INTERSTATE 40

'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 a concurrency of U.S. Route 117 and North Carolina Highway 132 in Wilmington, North Carolina. Much of the western portion of I-40, from Oklahoma City to Barstow, parallels historic U.S. Route 66.
When the last portion of I-40, connecting Wilmington to Raleigh, was completed in the late 1980s, Charles Kuralt stated:

Contents

Route description

California

Arizona

New Mexico

Texas

Oklahoma

Arkansas

Tennessee

North Carolina

History

Future

Major intersections

Auxiliary routes

See also

Business routes

References

External links

California

Route description

|-
|CA || 154.61 || 248.82
|-
|AZ || 359.48 || 578.53
|-
|NM || 373.51 || 601.11
|-
|TX || 177.10 || 285.11
|-
|OK || 331.03 || 532.74
|-
|AR || 284.69 || 458.16
|-
|TN || 455.28 || 732.70
|-
|NC || 419.40 || 674.96
|-
|Total || 2,555.10 || 4,112.03
|}

Major cities 'Bolded cities' are officially-designated control cities for signs

★ Los Angeles, California (via I-15 and I-10) ★ 'Barstow, California' ★ 'Needles, California' ★ 'Kingman, Arizona' ★ 'Flagstaff, Arizona' ★ 'Gallup, New Mexico' ★ 'Albuquerque, New Mexico' ★ 'Santa Rosa, New Mexico' ★ 'Tucumcari, New Mexico' ★ 'Amarillo, Texas' ★ 'Oklahoma City, Oklahoma' ★ 'Fort Smith, Arkansas' ★ 'Little Rock, Arkansas' ★ 'Memphis, Tennessee' ★ 'Nashville, Tennessee' ★ 'Knoxville, Tennessee' ★ 'Asheville, North Carolina' ★ Hickory, North Carolina ★ 'Statesville, North Carolina' ★ 'Winston-Salem, North Carolina' ★ 'Greensboro, North Carolina' ★ 'Durham, North Carolina' ★ 'Raleigh, North Carolina' ★ 'Benson, North Carolina' ★ 'Wilmington, North Carolina'

California

Main articles: Interstate 40 in California

Interstate 40, a major east-west route of the Interstate Highway System, has its western terminus in Barstow, California, United States. Known as the 'Needles Freeway', it heads east from Barstow across the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County to Needles, before it crosses into Arizona west of Kingman.

Arizona

Main articles: Interstate 40 in Arizona

New Mexico

Main articles: Interstate 40 in New Mexico

I-40 used to have a conventional mileage sign in New Mexico to the east of San Jon (a village to the east of Tucumcari, New Mexico) which probably bore the longest distance on such a sign. The sign showed 1007 miles for Los Angeles^[2], although I-40 doesn't actually go there (it is accessed via Interstates 15 and 10).
Numerous roads throughout the state connect directly to the interstate in violation of Interstate Highway Standards.

Texas

Main articles: Interstate 40 in Texas

In the west Texas panhandle area, there are several ranch roads connected directly to the interstate. One of the marked at-grade crossings is shown to the left.

Oklahoma

Main articles: Interstate 40 in Oklahoma

Arkansas

I-40 passes through six major cities in Arkansas: Fort Smith and Russellville on the western side, Conway and North Little Rock in the center, and Brinkley and West Memphis on the eastern side. It is a major thoroughfare for commerce as it is currently the only west/east interstate in Arkansas. In addition to this traffic, I-30's eastbound termination and merger with I-40 in North Little Rock cause the east side of the state to be inundated with more commercial traffic than the west side.

Tennessee

Main articles: Interstate 40 in Tennessee

North Carolina

Main articles: Interstate 40 in North Carolina


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 concurrency with I-85 will be extended another 12 miles (19 km) on this new alignment.
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 a private access road for Walters Dam between mile markers 11 and 12 on the westbound side.

History

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 both ends of the city.
In 1957, the California Department of Highways proposed that the route be renumbered to Interstate 30 instead because of the already existing U.S. Route 40 in the state. U.S. 40 was decommissioned in 1964, as a part of a major revamping of California's highway numbering system.^[3]
The California state government submitted State Route 58 between Barstow and Bakersfield for I-40 extension potential in 1956 and 1968, though those requests were rejected.^[4] This portion of SR 58 was once signed as U.S. Route 466.
From 1963 to 1966, the US government considered a plan, part of Operation Plowshare, to use atomic bombs to excavate a path for I-40 through California. The project was scuttled largely due to the cost of developing the explosives as well as the unavailability of a "clean bomb."^[5]
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 the eastern end of Chickasaw Country Club. Environmentalist opposition, combined with a victory in the United States Supreme Court by opponents of the Overton Park route (see ''Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe'') forced abandonment of the original plans, and the road never reached the park. For over 20 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.

