Tennessee State Route 1


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State Route 1 (SR 1), known as the Memphis to Bristol Highway, is a 538.8-mile-long (867.1 km) mostly-unsigned state highway in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It stretches from the Arkansas state line at Memphis in the southwest corner of the state to Bristol in the northeast part. Most of the route travels concurrently with U.S. Route 70 (US 70) and US 11W. It is the longest highway of any kind in the state of Tennessee. The route is signed as both in the state of Tennessee, a Primary and Secondary Highway (at different times throughout its designation)

State Route 1 marker State Route 1 marker

State Route 1

Memphis to Bristol Highway

TN SR 1 highlighed. Red primary designation and Black secondary designation.

Route information
Maintained by TDOT
Length538.8 mi (867.1 km)
ExistedOctober 1, 1923[1]–present
HistoryDesignated Memphis to Bristol Highway in 1915[2]
Major junctions
West end I-55 / US 61 / US 64 / US 70 / US 78 / US 79 at the Arkansas state line at Memphis
East end US 11E / US 19 / SR 34 in Bristol
Location
CountryUnited States
StateTennessee
CountiesShelby, Fayette, Tipton, Haywood, Madison, Carroll, Benton, Humphreys, Dickson, Cheatham, Davidson, Rutherford, Cannon, Warren, Van Buren, White, Cumberland, Roane, Loudon, Knox, Grainger, Hawkins, Sullivan
Highway system
← I-840→ SR 2
Map showing the west end of SR 1 in Memphis

In 2015, the Tennessee Department of Transportation erected signs along SR 1 showing motorists they are traveling on the Memphis to Bristol Highway, Tennessee's first state road. TDOT installed the signs at every county line while it celebrated its 100th anniversary.

SR 1 begins as a primary route on Interstate 55 (I-55) in the middle of the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge at the Arkansas–Tennessee state line. US 61, US 64, US 70, US 78, and US 79 come off the bridge alongside SR 1; US 61 soon turns south with SR 14 and US 78 continues along E.H. Crump Blvd with SR 4 heading eastward. The other three U.S. Highways and SR 1 travel along SR 4 northbound (on Danny Thomas Blvd). At SR 3 (Union Avenue), US 51 joins SR 1 and 4 while US 64/70/79 continue east on Union Avenue. At North Parkway, SR 4 continues along Danny Thomas Blvd/Thomas St with US 51 northbound, while SR 1 turns east alone onto North Parkway. However, US 64/US 70/US 79 soon rejoin SR 1 at SR 57. These 4 routes continue as Summer Avenue until exiting Memphis. The portions where SR 1 runs by itself are signed.

Between Memphis and Nashville

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SR 1 is a Primary Route until it runs around Brownsville. After the junction of SR 76, SR 1 becomes a secondary route for a short time until it crosses TN-SR 186.

After leaving Memphis, SR 1 runs along the following routes:

SR 1 enters Nashville from the west along US 70S through the community of Bellevue. Between Old Hickory Pike and White Bridge Road east of Belle Meade, the highway is known as Harding Pike. Between here and Downtown Nashville, SR 1 is known as West End Avenue. In downtown, SR 1 is known as Broadway. As SR 1 approaches 8th Avenue South/Rosa Parks, it turns right and southeast, joining US 41 and becoming known as Lafayette Street (briefly) and then Murfreesboro Road.

Between Nashville and Knoxville

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Sign marking SR 1 in Cumberland County

Tennessee State Route 1 is a Primary Route until its intersection with US 70N/ TN-SR 24. It continues to be a secondary route until its intersection with US 11W. East of Nashville, SR 1 runs along the following routes:

SR 1 enters Knox County along with US 70 and US 11 (which joins SR 1 a few feet from the county line). From here to near the downtown area, the road is locally known as Kingston Pike and near the University of Tennessee campus it is known as Cumberland Avenue. It turns north onto Henley Street becoming Broadway Street, east onto Magnolia Avenue, north onto Hall of Fame Drive, and back onto Magnolia Avenue. In East Knoxville, SR 1 splits from US 70 and continues northeast with US 11W as Rutledge Pike.

Between Knoxville and Bristol

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Between Knoxville and Bristol, SR 1 runs along US 11W.

 
Map showing the east end of SR 1 in Bristol

In Bristol, SR 1 leaves US 11W right at the state line, and heads east on its own (as a primary route) along State Street. It turns south at US 11E/US 19, ending two blocks later at Broad Street (SR 34).

State Route 1 runs as a primary or secondary highway as follows:

  • Interestingly, although State Route 1 is signed a Primary highway in Sparta, the TDOT Traffic Map for White County actually identifies this stretch as a Secondary Highway. (Between the eastern end of the TN-111 and US 70S concurrency to the eastern terminus of TN-26 at US 70 in Sparta). There are zero secondary designation reassurance shields signs along the entire State Route 1 corridor.

List of signed segments

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  1. ^ Highway Planning Survey Division (1925). Biennial Report of the Commissioner of the Department of Highways and Public Works State of Tennessee for the Years 1923 and 1924 (PDF) (Report). Nashville: Tennessee Department of Highways and Public Works. pp. 39–44. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  2. ^ TDOT 100 Year Anniversary
  3. ^ "City Maps". Tennessee Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  1. Tennessee Department of Transportation (24 January 2003). "State Highway and Interstate List 2003".
  2. Tennessee Department of Transportation official 2020 Map