Interstate 240 (Tennessee)
Highway in Tennessee / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Interstate 240 (I-240) is a 19.27-mile-long (31.01 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US state of Tennessee that forms a bypass around the southern and eastern neighborhoods of Memphis. Combined, I-240 and its parent, I-40, form a contiguous beltway around most of Memphis. I-240 runs from I-40 in Midtown Memphis to I-40 and Sam Cooper Boulevard in East Memphis. Throughout its length, it provides access to I-55, multiple U.S. and state routes, and the Memphis International Airport. The segment between the western terminus and I-55 is a north–south route, and the segment between I-55 and the eastern terminus runs east to west. Throughout its length, I-240 is designated as the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway, the W.B. Fowler Sr. Expressway, and the Avron B. Fogelman Expressway.
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway W.B. Fowler Sr. Expressway Avron B. Fogelman Expressway | ||||
Route information | ||||
Auxiliary route of I-40 | ||||
Maintained by TDOT | ||||
Length | 19.27 mi[1] (31.01 km) | |||
Existed | November 12, 1958[2]–present | |||
NHS | Entire route | |||
Major junctions | ||||
West end | I-40 in Memphis | |||
Major intersections | ||||
East end | I-40 / Sam Cooper Boulevard in Memphis | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | Tennessee | |||
Counties | Shelby | |||
Highway system | ||||
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The first sections of I-240 were opened in 1962, and the present-day route was completed in 1971. I-240 was first envisioned in the 1950s as a complete circular beltway around Memphis. The western segment between I-40 and I-55 was designated as I-255 until 1973, however. Citizen opposition to the routing of I-40 through Overton Park in the central part of Memphis resulted in I-40 being rerouted onto what was originally the northern loop of I-240 in 1981. As a result of this change, I-240's exits are still numbered according to their original mileage, which today is inconsistent with its length.