Interstate 55 in Tennessee - Route Description

Route Description

I–55 enter Tennessee from Mississippi Concurrent with I–69. I–55/I–69 heads due north before turning northwest. Then I–55 has an interchange with Interstate 240, I-55 then turns westward for a brief period before turning northward again. Just before reaching downtown, the highway turns westward again at E.H. Crump Boulevard and crosses the Mississippi River via the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge into West Memphis, in Crittenden County, Arkansas.

There are currently plans to revamp the I-55/Crump Boulevard Interchange. The current design (a cloverleaf interchange) causes northbound motorists, especially truck drivers, to slow down from 55 MPH to 25 MPH when going from the section they are on to the section passing over the Mississippi River. This is due to northbound traffic having to merge into a one-lane loop with a tight radius. This has caused several accidents over the years. A temporary solution has been put into effect by making the NB loop into two lanes, eliminating the I-55 SB to Riverside Drive loop, and creating a left turn lane for the I-55 SB to Riverside Drive traffic. This eliminates having to make a lane change in order to stay on I-55 NB. Within the next few years, the cloverleaf will be eliminated entirely and two flyover ramps will be added, thus creating free-flow traffic for the mainline interstate. A roundabout will be created in place of the cloverleaf for Riverside Drive traffic, E.H. Crump Boulevard traffic, and the I-55 entrance/exit ramps.

I-55 provides an alternate route for motorists who do not want to take Interstates 240 and 40 through downtown to cross the Mississippi River.