Interstate 40 ( I-40 ) is the main east-west Interstate Highway that runs through the south-central part of the United States generally north of Interstate 10 and Interstate 20 but south of Interstate 70. The western end is on Interstate 15 in Barstow, California; its eastern end is on the concurrency of Routes USA 117 and North Carolina Highway 132 in Wilmington, North Carolina. This is the third longest interstate in the United States, behind Interstate 80 and Interstate 90. Most of the western part of I-40, from Oklahoma City to Barstow, parallel or lining the historic US Route 66, east of the Oklahoma City route are generally parallel to the US Route 64 and US Route 70. I-40 runs through many major cities including Albuquerque, New Mexico; Amarillo, Texas; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Little Rock, Arkansas; Memphis, Tennessee; Nashville, Tennessee; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Raleigh, North Carolina.
Video Interstate 40
Route description
California
Interstate 40 is the main east-west route of the Interstate Highway System. The western end is in Barstow, California. Known as the Needles Freeway , it heads east from Barstow across the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County to the Needles, before crossing into southwest Arizona Kingman. The I-40 covers 155 miles (249 km) in California.
A sign in California shows the distance to Wilmington, North Carolina has been stolen several times.
Arizona
Interstate 40 is the main route to the South Rim Grand Canyon, with exits to Grand Canyon National Park in Williams and Flagstaff. The I-40 covers 359 mi (577.75 km) in Arizona. Just west of exit 190, west of Flagstaff, is the highest elevation along I-40 in the US, as the road crosses over 7,320 ft (2,231.14 m). The I-40 also passes the Navajo Nation, India's largest reservation in the US.
New Mexico
I-40 covers 374 miles (602 km) in New Mexico. Important cities along the I-40 include Gallup, Grants, Albuquerque, Santa Rosa, and Tucumcari. I-40 also travels through several different Indian reservations in the western part of the state. Reached the highest point of 7.275 feet on the Continental Divide in western New Mexico between Gallup and Grants. Arizona, New Mexico and Texas are the only three countries where the I-40 has a 75 mph (120 km/h) speed limit instead of 70 mph (112 km/h) occurring in California, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
Texas
In the western Texas area stretch, there are several ranch roads connected directly to the interstate. One of the marked crossings is shown to the right. The only major city in Texas served directly by the I-40 is Amarillo, which connects with Interstate 27 that runs south toward Lubbock. The I-40 has only one welcome center in the state located in Amarillo at the exit of Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport, serving both sides of the interstate.
Oklahoma
Interstate 40 passes through the heart of the country, passing through many Oklahoma towns and cities, including Erick, Sayre, Elk City, Clinton, Weatherford, El Reno, Yukon, Oklahoma City, Del City, Midwest City, Shawnee, Okemah, Henryetta, Checotah, Sallisaw, and Roland. I-40 covers 331 miles (533 km) in Oklahoma.
In Downtown Oklahoma City, Interstate 40 was overhauled a mile south of the previous juxtaposition and the 10 lane facility (5 in each direction) replaced the previous I-40 Crosstown Bridge; will be replaced with an urban bulevar currently set as Oklahoma City Boulevard .
Arkansas
Interstate, 40 enters the west-central part of the country and runs 284 miles (457 km) in Arkansas. The route passes through Van Buren, where he intersects Interstate south 540/US 71 to Fort Smith. The route goes east to Alma to intersect Interstate 49 northward to Fayetteville, Arkansas. Walking through the Ozark Mountains, I-40 serves Ozark, Clarksville, Russellville, Morrilton, and Conway. The route turns south after Conway and enters North Little Rock, which carries a high volume arrangement with Interstate 430, I-30/US 65/US 67/US 167, and I-440/AR 440. Interstate continues east through Lonoke, Brinkley , and West Memphis on the east side. Interstate 40 briefly overlaps Interstate 55 in West Memphis before crossing the Mississippi River at Hernando de Soto Bridge and into Memphis, Tennessee.
Tennessee
More than Interstate 40 passes through Tennessee, 455 miles (732 km), than any other country. Interstate passed all three of the Main Divisions in Tennessee and its three largest cities, Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville. Jackson, Lebanon, Cookeville, Crossville, and Newport are other important cities and/or cities where I-40 passes. Before leaving the country, the I-40 entered the Great Smoky Mountains to North Carolina.
The Interstate 40 section that runs between Memphis and Nashville is often referred to as Highway Music. During the reconstruction, the long section of I-40 via downtown Knoxville near the Malfunction Junction center was completely closed to traffic from May 1, 2008 and was not reopened until June 12, 2009 with all traffic routed through Interstate 640, the northern bypass route. The redesigned section now has an additional point in each direction, is less dense, and has fewer accidents.
North Carolina
In North Carolina, I-40 travel 421 miles (678 km). It enters the country as a mountain highway through the Great Smoky Mountains which is often closed due to landslides and weather conditions. It enters the country in most of the north-south alignment, switching to east-west alignment when it joins the US 74 Route at the eastern end of the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway. From there the highway passes through Asheville, Hickory, and Statesville before reaching the Piedmont Triad. To the east of the Triad city in Greensboro, North Carolina, he joined I-85 and two more roads split west of the Triangle Research area, passing along the southern parts of Durham and Raleigh. From the Triangle to the east end in Wilmington, once again take north-south alignment.
