U.S. Route 79 in Tennessee

{{Short description|U.S. highway section within the state of Tennessee}}

{{Infobox road

| state = TN

| type = US

| route = 79

| alternate_name =

| maint = TDOT

| map = {{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=290|frame-height=260|type=line|from=U.S. Route 79 in Tennessee.map}}

| map_custom = yes

| map_notes = US 79 highlighted in red

| length_mi = 209.83

| length_ref =

| established = 1944

| direction_a = West

| terminus_a = {{Jct|state=AR|I|55|US|61|US|64|US|70|US|78|US|79}} at the Arkansas state line/Mississippi River in Memphis

| junction = *{{Jct|state=TN|I|55}} in Memphis

{{Jct|state=TN|US|51}} in downtown Memphis
{{Jct|state=TN|I|40}} in Memphis
{{Jct|state=TN|US|64}} in Bartlett
{{Jct|state=TN|US|70|US|70A}} in Brownsville
{{Jct|state=TN|US|412}} in Bells
{{Jct|state=TN|US|45W}} in Humboldt
{{Jct|state=TN|US|45E}} in Milan
{{jct|state=TN|US|641}} in Paris
{{Jct|state=TN|I|24}} in Clarksville

| direction_b = North

| terminus_b = {{Jct|state=KY|US|79}} at the Kentucky state line northeast of Clarksville

| counties = Shelby, Fayette, Tipton, Haywood, Crockett, Gibson, Carroll, Henry, Stewart, Montgomery

| previous_type = TN

| previous_route = 78

| next_type = TN

| next_route = 79

}}

U.S. Route 79 (US 79) in Tennessee enters the state from Arkansas via the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge in Memphis, and runs northeast through western and the northwestern portions of middle Tennessee, and leaving the state into Kentucky northeast of Clarksville. Along the route, US 79 is accompanied with several concurrencies, including hidden designations, throughout its alignment in Tennessee.

Route description

Image:Downtown Memphis.svg.]]

=Memphis to Brownsville=

From I-55, US 79 continues to follow US 61/64/70 (SR 1) on E.H. Crump Boulevard. US 64/70/79 then turns north onto Danny Thomas Boulevard northward, then it makes a right turn onto Union Avenue, where US 51 (SR 3) gets involved in the concurrency until Bellevue Boulevard. US 64/70/79 then joins SR 277 northward until the U.S. routes turn onto Summer Avenue eastward. US 64 splits from US 70/79 at their intersection with SR 15 in Bartlett, in northeastern Shelby County.

US 79 continues to run concurrently with US 70 (SR 1) from here until Brownsville, in Haywood County. In Brownsville, US 70/79 joins the Ah Gray/C.A. Rawls Bypass with SR 19. The intersection with Anderson Avenue marks the beginning of US 79's long concurrency with SR 76, while the overlaps with SR 19 and US 70/SR 1 both end at the intersections with Jefferson Street and East Main Street, respectively. US 79/SR 76 begins a concurrency with US 70A at that point.{{Cite map |author= Tennessee Department of Transportation |year= 2017 |title= Tennessee's Official Transportation Map [front] |url=http://www.tennessee.gov/assets/entities/tdot/attachments/2016-17_Official_SMap_%28Front_Side%29083116.pdf |format= PDF |edition= 2017 |location= Nashville |publisher= Tennessee Department of Transportation |section= D2 and D3 |access-date= February 28, 2017}}

===Brownsville to Paris Landing===

US 79/70A (SR 76) continues northeastward to have major junctions with US 412, US 45W and US 45E in the towns of Bells, Humboldt, and Milan, respectively. US 70A becomes a standalone route in Atwood. US 79 continues northeast to McKenzie and Paris. US 79 is the main thoroughfare accessing Paris Landing State Park before crossing the Tennessee River.{{Cite map |author= Rand McNally |year= 2016 |map= Tennessee|title= The Road Atlas |scale= 1 in≈19 mi |edition= 2016 Walmart |location= Chicago |publisher= Rand McNally |pages= 94 |inset= |sections= C6-C7, D5-D6, E4-D5 |isbn= 0-528-01329-7}}{{Cite map |author= Tennessee Department of Transportation |year= 2017 |title= Tennessee's Official Transportation Map [front] |url=http://www.tennessee.gov/assets/entities/tdot/attachments/2016-17_Official_SMap_%28Front_Side%29083116.pdf |format= PDF |edition= 2017 |location= Nashville |publisher= Tennessee Department of Transportation |section= A5, B4-B5, C3-C4, and D4 |access-date= February 28, 2017}}

