT awarded a $141.2 million contract for the project; work is expected to be completed in early 2025. The project shortens the closure time of the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge to two weeks.

Exit list

References

{{state detail page browse, type=I, route=55, statebefore=Mississippi, state=Tennessee, stateafter=Arkansas Transportation in Memphis, Tennessee Transportation in Shelby County, Tennessee 55 Tennessee