History
I-240 was first planned circa 1955, but it was to have been a 30.8-mile (49.6 km) or 49.6 km beltway to completely encircle midtown Memphis, with the exception of the segment between Interstates 40 and 55, which was proposed as Interstate 255. Later, that number was decommissioned in favor of I-240 running in a full loop, with I-40 running from downtown to east Memphis. However, in 1957 citizens collected 10,000 signatures protesting the route, which cut through Overton Park in midtown. The controversy lasted until the 1970s, when the Supreme Court ruled that the Overton Park route be canceled, shifting I-40 onto the northern leg of I-240. Part of the proposed I-40 route was already built—from N. Highland St. east to the I-40/240 junction. The road is now called Sam Cooper Boulevard, and is owned by the city.
In 2000, the City of Memphis built an extension to the former I-40 section of Sam Cooper Blvd. This extension runs west from N. Tillman St. (the former entry/end point for Sam Cooper Boulevard) as a limited access parkway to East Parkway N. (a former exit for the proposed "Overton Park route").
The interstates overlapped around the northern bypass of Memphis for many years, but I-240 signs were later removed from the northern leg for reasons of redundancy. (The exit numbers for I-240—the exception being exits 1A-1C, which were changed to 1E-1G—remain, causing redundancy on I-40 exits 1, 1A-G, 12, and 12A-C.)
It is unknown why, but few or no I-240 markers placed since the 1980s carry the state name (Tennessee).
On January 18, 2008, the Federal Highway Administration authorized the states of Mississippi and Tennessee to extend I-69 from the I-40/TN 300 interchange in north Memphis to the I-55/I-69 interchange in Hernando; however, Tennessee has not yet signed the extension of the route, although Mississippi has already done so.
On March 24, 2010, a sinkhole formed in the two leftmost northbound lanes north of the Walnut Grove interchange. It was initially thought to have been a smaller pothole and had been paved over the day before. It formed around 3:00 in the afternoon and damaged several cars, although no injuries were reported. These two lanes were shut down until March 28 while the sinkhole was filled.
Read more about this topic: Interstate 240 (Tennessee)
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