State Route 1 (SR1), known as the Memphis to Bristol Highway, is a 538.8-mile-long (867.1km) mostly-unsignedstate highway in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It stretches from the Arkansas state line at the Mississippi River in Memphis in the southwest corner of the state to the Virginia state line at Bristol in the northeast part. Most of the route travels concurrently with U.S. Route 70 (US70) and US11W. It is the longest numbered highway of any kind in the state of Tennessee. The route is signed as both a primary and secondary highway at different times throughout its designation.
In 2015, the Tennessee Department of Transportation erected signs along SR1 showing motorists they are traveling on the Memphis to Bristol Highway, Tennessee's first state road. TDOT installed the signs at every county line while it celebrated its 100th anniversary.
Route description
Memphis area
SR1 begins as a primary route on Interstate 55 (I-55) in the middle of the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge at the Arkansas–Tennessee state line. US61, US64, US70, US78, and US79 come off the bridge alongside SR1; US61 soon turns south with SR14 and US78 continues along E.H. Crump Blvd with SR4 heading eastward. The other three U.S. Highways and SR1 travel along SR4 northbound (on Danny Thomas Blvd). At SR3 (Union Avenue), US51 joins SR1 and 4 while US64/70/79 continue east on Union Avenue. At North Parkway, SR4 continues along Danny Thomas Blvd/Thomas St with US51 northbound, while SR1 turns east alone onto North Parkway. However, US64/US70/US79 soon rejoin SR1 at SR57. These four routes continue as Summer Avenue until exiting Memphis. The portions where SR1 runs by itself are signed.[3]
Between Memphis and Nashville
SR1 is a primary route until it runs around Brownsville. After the junction of SR76, SR1 becomes a secondary route for a short time until it crosses SR186.[3]
After leaving Memphis, SR1 runs along the following routes:
SR1 enters Nashville from the west along US70S through the community of Bellevue. Between Old Hickory Pike and White Bridge Road east of Belle Meade, the highway is known as Harding Pike. Between here and Downtown Nashville, SR1 is known as West End Avenue. In downtown, SR1 is known as Broadway. As SR1 approaches 8th Avenue South/Rosa Parks, it turns right and southeast, joining US41 and becoming known as Lafayette Street (briefly) and then Murfreesboro Road.[3]
SR1 is a primary route until its intersection with US70N/ SR24. It continues to be a secondary route until its intersection with US11W. East of Nashville, SR1 runs along the following routes:[3]
SR1 enters Knox County along with US70 and US11 (which joins SR1 a few feet from the county line). From here to near the downtown area, the road is locally known as Kingston Pike and near the University of Tennessee campus it is known as Cumberland Avenue. It turns north onto Henley Street becoming Broadway Street, east onto Magnolia Avenue, north onto Hall of Fame Drive, and back onto Magnolia Avenue. In East Knoxville, SR1 splits from US70 and continues northeast with US11W as Rutledge Pike.[3]
Between Knoxville and Bristol
Between Knoxville and Bristol, SR1 runs along US11W.[3]
In Bristol, SR1 leaves US11W right at the state line, and heads east on its own (as a primary route) along State Street. It turns south at US11E/US19, ending two blocks later at Broad Street (SR34).[3]
State designations
State Route 1 runs as a primary or secondary highway as follows:
Interestingly, although SR1 is signed a primary highway in Sparta, the TDOT Traffic Map for White County actually identifies this stretch as a secondary highway. (Between the eastern end of the SR111 and US70S concurrency to the eastern terminus of SR26 at US70 in Sparta). There are no secondary designation reassurance shields signs along the entire SR1 corridor.
List of signed segments
US61, US64, US70, and US79 to US51, US64, US70, and US79 in Memphis
SR14 and US51 to US64, US70, US79, and SR57 in Memphis
