Interstate 40

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Interstate 40
Primary Interstate

Length:

2554.22 mi (4137.84 km)
Major cities/towns: Albuquerue, NM
Amarillo, TX
Oklahoma City
Little Rock, AR
Memphis, TN
Nashville, TN
Knoxville, TN
Raleigh, NC
Wilmington, NC
Established:  
Direction: East-West
Western Terminus: Barstow, CA
Eastern Terminus: Wilmington, NC
States traversed: California
Arizona
New Mexico
Texas
Oklahoma
Arkansas
Tennessee
North Carolina
INTERSTATE JUNCTIONS
JUNCTION EXIT #
I-15 CA 0
I-17 AZ 195
I-25 NM 159
I-44 OK 147
I-35 OK 150-152
I-30 AR 153
I-55 AR 277-279
I-65 TN 210-211
I-75 TN 368-385
I-81 TN 421
I-26 NC 46
I-77 NC 152
I-85 NC 219-259
I-95 NC 328
US-117 NC 420
Legend
  deleted (no longer in system)   unconstructed
  closed   crossing with no access
  begin/end concurrency, bold route is carried through
  a bold route on white background indicates termini.
BROWSE STATE HWYS
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CA-39 CA-41


Interstate 40 (abbreviated I-40) is a major west-east interstate highway in the United States. Its western terminus is at Interstate 15 in Barstow, California; its eastern terminus is at North Carolina State Highway 132 in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Much of the western portion of I-40, from Oklahoma City to Barstow, follows historic Route 66.

Contents

Route Description

California

State Law

Legal Definition of Route 40: California Streets and Highways Code, Chapter 2, Article 3, Section 304

Route 40 is part of the Freeway and Expressway System, as stated by section 253.1 of the California State Highway Code.
Route 40 is part of the Scenic Highway System, as stated by section 263.2 of the California State Highway Code.


Length

Miles km state
155 251 California
359.22 578 Arizona
374 606 New Mexico
177 287 Texas
331 536 Oklahoma
284 460 Arkansas
455 737 Tennessee
419 679 North Carolina
2,554.22 4,137.84 Total

Major cities along the route

Location of Interstate 40
Enlarge
Location of Interstate 40

Intersections with other Interstates

Spur routes


Three-digit Interstates from Interstate 40
I-140 Tennessee - North Carolina
I-240 Tennessee - North Carolina - Oklahoma
I-440 Tennessee - North Carolina - Arkansas
I-540 Arkansas - North Carolina
I-640 Tennessee
I-840 North Carolina
past/future I-640:North Carolina

Notes

  • At each end of I-40 there is a sign giving the distance to the other end.
  • Because I-40 goes through the Mojave Desert in California (just like Route 66 before it), its unofficial name is the Mojave Freeway.
  • In Memphis, I-40 was originally intended to go through the city's Overton Park toward downtown. Several miles of interstate were actually built within the I-240 loop; this portion of highway still exists and is in regular use as Sam Cooper Boulevard, reaching Chickasaw Country Club at its western end. However, public opposition, combined with a court victory by opponents of the Overton Park route, forced abandonment of the plans, and the road never reached the park. For several years, I-40 signage existed on the dead-end route toward Overton Park. Eventually, the northern portion of the I-240 loop was redesignated as I-40.
  • In North Carolina, I-40 merges with I-85 between Greensboro and Hillsborough, just west of Durham. In Alamance County, the highway is also known as the Sam Hunt Freeway. Due to a recent rerouting of I-85 around Greensboro, I-40 departs from it eight miles (13 km) east of the original split. However, I-40 will be moved to a new alignment south of Greensboro, which currently carries the new I-85 bypass and will eventually carry Interstate 73 as well. The existing I-40 through Greensboro will become a second I-40 freeway Business Loop once the new alignment is finished by 2007.
  • The first Business Loop of I-40, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is actually a freeway for its entire length, a rarity for Business Interstates. That's because I-40 was originally routed through downtown Winston-Salem, and it continued to follow that route until a new bypass was built. After the bypass was completed around 1992, I-40 was relocated to the new freeway. There are arguments that the former I-40 freeway in Winston-Salem should become an interstate again, especially since the road is currently undergoing an upgrade. There are no even loop numbers left for I-40, however, since the NCDOT has plans to use last available one Interstate 840 for the northern loop of a beltway that's being built around nearby Greensboro. Given this, with the arrival of Interstate 74 in North Carolina, many highway mavens would like to see the freeway, which would cross I-74, renamed Interstate 274. However, this plan does not appear to agree with NCDOT which has proposed that number for the western half of the future Winston-Salem Northern Beltway. Other Business Loop freeways include the former Interstate 80 in Sacramento, California and two separate sections of what was once the mainline of Interstate 85 in Spartanburg, South Carolina and Greensboro, North Carolina.
  • In Oklahoma City, the designation I-440 had been given to a stretch of Interstate highway from I-240 to US-66; a part of Grand Boulevard that had been built compliant with Interstate standards. In 1982, as part of Oklahoma's "Diamond Jubilee", I-44's western terminus was moved from the I-35/I-44 junction to the Texas/Oklahoma border via the Belle Isle Freeway (connecting I-440 with I-35), I-440, the H.E. Bailey Turnpike, and the turnpike connector road on the eastern edge of Lawton, Oklahoma. The I-440 designation was dropped at the time, but may return in the future.
  • In Albuquerque, New Mexico, I-40 was originally meant to replace Central Avenue through the center of the city. However, due to development and public opposition, a path going northward was chosen. The freeway intersects Central at either end of the city.
  • In violation of Interstate standards, I-40 has one marked and two unmarked at-grade crossings in western North Carolina. About eight miles (13 km) from the Tennessee border in North Carolina, when going westbound, a sign for "Hurricane Road" will appear. Hurricane Road is a local dirt road whose quality is below that of the breakdown lane, and the intersection is controlled by a stop sign. It is a right-in, right-out entrance. A couple other unmarked local roads also directly link onto I-40 in the area, including an private access road for Walters Dam between mile markers 11 and 12 on the westbound side. A few such at-grade access points may also exist in New Mexico and Texas; reports are conflicting.[1]
  • When the last portion of I-40, connecting Wilmington to Raleigh, was completed in the late 1980s, a satirist commented that, "It is now possible to drive from coast to coast without seeing anything!"

External links

The I-40 Bridge Disaster

California

Reference

Primary Interstate Highways Interstate Highway marker
4 5 8 10 12 15 16 17
19 20 22 24 25 26 27 29
30 35 37 39 40 43 44 45
49 55 57 59 64 65 66 68
69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 (W)
76 (E) 77 78 79 80 81 82 83
84 (W) 84 (E) 85 86 (W) 86 (E) 87 88 (W) 88 (E)
89 90 91 93 94 95 96 97
99 238 H-1 H-2 H-3
Unsigned Interstate Highways
A-1 A-2 A-3 A-4 PRI-1 PRI-2 PRI-3
Lists
Two-digit Interstates - Three-digit Interstates
Gaps in Interstates - Intrastate Interstates
Interstate standards - Proposed Interstates
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