===Tennessee River to Kentucky state line===

After entering Stewart County, US 79 becomes known as Donelson Parkway, and forms a portion of the southern boundary of the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area before entering Dover, where it crosses the Cumberland River, and then continues eastward to Clarksville. It then becomes known as Dover Road between the Stewart-Montgomery County line and the city of Clarksville./{{Cite map |author= Tennessee Department of Transportation |year= 2017 |title= Tennessee's Official Transportation Map [front] |url=http://www.tennessee.gov/assets/entities/tdot/attachments/2016-17_Official_SMap_%28Front_Side%29083116.pdf |format= PDF |edition= 2017 |location= Nashville |publisher= Tennessee Department of Transportation |section= A5 and A6 |access-date= February 28, 2017}}

US 79 then runs concurrently with US 41A on the northwestern side of Clarksville, and it then turns left to bypass the downtown area, while beginning its concurrency with SR 13 for the remainder of its path to the Kentucky state line. Wilma Rudolph Boulevard is the name given to the portion of U.S. Route 79 between the Red River (Lynnwood-Tarpley) bridge near the Kraft Street intersection and I-24’s exit 4 interchange.

The highway then enters Todd County, Kentucky after exiting the city of Clarksville. The state line coincides with the northern terminus of SR 13.

===Concurrency list===

U.S. 79 runs concurrently with the following interstate and U.S. routes:

I-55/US 61/US 64 from Arkansas state line to Exit 12,
US 70 from Arkansas state line to Brownsville
US 51 in downtown Memphis
US 70A from Brownsville to Atwood, and
US 41A (Providence Blvd.) from west Clarksville to downtown Clarksville

Additionally, all areas of US 79 run concurrently with Tennessee state routes throughout its course through the state as “hidden,” or secret designations as the state routes are not signed. They include:

{{Jct|state=TN|TN|1}} from Memphis to Brownsville (in association with US 70)
{{Jct|state=TN|TN|3}} in downtown Memphis (in association with US 51)
{{Jct|state=TN|TN|59}} from Braden to Mason
{{Jct|state=TN|TN|76}} from Brownsville to Clarksville
{{Jct|state=TN|TN|77}} from Milan to Atwood
{{Jct|state=TN|TN|12}} in Clarksville (in association with US 41A)
{{Jct|state=TN|TN|48}} through Clarksville
{{Jct|state=TN|TN|13}} from downtown Clarksville to the Kentucky state line

==History==

US 79 did not have any presence in Tennessee or southern Kentucky until it was routed into the state in 1944. Until then, the route ended in West Memphis, Arkansas, and US 79's current route in Tennessee was signed solely as SR 76 from Brownsville to Clarksville, and SR 13 from Clarksville to the Kentucky line.Rand McNally Road Atlas 1959, page 34.

The section of US 79 in Clarksville between the Lynnwood-Tarpley Bridge and the I-24 interchange was originally naned the Guthrie Highway, for nearby Guthrie, Kentucky, until 1994, when it was renamed Wilma Rudolph Boulevard. This was done to honor Wilma Rudolph, an Olympic runner from Clarksville, who won three gold medals in the 1960 Rome Summer Olympic Games in Italy.[https://web.archive.org/web/20100714124922/http://www.tnstate.edu/library/digital/Rudolph.pdf “Leaders of Afro-American Nashville”]. Archived from the [http://www.tnstate.edu/library/digital/Rudolph.pdf original] on July 14, 2010. Retrieved January 29, 2017.

==Major intersections==

The mileposts listed in the following table is only an estimated calculation. Actual mile markers may vary and subject to change due to any future reroutings that may occur.

{{Jctint

|river=Mississippi River

|lspan=2

|mile=0.00

|mspan=2

|road={{Jct|state=AR|I|55|dir1=north|US|61|dir2=north|US|64|dir3=west|US|70|dir4=west|US|79|dir5=south|city1=West Memphis|location2=St. Louis, MO}}

|notes=Continuation into Arkansas

}}

{{jctbridge

|mile=none

|type=concur

|bridge=Memphis & Arkansas Bridge; Arkansas state line; begin concurrency with unsigned SR 1

}}

{{TNint

|type=concur

|county=Haywood

|cspan=2

|location=Brownsville

|lspan=2

|mile=65.4

|road={{Jct|state=TN|US|70|dir1=east|name1=East Main Street/SR 1 east|city1=Jackson}}

|notes=Eastern end of US 70/SR 1 concurrency; western end of {{jct|state=TN|US|70A}} concurrency; western terminus of US 70A; concurrency with unsigned SR 76 began during US 79’s concurrency with US 70 and SR 1.

