U.S. Route 51 in Tennessee
 U.S. Route 51 | |||||||
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| State Route 3 | |||||||
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| Route information | |||||||
| Maintained by TDOT | |||||||
| Length | 135.90 mi[1] (218.71 km) | ||||||
| Major junctions | |||||||
| South end |  US 51 at the Mississippi state line | ||||||
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| North end |  US 51 / Purchase Parkway at the Kentucky state line | ||||||
| Location | |||||||
| Country | United States | ||||||
| State | Tennessee | ||||||
| Counties | Shelby, Tipton, Lauderdale, Dyer, Obion | ||||||
| Highway system | |||||||
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U.S. Route 51 (US 51), mostly overlapped by the unsigned State Route 3 (SR 3), is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of Tennessee, that is 135.9 miles (218.71 km) long, completely within West Tennessee.[2] It begins in Shelby County and ends in Obion County. The SR 3 designation is seen largely on mileposts.
The two places where US 51 and SR 3 differ are in Memphis, where US 51 has been moved to Danny Thomas Boulevard (State Route 1 / State Route 4), while SR 3 remains on the one-way pair of 2nd and 3rd Streets, and in South Fulton, where US 51 crosses the state line on State Route 215 to the Purchase Parkway, while SR 3 remains on the old road, now U.S. Route 45.[1]
Route description
US 51 enters Tennessee at Memphis and runs north through the cities of Millington, Munford, Atoka, Brighton, Covington, Henning, Ripley, Halls, Dyersburg, Troy, Union City, and South Fulton.
This highway crosses four interstate highways on its journey through the state and actually crosses Interstate 240 twice within the City of Memphis but interchanges with it only at Union Avenue. US 51 is the westernmost south–north United States Highway in the State of Tennessee. US 51 is an interstate standard facility[1] from Dyersburg to South of Troy and then resuming interstate standard status north of Union City to South Fulton. US 51 is a four-lane or larger facility throughout the state with some sections north of Dyersburg carrying a 70 mph (110 km/h) speed limit.
Near Henning is also the site of the Hatchie River Bridge collapse on April 1, 1989 that killed 8 motorists when 3 spans of the structure collapsed. The 54-year-old bridge was 45 miles (72 km) north of Memphis and carried the northbound lanes of US 51. Its collapse was the result of pier scour and movement of the river channel.[3][4]
US 51 carries the Tennessee Scenic Parkway designation from its junction with SR 385 in Millington to SR 104 in Dyersburg and also carries the Great River Road designation from US 64/US 70/US 79 in Memphis to SR 88 in Halls.[1]
History
Historic two-lane alignments of this highway from Henning north are represented by State Route 209, a portion of State Route 88, State Route 210, State Route 211, a portion of State Route 183 and State Route 184. From Memphis to Henning, most of the original two lane road was upgraded to four lane expressway in the 1960s.
Future
Most of US 51 north of Dyersburg is expected to be upgraded as part of future Interstate 69. Plans currently call for Interstate 69 to run along the existing US 51 freeway from Dyersburg to Troy and from Union City to South Fulton. This section is part of SIU 7 for Interstate 69 and will require few changes beyond resigning the existing highway, however, a bypass route around Troy and Union City will need to be built before this section of future Interstate 69 is completed.[5][6]
Major intersections
| County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelby | Memphis | 0.0 | 0.0 |  US 51 south – Southaven | Continuation into Mississippi; southern terminus of SR 3; southern end of unsigned SR 3 concurrency |
| 1.8 | 2.9 |  SR 175 (Shelby Drive) | |||
| 4.6– 4.8 | 7.4– 7.7 |    I-55 to I-240 | I-55 exit 5; no access from US 51 south to I-55 north or I-55 south to US 51 north; connections provided via E Brooks Road | ||