The standard distance mark is near the start of the western part of I-40 in Wilmington that shows the distance to Barstow, California as 2,554 miles (4,110 km). Although NCDOT has stated that it will not be replaced after frequent thefts, on August 15, 2013, the sign was present.
Maps Interstate 40
History
For about 1,000 miles (1,600 km), the I-40 follows Beale's Wagon Road's public route from Arkansas to California. Wagon Beale Road was built in 1857-59 by a team led by Lieutenant Edward Fitzgerald Beale using a camel team as packing animals.
In Albuquerque, New Mexico, the I-40 was originally intended to replace Central Avenue through the city center. However, due to developments and public opposition, the route to the north is chosen. The freeway cuts Central Ave. at both ends of the city.
In 1957, the California Highway Service proposed that the route be numbered back to Interstate 30, as there were already 40 US Routes in the state. Later, Rte-40 AS was disabled in California in 1964, as part of a major alteration of California's entire road numbering system, so the problem vanished.
The Government of the State of California sent State Route 58 between Barstow and Bakersfield for potential I-40 extensions in 1956 and 1968, even though the request was rejected. This section of SR 58 was once signed as the US 466 Route.
From 1963 to 1966, the US government considered a plan, part of Project Plowshare, to use atomic bombs to dig the path for I-40 to California. The project was flooded largely due to the cost of developing explosives and due to the unavailability of "clean bombs".
In Memphis, the I-40 was originally intended to go through Overton Park city toward the city center. A few miles from the interstate is actually built in the I-240 loop. Part of the highway is still there, and regularly used as a non-Interstate Sam Cooper Boulevard, reaching the eastern end of the Chickasaw Country Club. Environmental opposition, combined with victory in the United States Supreme Court by the opposite of the Overton Park route (see Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe) was forced to abandon the original plan, and the road never reached the Park. For more than 20 years, the I-40 mark is on a dead end road to Overton Park. Finally, the north range of the I-240 loop was redesigned as I-40.
In 1971, the North Carolina State Highway Commission approved a plan to extend the I-40 from Research Triangle Park to Interstate 95, a distance of 41 miles, at a cost of $ 75 million. Most highways will be four lanes, though six lanes are likely near Raleigh, where the I-40 will extend the Beltline. Several routes are being considered, but by then, the most likely route will end up north of Smithfield.
When the last part of I-40, connecting Wilmington to Raleigh, completed in the late 1980s, Charles Kuralt stated:
Initially, the I-40 was built through downtown Winston-Salem, and continued following that route until a new bypass urban route was built. After the bypass was completed around 1992, the I-40 was transferred to the new expressway. The old highway was then redesigned as Interstate 40 Business, creating a business route that was actually a toll road for its overall length, a rarity in between business routes. There is an argument that the I-40 toll road in Winston-Salem should be an interstate again, especially as the road is currently on the rise. There is one loop number left for I-40, Interstate 640. Interstate 840 is currently available, however, because NCDOT has plans to use it for the northern loop of the beltway being built around nearby Greensboro.
The I-40 bridge disaster occurred on 26 May 2002 when a barge collided with members of a bridge foundation near Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, which caused a 580-foot (177 m) I-40 bridge to plunge into the Arkansas River. Cars and semi-trailers fell into the water, killing fourteen people.
The I-25 and I-40 "Big I" Exchange in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was honored by the US Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration for excellence in the design of urban highways in 2002.
In Oklahoma City, the I-440 designation has been awarded to Interstate Highway from I-240 to US-66. It is part of Grand Boulevard built in accordance with Interstate standards. In 1982, as part of Oklahoma's "Diamond Jubilee", the I-44 west terminal was moved from the I-35/I-44 junction to the Texas/Oklahoma state line via the Belle Isle Freeway (connecting I-440 with I- 44). 35); I-440, H. E. Bailey Turnpike; and a toll road connector on the eastern edge of Lawton, Oklahoma. Number I-440 was dropped at the time, but may come back in the future.
See also
Business route
- Interstate 40 Business in Raleigh, North Carolina, now Interstate 440
- Interstate 40 Business (North Carolina) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and formerly in Greensboro
- Interstate 40 Business in Oklahoma - Sallisaw; Henryetta; El Reno; Weatherford; Clinton; Elk City; Sayre; and Erick, Oklahoma
- Interstate 40 Business in Texas - Shamrock; McLean; Groom; Amarillo; Vega; Adrian, Texas; and Glenrio, New Mexico, and Texas
- Interstate 40 Business in New Mexico - Tucumcari; Santa Rosa; Albuquerque; Grants, Mount Taylor, and Gallup, New Mexico
- Interstate 40 Business in ArizonaÃ, - Driving to Winslow; Loops through Winslow; Flagpole; Williams; Ash Fork; Seligman; and Kingman, Arizona
- Interstate 40 Business in California - Needles, California
References
External links
- Geographic data associated with Interstate 40 in OpenStreetMap
- Interstate Guide: I-40
- The Beale Wagon Road
- The I-40 Bridge Disaster
- California
- WestCoastRoads - Interstate 40
- California Highway: I-40
- Cal-NExUS: Route 40 West
- Cal-NExUS: Route 40 East
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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