}}

{{TNint

|mile=66.6

|road={{Jct|state=TN|Sec|369|dir1=south|name1=North Washington Avenue|location1=Downtown Brownsville}}

|notes=Northern terminus of SR 369

}}

{{TNint

|type=concur

|county=Crockett

|cspan=4

|location=Bells

|lspan=3

|mile=77.7

|road={{Jct|state=TN|Sec|88|dir1=west|name1=Main Street|city1=Alamo}}

|notes=Southern end of SR 88 concurrency

}}

{{TNint

|type=concur

|mile=77.9

|road={{Jct|state=TN|Sec|88|dir1=east|name1=Central Avenue}}

|notes=Northern end of SR 88 concurrency

}}

{{TNint

|mile=79.3

|mile2=79.5

|road={{Jct|state=TN|US|412|name1=SR 20|city1=Dyersburg|city2=Jackson}}

|notes=Interchange

}}

{{TNint

|location=Gadsden

|mile=84.8

|road={{Jct|state=TN|Sec|221|dir1=west|name1=Quincy Street|city1=Alamo}}

|notes=Eastern terminus of SR 221

}}

{{TNint

|type=concur

|county=Gibson

|cspan=9

|location=Humboldt

|lspan=5

|mile=88.9

|road={{Jct|state=TN|US-Byp|79|dab1=Humboldt|dir1=north|US-Byp|70A|dab2=Humboldt|dir2=east|name2=SR 366 east}}

|notes=Western terminus of US 79 Bypass/US 70A Bypass/SR 366

}}

{{TNint

|type=concur

|mile=90.1

|road={{Jct|state=TN|US-Bus|45W|dab1=Humboldt|dir1=north|name1=Central Avenue/SR 5 north}}

|notes=Southern end of US 45W Business concurrency

}}

{{TNint

|type=concur

|mile=90.6

|road={{Jct|state=TN|US-Bus|45W|dab1=Humboldt|dir1=south|name1=Main Street/SR 5 south}}

|notes=Northern end of US 45W Business/SR 5 concurrency

}}

{{TNint

|mile=90.9

|road={{Jct|state=TN|Sec|152|name1=Mitchell Street|city1=Medina}}

|notes=

}}

{{TNint

|mile=92.0

|road={{Jct|state=TN|US|45W|US-Byp|79|dab2=Humboldt|US-Byp|70A|dab3=Humboldt|name3=SR 366|city1=Union City|city2=Jackson}}

|notes=Eastern terminus of US 79 Byp./US 70A Bypass

}}

{{TNint

|location=none

|mile=93.8

|road={{Jct|state=TN|Sec|187|dir1=east}}

|notes=Western terminus of SR 187

}}

{{TNint

|location=Gibson

|mile=96.0

|road={{Jct|state=TN|Sec|186|name1=Main Street|city1=Trenton|city2=Three Way}}

|notes=

}}

{{TNint

|type=concur

|location=Milan

|lspan=2

|mile=101.9

|road={{Jct|state=TN|US|45E|name1=South 1st Street/SR 43/SR 77 west/SR 104|city1=Martin|city2=Jackson}}

|notes=Southern end of SR 77 concurrency

}}

{{TNint

|mile=103.8

|road={{Jct|state=TN|Sec|425|dir1=west|name1=Middle Road}}

|notes=Eastern terminus of SR 425

}}

{{TNint

|county=Carroll

|cspan=7

|location=Atwood

|lspan=2

|mile=107.7

|road={{Jct|state=TN|Sec|220|name1=Church Street|dir1=south}}

|notes=Northern terminus of SR 220

}}

{{TNint

|type=concur

|mile=108.3

|road={{Jct|state=TN|US|70A|dir1=east|name1=SR 77 east|city1=Huntingdon}}

|notes=Northern end of US 70A/SR 77 concurrency

}}

{{TNint

|location=Trezevant

|mile=121.8

|road={{Jct|state=TN|Sec|105|name1=Main Street|city1=Bradford|city2=McLemoresville}}

|notes=

}}

{{TNint

|location=McKenzie

|lspan=4

|mile=131.5

|road={{jct|state=TN|Sec|436|dir1=south|name1=Cherrywood Avenue|city1=McLemoresville}}

|notes=Northern terminus of SR 436

}}

{{TNint

|mile=132.0

|road={{Jct|state=TN|Sec|124|dir1=west|name1=Cedar Street/Old McKenzie Road|location1=Downtown|city2=Greenfield}}

