State Route 204 (SR 204) is a state highway in Shelby County,

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 ...

, United States, that connects

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

and Millington.

Route description

Sgt Walter K Singleton Parkway Memphis TN 001

SR 204 starts at the intersection of Stratford Road and Macon Road in Memphis, about a mile (south of

Interstate 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 ...

(I‑40). The road (locally known as Covington Pike), passes over the Wolf River after its interchange with I‑40. Between here and Raleigh–Lagrange Road are numerous car dealerships; Covington Pike is best known regionally for this. SR 204 continues north into the Memphis neighborhood of Raleigh, crossing SR 15 (Stage Road) and SR 14 (Austin Peay Highway). At this intersection, SR 204 changes into Sgt. Walter K. Singleton Parkway (Singleton Parkway), a four-lane divided highway with a speed limit. This route was named for

Walter K. Singleton Walter Keith Singleton (December 7, 1944 – March 24, 1967) was a United States Marine Corps sergeant who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously by President Lyndon B. Johnson, for his actions above and beyond the call of duty in Vietnam on M ...

, a Memphis native, who was posthumously awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

as a result of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. This is one of the main routes for residents who commute from Millington to Memphis. After passing over the

Loosahatchie River The Loosahatchie River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 3, 2011 stream in southwestern Tennessee. Except for a few miles near its head, its mouth, and near the ...

, SR 204 ends at SR 385 (Paul Barret Parkway—future I&8209;269). Singleton Parkway continues north into

Naval Support Activity Mid-South Naval Support Activity Mid-South (NSA Mid-South, NAVSUPPACT Mid-South, NSAMS), in Millington, Tennessee, is a base of the United States Navy. A part of the Navy Region Southeast and the Navy Installations Command, NSA Mid-South serves as the Navy ...

and further on to SR 205 (Navy Road) in Millington, ending on the east side of the

Millington-Memphis Airport The Millington-Memphis Airport (formerly known as Millington Municipal Airport or Millington Regional Jetport) is a public airport in the city of Millington, Tennessee, in Shelby County, United States. The airport is located north of Memphis. ...

. However, the base is closed to through traffic, so through traffic must go onto SR 385 in order to go to Millington.

History

Up until the 1970s, Covington Pike ran from Raleigh–Lagrange Road to just south of its current junction with Austin Peay Highway (SR 14). However, instead of taking a turn towards the west along the current route, Covington Pike continued north and crossed Austin Peay Highway north of where it does today. Covington Pike crossed over SR 14 several times in somewhat discontinuous sections, over the Loosahatchie River, and past the community of Rosemark. In theory, one could get to Covington (about north of Memphis) by having traveled this route as its name suggests. Once in Tipton County, the route is known as Old Memphis Road (or Old Brighton Road in the city of Covington), which is more continuous and still goes from the Tipton County line to Covington. Today, segments of the old Covington Pike still exist, but are mainly dead ends. Singleton Parkway was built in the 1970s from Austin Peay to Egypt Central Road, and was extended north to Millington in the 1980s.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{commons category, Tennessee State Route 204
Tennessee Department of Transportation

Tennessee Official Transportation Map
* Memphis Road Map—Published by Esso, circa 1960's

204

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links