State Route 53 (SR 53) is a north–south
state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...
that traverses six counties in
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the s ...
. It is long.
Route description
Coffee County
As a primary route, SR 53 begins at the junction with
US 41/
SR 2 in the
Coffee County seat of
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. It goes northeast as a 4-lane undivided highway (as Woodbury Highway) through a business district before it intersects
I-24
Interstate 24 (I-24) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It runs diagonally from I-57, south of Marion, Illinois, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, at I-75. It travels through Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, ...
(Exit 110) before leaving town, narrowing to 2-lanes and continuing north into farmland. It has an intersection with
SR 280 before crossing into
Cannon County
Cannon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,506. Its county seat is Woodbury. Cannon County is part of the Nashville–Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN Metropolitan Stat ...
.
Cannon County
SR 53 continues through farmland (as Jim Cummings Highway) and has an intersection with
SR 281 before curving through a gap between two ridges to enter
Woodbury Woodbury may refer to:
Geography
Antarctica
*Woodbury Glacier, a glacier on Graham Land, British Antarctic Territory
Australia
* Woodbury, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
England
* Woodbury, Bournemouth, an area in Dorset
*Woodbury, East Devo ...
(as S McCrary Street). It goes through downtown to intersect and become concurrent with
US 70S
U.S. Route 70S (US 70S) is an alternative to U.S. Route 70 between the western part of Nashville and Sparta in Tennessee. It runs concurrent with US 70 for several blocks in downtown Nashville. The highway follows Murfreesboro Pike from Nashville t ...
/
SR 1 (Main Street) as the turn east and leave downtown before SR 53 splits off and turns north again (as Gassaway Road), leaving Woodbury and crossing the
East Fork of the Stones River. SR 53 continues north through the mountains and treacherous terrain of the
Highland Rim
The Highland Rim is a geographic term for the area in Tennessee surrounding the Central Basin. Nashville is largely surrounded by higher terrain in all directions.
Geologically, the Central Basin is a dome. The Highland Rim is a cuesta surround ...
, as at this it becomes narrow and curvy, before crossing into
DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johan DeKalb:
* DeKalb County, Alabama
* DeKalb County, Georgia
* DeKalb County, Illinois
* DeKalb County, Indiana
* DeKalb County, Missouri
...
, just after passing through the community of
Gassaway.
DeKalb County
SR 53 continues through mountains (as Woodbury Highway) before leveling and straightening out just before entering
Liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
and
becoming concurrent with
US 70/
SR 26/
SR 96 (Nashville Highway). They turn west as a 4-lane undivided highway, with SR 96 splitting off to the southwest shortly afterwards. The highway then narrows to 2-lanes as they leave Liberty and pass through hilly countryside before entering
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
. SR 53 then separates from US 70/SR 26 and bypasses downtown to the east (as SR 53 bypass) before leaving Alexandria (as Alexandria Highway) and continuing north to cross into
Smith County.
Smith County
SR 53 immediately enters and passes through
Brush Creek before continuing north through farmland to enter
New Middleton and become concurrent with
SR 141, just south of its interchange with
I-40 (Exit 254). They turn east (as New Middleton Highway) through New Middleton, and running parallel to I-40, before entering
Gordonsville (as E Main Street). The highway is briefly signed as a secondary route from the first junction with SR 141 to the second one in Gordonsville. They then intersect with
SR 264, where SR 141 continues along that route to downtown and SR 53 splits off and goes north again (as Gordonsville Highway) changes back to a primary route prior to intersecting
I-40 (Exit 258) before leaving Gordonsville and continuing north through farmland to an interchange with
US 70N/
SR 24/
SR 25 at
South Carthage.
Here, SR 53 turns east to run concurrently with US 70N/SR 24 (as Cookeville Highway) while SR 25 goes north as a 4-lane divided highway into
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...
. From here all the way to the
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
state line, the entire remainder of the SR 53 corridor parallels the
Cumberland River
The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...
. They pass through farmland, crossing a bridge over the
Caney Fork River and having an intersection with
SR 264 until the highway reaches
Chestnut Mound. SR 53 then splits off from US 70N/SR 24 and once again becomes a secondary route as it becomes narrow and curvy due to entering mountains again as it crosses into
Jackson County.