| 9.3 | 15.0 |  US 78 (Lamar Avenue/SR 4) | |||
| 9.9 | 15.9 |       US 64 east / US 70 east / US 72 east / US 79 north (Union Avenue/SR 23 east) | Southern end of US 64/US 70/US 79 overlap; western terminus of unsigned SR 23 | ||
| 10.2 | 16.4 |  I-240 south – Jackson, MS | No direct access to north(west)bound I-240 nor from south(east)bound I-240 (both signed at Madison Avenue); I-240 exit 30 | ||
| 11.3 | 18.2 |  US 64 west / US 70 west / US 79 south (Union Avenue/SR 3 north) | Northern end of US 64/US 70/US 79/SR 3 overlap; southern end of SR 1/SR 4 overlap; interchange | ||
| 11.5 | 18.5 | Madison Avenue | Interchange | ||
| 11.6 | 18.7 | Jefferson Avenue | Interchange | ||
| 12.1– 12.3 | 19.5– 19.8 |  I-40 – Little Rock, Nashville | I-40 exits 1B–D | ||
| 12.5 | 20.1 |   SR 1 east (North Parkway) / SR 14 south (A.W. Willis Avenue) | Northern end of SR 1 overlap; southern end of SR 14 overlap | ||
| 12.6 | 20.3 |  SR 14 north (Jackson Avenue) | Northern end of SR 14 overlap | ||
| 13.1 | 21.1 | Chelsea Avenue (SR 3 south) | Eastern terminus of SR 4; southern end of SR 3 overlap; no left turn from either direction | ||
| 15.4– 15.7 | 24.8– 25.3 |  I-40 (via SR 300) – Airport | I-40 exit 2A; future I-69 | ||
| 16.2 | 26.1 |   Great River Road south (Whitney Avenue) | |||
| 18.4 | 29.6 |   SR 388 north / Great River Road north (North Watkins Street) – Meeman-Shelby State Park | Southern terminus of SR 388 | ||
| Millington | 26.7– 26.9 | 43.0– 43.3 |  SR 385 south (Paul W. Barret Parkway) to I-40 – Arlington | Northern terminus of SR 385; future I-269 | |
| 27.7 | 44.6 |  SR 205 south (Navy Road) – University of Memphis Millington Center, Millington Municipal Airport, NSA Mid-South | Northern terminus of SR 205 | ||
| Tipton | Atoka–Munford line | 35.3 | 56.8 |  SR 178 north (Tipton Road) – Munford | Southern terminus of SR 178 |
| 37.7 | 60.7 |  SR 206 (Munford Avenue/Munford-Atoka Road) – Munford, Atoka, Drummonds | |||
| Brighton | 40.8 | 65.7 | Old Highway 51 – Brighton Business District | ||
| 42.7 | 68.7 | Old Highway 51 – Brighton Business District | |||
| Covington | 47.2 | 76.0 |  SR 59 east (Mueller Brass Road) – Mason, Braden | Southern end of SR 59 overlap; truck route to SR 54 east | |
| 49.2 | 79.2 |  SR 54 east (W Pleasant Street) – Brownsville | Western terminus of SR 54; one-way pair between W Pleasant Street and W Liberty Street | ||
| 49.3 | 79.3 |  SR 59 west / Great River Road south (W Liberty Avenue) – Duvall Landing | Northern end of SR 59 overlap | ||
| 50.4 | 81.1 |  SR 384 south (Industrial Road) – Downtown Covington | Northern terminus of SR 384; truck route to SR 54 east | ||
| Lauderdale | | 56.4– 56.5 | 90.8– 90.9 |  SR 209 north (S Main Street) – Henning, Alex Haley Museum | Southern terminus of SR 209 |
| Henning | 58.0 | 93.3 |  SR 87 (Graves Avenue) / Great River Road north – Fort Pillow, Henning, Fort Pillow State Historic Park, Alex Haley Museum and Interpretive Center | ||
| Ripley | 61.9 | 99.6 |  SR 19 east – Ripley Business District, Brownsville | Southern end of SR 19 overlap | |
| 63.7 | 102.5 |  SR 19 west / Great River Road south (Lake Drive) – Ripley | North end of SR 19 overlap; interchange | ||
| 64.5 | 103.8 |  SR 208 south (Cleveland Street) – Ripley | Northern terminus of SR 208 | ||
| | 72.0 | 115.9 |  SR 180 south (Gates Road) – Gates | Northern terminus of SR 180 | |
| Halls | 75.0– 75.3 | 120.7– 121.2 |  SR 88 / Great River Road north – Halls, Mississippi River | Interchange | |
| Dyer | Fowlkes | 82.1 | 132.1 |   To SR 210 – Fowlkes, Halls | |
| Dyersburg | 84.2 | 135.5 |   US 51 Bus. north (S Main Avenue/SR 211) to US 412 east – Downtown Dyersburg | Interchange; southern terminus of US 51 Business and unsigned SR 211; truck route to SR 104 east | |
| 86.5 | 139.2 |  SR 104 (Forrest Street) – Finley, Trenton, Downtown Dyersburg | |||
| 88.5 | 142.4 |    SR 78 (Lake Road) to I-155 / US 412 – Tiptonville, Reelfoot Lake State Park, Dyersburg State Community College, Downtown Dyersburg | |||