Originally, I-40 was 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. The old routing was then redesignated as Interstate 40 Business, creating a business route that is actually a freeway for its entire length, a rarity among business routes. 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.
The I-40 Bridge Disaster occurred on May 26, 2002 when a barge collided with a bridge support near Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, causing a 580 foot (177 meter) section of the I-40 bridge to plunge into the Arkansas River. Automobiles and semi-trucks fell into the water killing 14 people, including a three-year-old girl.
The "Big I" I-25 and I-40 interchange in Albuquerque, New Mexico was given an honorable mention by the United States Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration for excellence in urban highway design in 2002.^[6]

Future

In 2008, a section of I-40 through downtown Knoxville near the Malfunction Junction will be completely closed to all traffic for about 14 months, beginning in May for a massive reconstruction. Through traffic will be required to use Interstate 640 or be funnelled onto surface streets. The section is currently 4 lanes wide and quite substandard and congested, with many accidents.^[7][8]

Major intersections

★ Interstate 15 in Barstow, California

★ Interstate 17 in Flagstaff, Arizona

★ Interstate 25 in Albuquerque, New Mexico

★ Interstate 27 in Amarillo, Texas

★ Interstate 44 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

★ Interstate 35 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

★ Interstate 30 in North Little Rock, Arkansas

★ Interstate 55 in West Memphis, Arkansas (the freeways are merged throughout the city)

★ Proposed Interstate 69 in Memphis, Tennessee

★ Interstate 65 in Nashville, Tennessee (merged for approximately 3 miles)

★ Interstate 24 in Nashville, Tennessee (merged for approximately 2 miles)

★ Interstate 75 near Dixie Lee Junction, Tennessee. They stay merged until Knoxville, Tennessee.

★ Interstate 81 near Dandridge, Tennessee

★ Interstate 26 in Asheville, North Carolina

★ Interstate 77 in Statesville, North Carolina

★ Future Interstate 74 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

★ Future Interstate 73 in Greensboro, North Carolina

★ Interstate 85 in Greensboro, North Carolina. They stay merged until Hillsborough, North Carolina.

★ Interstate 95 in Benson, North Carolina '(Map)'

Auxiliary routes

★ I-140 - Alcoa, Tennessee

★ I-140 - Wilmington, North Carolina

★ I-240 - Asheville, North Carolina

★ I-240 - Memphis, Tennessee

★ I-240 - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

★ I-440 - Little Rock, Arkansas

★ I-440 - Nashville, Tennessee

★ I-440 - Raleigh, North Carolina

★ I-540 - Spurs to Fort Smith, Arkansas and Bentonville, Arkansas; proposed to become part of an expanded Interstate 49

★ I-540 - Raleigh, North Carolina (may be resigned as I-640 when the northern loop of the road is completed back around to I-40 near Garner. ^[9])

★ I-640 - Knoxville, Tennessee

★ I-840 - 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.

See also

Business routes

★ ''Interstate 40 Business'' in Raleigh, North Carolina, now Interstate 440

★ North Carolina in Winston-Salem and formerly Greensboro

★ Oklahoma - Sallisaw; Henryetta; El Reno; Weatherford; Clinton; Elk City; Sayre; Erick

★ Texas - Shamrock; McLean; Groom; Amarillo; Vega; Adrian; Glenrio

★ New Mexico - Tucumcari; Santa Rosa; Albuquerque; Grants and Mount Taylor; Gallup

★ Arizona - Spur to Winslow; Loop through Winslow; Flagstaff; Williams; Ash Fork; Seligman; ''Kingman''

★ California - Needles

References

1. Route Log - Main Routes of the Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways - Table 1
2. Kirby, J.P. et al. misc.transport.road FAQ. URL accessed 21:00, 18 February 2006 (UTC).
3. California Highways: Interstate 40
4. Waller, Jeff. Interstate 40 Extension and Bakersfield Freeway Network. ''California Streets''. URL accessed 21:19, 18 February 2006 (UTC).
5. Building a Radioactive Highway Howard Wilshire
6. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/eihd/2002/cat1pic8.htm
7. http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/smartfix/jwp/
8. http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/smartfix/jwp/closures.asp
9. Strategic Highway Corridors Vision Plan Triangle Area (PDF) See Note 2 on map regarding renumbering current I-540 as I-640.

External links

★ The I-40 Bridge Disaster

California

★ WestCoastRoads - Interstate 40

★ California Highways: I-40

★ Cal-NExUS: Route 40 West

★ Cal-NExUS: Route 40 East