Interstate 24

Interstate 24 Illinois
Interstate 24 Kentucky
Interstate 24 Tennessee
Interstate 24 Georgia
Pulleys Mill, IL ↔ Chattanooga, TN•316.36 miles•1 Branch Route

Overview

I-24 Tennessee River Bridge
Interstate 24 spans the Tennessee River across a steel through arch bridge built in 1974. 04/05/13

Interstate 24 takes a northwest to southeast orientation from Southern Illinois across western Kentucky and into Tennessee. The freeway even enters Georgia briefly. Connecting Chattanooga, Nashville and Paducah, Kentucky, I-24 also provides a part of a regional route to destinations such as Atlanta, Chicago and St. Louis. Some signage for I-24 in Nashville even listed the western control city as St. Louis, even though the freeway does not extended that far west.

Mileage by State

Illinois38.73 mi
Kentucky93.37 mi
Tennessee180.16 mi
Georgia4.10 mi

Data Sources

December 31, 2021 Interstate Route Log and Finders List

KYTC Functional Classification Interactive Map. https://maps.kytc.ky.gov/functionalclass/

I-75/24 Interchange Modification

I-75/24 Interchange Modification
I-24 west at Spring Creek Road - East Ridge, TN
Construction replacing the Spring Creek Road overpass. Spring Creek Road spans I-24 on the west side of the exchange with I-75. Photo by Peter Johnson (02/29/20).

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) awarded a $132.64 million contract on December 21, 2018 for the design-build project upgrading the exchange joining the east end of Interstate 24 with I-75 in Chattanooga. Work through June 2021 started in Fall 2019.11

Construction relocated ramps to and from I-24 to I-75 to the right side and expanded all other ramps at the systems interchange. Additionally the entrance ramp from U.S. 76 (Ringgold Road) west was extended along a distributor roadway to the adjacent Tennessee Welcome Center, with a grade separation added above the I-75 off-ramp to the rest area. The Spring Creek Road overpass on I-24 was also replaced.

The Interstate 75 Interchange at Interstate 24 - Phase II project underway from Spring 2023 to 2025 completes work at the exchange. Improvements include widening I-24 from Germantown Road to Spring Creek Road and reconfiguring the ramps with North and South Terrace. Work also expands I-75 to five lanes from west of the CSX Railroad overpass to the interchange with E Brainard Road. Ramps reconstructed during Phase I will be resurfaced and restriped to create additional lanes.

Parallel U.S. Routes

Leading south from I-57 to Metropolis in Illinois, I-24 somewhat parallels U.S. 45. U.S. 45 leaves the freeway corridor at Paducah, Kentucky, with U.S. 60 paralleling the route east to Reidland and U.S. 62 to I-69 at Eddyville. Angling southeast toward Clarksville, I-24 travels solo until the Hopkinsville vicinity, where U.S. 41 Alternate accompanies the route south into Nashville. U.S. 41 and I-24 parallel one another closely from the capital city of Tennessee south to Chattanooga. U.S. 64/72 join U.S. 41 as I-24 dips into Georgia as well.

History

The final portion of Interstate 24 in Illinois to open was the 14 mile long highway from U.S. 45 north of Vienna to I-57. This stretch opened in late January 1976 at a cost of $32.5 million.7

First conceptualized through western Kentucky in 1958, Interstate 24 was completed in the state on May 23, 1980 when a 23 mile long section opened to traffic from Western Kentucky Parkway to U.S. 68 east of Cadiz. Groundbreaking on the first portion of I-24 in the Bluegrass State took place in Lyon County in December 1967.1 The 28 mile long section between U.S. 68 and the Tennessee state line opened in early September 12, 1975 at a cost of $29.7 million.2

The Ohio River bridge between Metropolis, Illinois and Paducah, Kentucky opened to traffic in October 1974 at a cost of $18.6 million.3 Structural problems discovered, including 119 cracks as a result of defective welding in the tie girders, led to the closure of the span on August 3, 1979.4,5 The tied-arch bridge remained closed to all traffic through October 1980 and truck traffic until the Summer of 1981.6

Within Nashville, Interstate 24 has a short overlap with I-65 leading south toward Downtown. Renumbering of Interstate 265 to I-65 in 2000 shortened the concurrency between the two routes in an effort to better partition through traffic around Downtown.

