Interstate 75 in Tennessee - History

History

Interstate 75 originally continued into downtown Knoxville then turned to the north at Malfunction Junction, following what is now signed as Interstate 275. When the western section of Interstate 640 was completed in 1982, Interstate 75 was moved to overlap the auxiliary route to divert through traffic away from downtown in preparation for the 1982 World's Fair. This concurrency is somewhat unusual in that the exit numbers and mile markers follow the auxiliary route I-640 instead of Interstate 75 milage.

In December 1990, a 99 vehicle accident occurred in dense fog outside Calhoun that resulted in 12 deaths and 42 injuries. The accident was later profiled on the show Forensic Files.

In March 2005, the southbound lanes of Interstate 75 were shut down between mile marker 141 to 143 in Campbell County due to a rockslide below the roadway that caused the pavement to partially collapse.

On May 1, 2008 I-75 Northbound traffic was re-routed back along its original path in downtown Knoxville along Interstate 275 as part of SmartFix 40, a major construction project that includes closing a portion of I-40. Traffic was re-routed along I-275 as the ramp from I-640 Eastbound/I-75 Northbound to I-75 Northbound is only one lane which causes traffic delays at peak times.

In March 2012, the southbound lanes of the interstate were again closed to traffic between mile markers 141 and 143 in Campbell County, Tennessee due to a slide beneath the roadway. This was later followed by a second slide in early May 2012 that caused a portion of the roadway to collapse and forced the detour lanes to be closed.