| 90.2 | 145.2 | US 51 Bus. south (Saint John Avenue/SR 211 south) – Dyersburg | South end of unsigned SR 211 overlap; northern terminus of US 51 Business | ||
| 91.7 | 147.6 |  US 412 east (SR 20 east) / SR 211 north (Saint John Avenue) to I-40 – Jackson, Newbern | Northern end of unsigned SR 211 overlap; southern end of US 412 overlap; south end of freeway; western terminus of unsigned SR 20; interchange | ||
| 92.1 | 148.2 |  I-155 west / US 412 west – St. Louis | North end of US 412 overlap; eastern terminus of I-155; I-155 exit 15 | ||
| Newbern | 97.0– 97.7 | 156.1– 157.2 |  SR 77 east – Newbern | Western terminus of SR 77 | |
| Dyer–Obion county line | | 104.2– 104.8 | 167.7– 168.7 |  SR 105 (County Line Street) – Trimble, Rutherford | Western terminus of SR 105 |
| Obion | Obion | 108.2– 108.7 | 174.1– 174.9 |  SR 183 (Palestine Avenue) – Obion | |
| | 113.6 | 182.8 | SR 183 north (Davis Highway) – Obion | Northern end of freeway; at-grade intersection; southern terminus of SR 183 | |
| Troy | 113.9 | 183.3 | S Main Street - Troy | Former US 51 | |
| 114.8 | 184.8 |  SR 21 west (W Harper Street) – Troy, Hornbeak, Tiptonville, Reelfoot Lake State Park | Southern end of SR 21 overlap | ||
| 115.3 | 185.6 | SR 21 east (Rives Road) – Rives | Northern end of SR 21 overlap | ||
| 120.0– 120.4 | 193.1– 193.8 |  Future I-69 | Future interchange | ||
| Union City | 122.0 | 196.3 |  SR 184 south (Old Troy Road) | Southern end of unsigned SR 184 concurrency; Former US 51 | |
| 122.2 | 196.7 |   SR 431 south (W Reelfoot Avenue/SR 184 north) to US 45W – Martin, Airport | Northern terminus of SR 431; northern end unsigned SR 184 concurrency | ||
| 123.0 | 197.9 |   SR 22 north / SR 5 (W Main Street) – Woodland Mills, Samburg, Reelfoot Lake, Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge, Business District | Southern end of SR 22 overlap | ||
| 125.6 | 202.1 | SR 21 (N Clover Street) – Clinton, KY, Union City | |||
| | 127.1– 127.7 | 204.5– 205.5 | US 45W south / SR 22 south (Section Line Road) – Union City, Martin | Northern end of SR 22 overlap; southern end of US 45W overlap; southern end of freeway; interchange; future I-169 | |
| | Future I-69 south | Proposed southern end of I-69 overlap | |||
| South Fulton | 134.5 | 216.5 |  SR 214 west (Ken Tenn Road) | Interchange; eastern terminus of SR 214; southbound exit and northbound entrance; northern end of freeway | |
| 134.8 | 216.9 |   US 45 north (Chickasaw Drive/SR 3 north) / US 45E south (SR 215 east) – South Fulton, Martin | Northern end of US 45W and unsigned SR 3 overlap; southern end of unsigned SR 215 overlap; US 45W and US 45E merge to form US 45; southern end of freeway; interchange | ||
| 135.9 | 218.7 |  US 51 north / Purchase Parkway north – Fulton | Continuation into Kentucky; southern terminus of Purchase Parkway; western terminus of unsigned SR 215 | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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References
- ^ a b c d Tennessee Department of Transportation County Maps and City Maps
- ^ Tennessee Department of Transportation (24 January 2003). "State Highway and Interstate List 2003"
- ^ Haestad Methods, Inc., 13.9 Lateral Scour-The Hatchie River Bridge Failure
- ^ National Transportation Safety Board; July 24, 1990 Letter to Gov. Ned McWherter
- ^ Tennessee Department of Transportation Interstate 69 SIU 7 Project Home Page
- ^ "Memphis-Evansville Section Details". I69Info.com. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
External links
Media related to U.S. Route 51 in Tennessee at Wikimedia Commons
- U.S. Highways in Tennessee
- Interstate 69
- Great River Road
- Transportation in Shelby County, Tennessee
- Transportation in Tipton County, Tennessee
- Transportation in Lauderdale County, Tennessee
- Transportation in Dyer County, Tennessee
- Transportation in Obion County, Tennessee
- U.S. Route 51
- Freeways in Tennessee