Help with route/driving ...high anxiety (Chattanooga, Murfreesboro: hotel, moving, congested)

[clc08]

OK. We are moving from Indiana to Naples, Florida. My husband will be driving the large U-haul truck and I will have to follow in our car. I have personally driven around Nashville, several years ago, but now have increasing anxiety about doing it now...

Are there any other roads we can use to get around Nashville??? Desperate for answers....

Thanks

[DonCorleone]

I wouldn't be concerned about driving in Nashville so much...I'd be more concerned about heading down I-24 over Monteagle Mountain near Chattanooga. It is a very steep grade and you'll see many trucks on the far right lanes of the road going up due to the increased grade. There are also runaway ramps if (God forbid it) the brakes fail or anything like that.

But to answer your question, there is only one loop around Nashville from that direction. You could take I-24 into Nashville, then get off at Briley Parkway after Joelton (this is about 15 miles outside of downtown). Then take Briley Parkway east all the way around town (past Opryland Hotel, past I-40) and pick up I-24 again on the southeast side of downtown. But, to be honest with you, I would rather stay on I-24 the whole way than hit Briley. Much of Briley is like a freeway, but there are several red lights and it can get VERY congested at times. That could be very problematic if you are following each other. My guess is the anxiety of Briley is greater than the anxiety of driving downtown Nashville during rush hour.

[bmrisko]

I'd personally be more worried about Monteagle...and Atlanta.

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by bmrisko

I'd personally be more worried about Monteagle...and Atlanta.

This.

Monteagle shouldn't be bad if you are used to driving through hills/mountains...but for someone without much experience, it can be a little intimidating.

Atlanta is your bigger concern. If I were you, I would plan the times I left (and the places I stayed) based on what time you would be going through Atlanta. IMO, the best time to go through Atlanta is late at night.

[nashvols]

As for "by-passing" Nashville, you won't save any time doing that. Coming from Indiana, your best bet is to come straight down I-65. Here's a detailed list of what you should pay attention to coming through Nashville. It may seem a bit long, so in order to not confuse you, the point is to take I-65 into town, then I-24 from downtown all the way to Chattanooga (where you meet I-75).




-As you approach Briley Pkwy, the interstate will widen to 7 lanes. You should plan to be just about in the middle (3 lanes exit). NOTE: the interstate narrows to 3 lanes shortly after the Briley Interchange.

-Roughly 4 miles from downtown, I-24 will join from the NW, generally without bringing a whole lot of traffic with it. The interstate is 4 lanes from here to the downtown loop.

-2 miles later is the downtown loop. I-65 splits off and goes around the north side of downtown. I-24 (what you want to be on) goes straight. 3 lanes go straight, so as far as you are not in the right lane, you are in good shape.

-I-24 will be 3 lanes through the East Nashville/Downtown exits. Not counting the exit lanes, you should try to be in the middle lane (to avoid merging traffic from the exits).

-About 3 miles from the north loop, you cross the Cumberland River. You want to be in the left, or second to left lanes on the bridge, because right after the river crossing, the interstate splits and joins I-40.

-I-24 and I-40 run concurrent for about 2 miles. It is generally a very congested 2 miles. I would suggest not trying to hit this area after about 3pm. The interstate is 4 lanes wide here, and you want to make your way over to the right two lanes (I-24 exits to the right).

-You quickly go through the I-440 interchange (no lane changes necessary) and you are on your way out of town.

-The next 30 miles of interstate is 4 lanes, and generally flows freely in that direction, outside of rush hour traffic, of course. After Murfreesboro (exit 81), the interstate narrows back to 2 lanes...but you are through Nashville, and traffic shouldn't be too heavy past there.


The whole section of interstate between Goodlettsville (I-65) on the north side, and Murfreesboro (I-24) to the southeast, is about 50 miles. Unless you run across any major traffic issues, it should take you between 45 minutes to an hour (depending on travel speed).

[DonCorleone]

Duh...I was thinking I 24 the whole way down...thinking the OP would be coming from the Paducah KY area...but that's not likely. D'oh.

Still, Briley would be an option from the north side (I-65 bisects Briley Parkway), but I agree with others...you're better off just going through town and saving the stress level for Atlanta or Monteagle. The secret to Monteagle is just stay in the right hand lane and when you're going down the hill, either downshift or risk riding the brakes. You'll be fine.

[ExIslander]

Since you edited to say "other roads" instead of "other interstates," I'm going to assume you're not one of those people who immediately thinks they're lost if they venture out of sight of an interstate on-ramp.

A favorite Nashville-bypass route for going from I-65 north of town to I-24 east of town is Highway 109. You would get off I-65 at Exit 2 in Kentucky and follow US 31W south for a couple of miles before picking up TN 109 just over the state line. 109 will take you all the way down to I-40. Then you would go just a couple of miles east on I-40 and get on I-840, which will take you down to Murfreesboro where you'd pick up I-24.

I agree with the others that if Nashville gives you white knuckles, you're going to hate Atlanta. And really, Chattanooga's as bad as Nashville these days in my opinion, depending on what time of day you're going through.

If you're already committed to a multi-day trip and you aren't locked into an all-interstate drive for the sake of making time, probably the least stressful way to go -- assuming that stoplights make you less nervous than crowded interstates -- would be I-65 to Montgomery, then US 231 down to I-10 in the Florida panhandle, then take I-10 east before getting onto US 19 and going down the west side of Florida. The non-interstates on that route are four lanes and often have a 65 mph speed limit. Just make sure you cut back over to I-75 before you get too close to Tampa.

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by DonCorleone

Duh...I was thinking I 24 the whole way down...thinking the OP would be coming from the Paducah KY area...but that's not likely. D'oh.

Still, Briley would be an option from the north side (I-65 bisects Briley Parkway), but I agree with others...you're better off just going through town and saving the stress level for Atlanta or Monteagle. The secret to Monteagle is just stay in the right hand lane and when you're going down the hill, either downshift or risk riding the brakes. You'll be fine.

There's nothing wrong with Briley...but until they make the section between I-40 and I-24 a full freeway (restricted access), then IMO it's not any better than just driving through town, especially mid-day when there is little traffic.