I-40 west at I-24 - Nashville, TN
Interstate 40 west at the three-wye interchange where the two combine in Nashville. I-24/40 overlap 1.8 miles to Downtown. 04/04/13

Further south at Monteagle, Tennessee, the roadways of Interstate 24 separate by a substantial distance due to the terrain. I-24 was constructed across Monteagle Mountain between 1962 and 1968.8 The eastbound roadway for I-24 incorporated what was a three lane route for U.S. 41/64. Reconstruction of the eastbound lanes to modern standards during the 1980s left the westbound lanes with two lanes of traffic per direction separated by a concrete barrier.9 The Ridge cut section of Interstate 24 in Chattanooga was dedicated on December 1, 1965.10

Western Kentucky – 1970 Kentucky Official Highway Map
Very little of Interstate 24 was under construction by 1970 in Kentucky. The National System of Interstate and Defense Highways plan in 1955 only included I-24 between Nashville and Chattanooga. The extension northwest to Illinois was included with the additions approved in October 1957.
Central Nashville, Tennessee – 1969
Interstate 24 ran northwest from La Vergne (Exit 62) to temporarily end on the overlapped section with I-65 at Maplewood (Exit 44) by 1970.

East End Interstate 75 ‐ Chattanooga, TN

Interstate 24 East at Interstate 75

I-24 east at I-75 - Chattanooga, TN

A split diamond interchange (Exit 184) joins Interstate 24 with Moore Road between East Ridge and Chattanooga ahead of the exchange with I-75. 06/12/17

I-24 east at I-75 - Chattanooga, TN I-24 east at I-75 - Chattanooga, TN I-24 east at I-75 - Chattanooga, TN I-24 east at I-75 - Chattanooga, TN

Interstate 75 North at Interstate 24

I-75 north two miles ahead of I-24 west at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia

Interstate 75 advances north from Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia two miles to the east end of I-24. 12/20/23

I-75 north two miles ahead of I-24 west at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia I-75 north at U.S. 41/76, one mile south of I-24 in East Ridge, TN I-75 north at the Tennessee Welcome Center ahead of Interstate 24 I-75 enters the city of Chattanooga at Exit 2 for Interstate 24 west Ramps from I-75 north and the Tennessee Welcome Center depart for I-24 west I-75 north at the east end of Interstate 24 in Chattanooga, TN

Interstate 75 South at Interstate 24

I-24 west connects I-75 south with I-59 to Birmingham, Alabama

I-24 leads 18 miles west to meet Interstate 59 in north Georgia. I-75 travels 85 miles southeast to Metropolitan Atlanta. 12/20/23

I-75 south 1.5 miles from I-24 west in Chattanooga, Tennessee Five lanes extend along I-75 southbound to I-24 west I-24 west connects I-75 south with I-59 to Birmingham, Alabama I-75 south at the westbound beginning of Interstate 24

East End – Past Views

Past Views Gallery (Tap to Expand / Collapse Section)

Interstate 75 South at Interstate 24

I-75 south at I-24 - 2003

Entering the original three-wye interchange (Exit 2) with Interstate 24 west on I-75 south. Photo by Chris Patriarca (02/01/03).

I-75 south at I-24 - 2003 I-24 and I-75 split with two lanes per direction at Exit 2 The initial guide sign for I-24 west on I-75 south in Chattanooga, TN I-75 crosses South Chickamauga Creek ahead of I-24 west I-75 south at I-24 west in 2012

Interstate 75 North at Interstate 24

Diagrammatic sign for I-24 west formerly posted on I-75 north

The first sign for Interstate 24 west on I-75 north was previously this diagrammatic sign designed by TDOT. Photo by Peter Johnson (02/29/20).