|notes=

}}

{{TNint

|mile=132.4

|road={{jct|state=TN|Sec|423|dir1=east|name1=Shiloh Road}}

|notes=Western terminus of SR 423

}}

{{TNint

|mile=133.4

|mile2=133.6

|road={{Jct|state=TN|TN|22|city1=Dresden|city2=Huntingdon}}

|notes=Interchange

}}

{{TNint

|county=Henry

|cspan=7

|location=Paris

|lspan=3

|mile=146.4

|road={{Jct|state=TN|Sec|218|name1=Highway 218 Bypass}}

|notes=Beltway around Paris

}}

{{TNint

|mile=148.2

|road={{Jct|state=TN|US|641|name1=Veterans Drive/Mineral Wells Avenue/SR 69|location1=Paris Business District|city2=Camden}}

|notes=

}}

{{TNint

|mile=149.0

|road={{Jct|state=TN|Sec|356|dir1=west|name1=East Wood Street}}

|notes=Old US 79/SR 76; eastern terminus of SR 356

}}

{{TNint

|type=concur

|location=none

|mile=152.3

|road={{Jct|state=TN|Sec|218|dir1=west|name1=Highway 218 Bypass}}

|notes=Southern end of SR 218 concurrency; beltway around Paris

}}

{{TNint

|location=none

|mile=155.3

|road={{Jct|state=TN|Sec|218|dir1=east|name1=Buchanan Road|city1=Buchanan}}

|notes=Northern end of SR 218 concurrency

}}

{{TNint

|location=none

|mile=162.4

|road={{Jct|state=TN|Sec|140|dir1=west|city1=Buchanan}}

|notes=Eastern terminus of SR 140

}}

{{Jctint

|location_special=Paris Landing State Park

|mile=165.0

|road={{Jct|state=TN|Sec|119|dir1=north|location1=Murray (KY)}}

|notes=Southern terminus of SR 119

}}

{{Jctbridge

|river=Tennessee River
(Kentucky Lake)

|mile=166.1

|mile2=166.8

|bridge=Governor Ned R. McWherter Bridge

}}

{{Jctint

|state=TN

|county=Stewart

|cspan=6

|location_special=Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area

|mile=170.8

|road={{Jct|state=TN|Sec|232|dir1=south|city1=McKinnon}}

|notes=Northern terminus of SR 232

}}

{{TNint

|location=Dover

|lspan=3

|mile=177.6

|road={{Jct|state=TN|Sec|461|dir1=north|name1=The Trace|location1=Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area}}

|notes=Southern terminus of SR 461

}}

{{TNint

|mile=179.6

|road={{Jct|state=TN|TN|49|dir1=east|name1=Spring Street|city1=Tennessee Ridge|city2=Erin}}

|notes=Western terminus of SR 49

}}

{{TNint

|mile=166.1

|mile2=166.8

|place=US 79 Bridge over Cumberland River

}}

{{TNint

|location=Big Rock

|mile=188.5

|road={{Jct|state=TN|Sec|120|dir1=north|city1=Bumpus Mills|location2=Cadiz (KY)}}

|notes=Southern terminus of SR 120

}}

{{TNint

|location=none

|mile=192.0

|road={{Jct|state=TN|Sec|46|name1=Red Top Road|city1=Cumberland City}}

|notes=Western terminus of SR 46

}}

{{TNint

|county=Montgomery

|cspan=10

|location=Woodlawn

|mile=199.8

|road={{Jct|state=TN|Sec|233|dir1=south|name1=Lylewood Road|city1=Cumberland City}}

|notes=Northern terminus of SR 233

}}

{{TNint

|location=none

|mile=203.9

|road={{Jct|state=TN|TN|374|dir1=east|name1=Paul B. Huff Memorial Parkway}}

|notes=Western terminus of SR 374; interchange; partial beltway around Clarksville

}}

{{TNint

|type=concur

|location=Clarksville

|lspan=7

|mile=207.6

|road={{Jct|state=TN|US|41A|dir1=north|name1=Fort Campbell Boulevard/SR 12 north|location1=Oak Grove|location2=Fort Campbell|location3=Hopkinsville}}

|notes=Southern end of US 41A/SR 12 concurrency

}}

{{TNint

|type=concur

|mile=209.4

|road={{Jct|state=TN|US|41A|dir1=south|US-Byp|41A|dab2=Clarksville|name1=N 2nd Street/SR 76 north|name2=N Riverside Drive/SR 12 south/SR 13 south|location1=Downtown Clarksville}}

|notes=Northern terminus of US 41A Bypass; Southern end of SR 13 concurrency; northern end of US 41A/SR 12 concurrency

}}

{{TNint

|type=concur

|mile=211.1

|road={{Jct|state=TN|Sec|48|dir1=south|name1=College Street}}

|notes=Southern end of SR 48 concurrency

}}

{{TNint

|mile=212.4

|road=Dunbar Cave Road – Dunbar Cave State Park

|notes=