Jackson County
SR 53 continues north through hilly terrain (as Granville Highway) as a narrow and curvy road as it leaves Chestnut mound and crosses a bridge over an arm of
Cordell Hull Lake
Cordell Hull Lake is a lake in the Cumberland River in north-central Tennessee, about forty miles east of Nashville, in the vicinity of Carthage. It covers approximately .
Cordell Hull Dam, on the Cumberland River, was built by the United States ...
/
Cumberland River
The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...
to enter
Granville, where it passes right through downtown and meets the eastern end of
SR 96. It then leaves Granville and crosses another arm of Cordell Hull Lake/Cumberland River to east and continue through hilly terrain. The highway then turns north again at an intersection with
SR 290 and becomes much curvier. It continues to an intersection with
SR 262, where it becomes W Hull Avenue as it enters
Gainesboro. SR 53 the passes through downtown before becoming concurrent with
SR 56, where it returns to being a primary highway. They travel north (as Grundy Quarles Highway) to just south of SR 56's crossing of the Cumberland River, SR 53 splits off to the east and becomes concurrent with
SR 85 and
SR 135 (as N Grundy Quarles Highway). SR 135 splits off a short distance later just before crossing a bridge over the
Roaring River, with SR 85 splitting off shortly afterwards. SR 53 then continues further north along the banks of the Cumberland River into
Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman:
* Clay County, Alabama
* Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County)
* Clay County, Flor ...
.
Clay County
SR 53 continues along the banks of the Cumberland River (as Gainesboro Highway), surrounded by mountains on either side and farmland along the river banks. It then has an intersection with
SR 292 before entering
Celina. In Celina, it bypasses downtown to the east and intersects with
SR 52
The following highways are numbered 52:
Australia
* Kings Highway (Australia)
* Isis Highway ( Childers to Ban Ban Springs) - Queensland State Route 52 (Wide Bay–Burnett Region)
* Gillies Highway - Queensland State Route 52 (Far North Queensla ...
.
After it passes through Celina, SR 53 goes in a northeasterly direction, over the
Obey River
The Obey River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 tributary of the Cumberland River in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It joins the Cumberland River near the t ...
, skirting the banks of
Dale Hollow Lake
The Dale Hollow Reservoir is a reservoir situated on the Kentucky/Tennessee border. The lake is formed by the damming of the Obey River, 7.3 miles (12 km) above its juncture with the Cumberland River at river mile 380. Portions of the lake a ...
until it reaches its northern terminus at the
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
state line. The road continues as
Kentucky Route 61 upon entering
Cumberland County, Kentucky.
History
The highway passed through the town of Willow Grove until the town's destruction in 1943 with the creation of the
Dale Hollow Reservoir
The Dale Hollow Reservoir is a reservoir situated on the Kentucky/Tennessee border. The lake is formed by the damming of the Obey River, 7.3 miles (12 km) above its juncture with the Cumberland River at river mile 380. Portions of the lake al ...
. The highway's entry to the town is now the site of Cedar Hill Marina. The town's destruction caused Highway 53 to be rerouted north following the shore of the new lake. The former route east of Dale Hollow is now signed as
Tennessee State Route 325
State Route 325 (SR 325) is a secondary state highway located in northeastern Middle Tennessee. The length of the route is an estimated total of through Pickett and northwestern Fentress Counties.
Route description
The western terminus of SR ...
.
Additional information of the route
SR 53 from Gainesboro to Celina, and the corridor from Celina to the Kentucky state line is considered to be parts of the Corridor J-1 and J projects, respectively, of the
Appalachian Development Highway System
The Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) is a series of highway corridors in the Appalachia region of the eastern United States. The routes are designed as local and regional routes for improving economic development in the historical ...
. KY 61 north of the state line continues Corridor J into Kentucky.
“Status of Corridors in Tennessee”
Appalachian Regional Commission. September 2, 2013. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
Major intersections
References
{{Reflist
053 53 may refer to:
* 53 (number)
* one of the years 53 BC, AD 53, 1953, 2053
* FiftyThree, an American privately held technology company that specializes in tools for mobile creation and visual thinking
* 53rd Regiment Alabama Cavalry
* 53rd Regiment ...
Transportation in Coffee County, Tennessee
Transportation in Cannon County, Tennessee
Transportation in DeKalb County, Tennessee
Transportation in Smith County, Tennessee
Transportation in Jackson County, Tennessee
Transportation in Clay County, Tennessee