Diagrammatic sign for I-24 west formerly posted on I-75 north I-75 north at I-24 - 2003 I-75 north at I-24 - 2003 I-75 north at I-24 - 2003

West End Interstate 57 ‐ Pulleys Mill, IL

Interstate 24 West at Interstate 57

I-24 west at I-57 - Pulleys Mill, IL

One mile ahead of Exit 44 for I-57 south to Cairo and Sikeston, Missouri and I-57 north to Effingham and Mount Vernon. Travelers bound for St. Louis are directed onto I-57 north to Interstate 64 west. 04/05/13

I-24 west at I-57 - Pulleys Mill, IL I-24 west at I-57 - Pulleys Mill, IL I-24 west at I-57 - Pulleys Mill, IL I-24 west at I-57 - Pulleys Mill, IL I-24 west at I-57 - Pulleys Mill, IL I-24 west at I-57 - Pulleys Mill, IL

West End – Past Views

Past Views Gallery (Tap to Expand / Collapse Section)

Interstate 24 West at Interstate 57

I-24 west at I-57 - 2003

All guide signs at the west end of I-24 were carbon copied with Clearview font by 2013. Photo by Chris Patriarca (07/18/03).

Replaced guide sign posted two miles ahead of I-57 on I-24 westbound I-24 west at I-57 - 2003 I-24 west at I-57 - 2003 I-24 west at I-57 - 2003

Interstate 57 South at Interstate 24

I-57 south at I-24 - 2003

I-57 southbound at the separation (Exit 44) with Interstate 24 east. I-24 angles 46 miles southeast to Paducah, Kentucky. Photo by Chris Patriarca (07/18/03).

Interstate 57 North at Interstate 24

I-57 north at I-24 - 2003

Exit 44 leaves I-57 north for I-24 southeast 176 miles to the Tennessee capital city. Photo by Chris Patriarca (07/18/03).

I-57 north at I-24 - 2003 I-57 north at I-24 - 2003 I-57 north at I-24 - 2003 I-57 north at I-24 - 2003

References

  1. "Long-awaited interstate complete." Williamson Daily News (WV), May 24, 1980.
  2. "Carroll to Open Section of Interstate 24 Friday ." Kentucky New Era (Hopkinsville), September 11, 1975.
  3. "Illinois road improvement projects on a priority basis." The Southeast Missourian (Cape Girardeau, MO), March 1, 1975.
  4. "New crack discovered in I-24 bridge over Ohio at Paducah." Williamson Daily News (WV), May 14, 1980.
  5. "Bridge jam to continue over a year ." Williamson Daily News (WV), August 30, 1979.
  6. "Light traffic scheduled for I-24 bridge by Oct. 1" The Southeast Missourian (Cape Girardeau, MO), August 8, 1980.
  7. "Southern Illinois highways will continue to grow." The Southeast Missourian (Cape Girardeau, MO), February 28, 1976.
  8. Tennessee Department of Transportation. Tennessee's Interstate System - Facts About Tennessee's Interstate System 50th Anniversary, 1956-2006. Retrieved from http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/interstateinfo/Tnfacts.htm<
  9. "Re: Routing of I-24 around Monteagle, TN" online posting by RoadWarrior56, AARoads Forum, September 25, 2010. Retrieved from https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=3541.msg78777#msg78777
  10. "50 years later ... Interstate network transformed U.S. transportation system." Chattanooga Times Free Press (TN), June 29, 2006.
  11. Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT). Interstate 75 Interchange at Interstate 24 - Phase I. Retrieved from https://www.tn.gov/content/tn/tdot/projects/region-2/i-75-interchange-at-i-24.html
Updated January 27, 2024