I-40 in Tennessee

[smpliving]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Can I ask why it is tricky? Bad roads? Lots of turns? Hilly?

Thanks!

The drive between Kentucky and Knoxville is one big steep hill (mountainous in my opinion, but not as bad as in the Colorado or Montana mountains). I can't imagine driving a rig on that stretch of 75. Very scenic with fantastic views. The highway is very well maintained.

I prefer driving 40 between Knoxville and Nashville (getting less adventurous in my later years), and was so glad that my daughter and I had decided to take 40 instead of 75 when returning back home from a recent trip to Asheville. Thirty-five miles from Cookeville, my car started giving us problems (bad sensor). We called the Toyota dealership in Cookeville and they advised us it was safe to continue driving to their dealership (they had to deal with 2 frantic women). Took 2 hours to fix the problem and we were on our way. I can't say enough good things about that dealership, or our short stay in Cookeville. When we got home, they even called us to make sure we made it home safely.

A few years back, moving from California to the Midwest, we drove 40 between Barstow and Oklahoma City. Arizona and New Mexico is a very pretty stretch of area (forests), but still not as nice as Tennessee and western North Carolina, IMO.

[Vascodagama]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

This past (extended) weekend I just did something that few who don't live in Tennessee or drive trucks for a living have done: I completed driving I-40 through Tennessee. I'd already driven the segment between Lenoir City and the North Carolina state line, plus a few miles in Nashville, but now I've driven the entire thing, and it's actually an exhausting drive.

The segment between Memphis and Nashville is hillier than I thought it'd be, and they should probably just six-lane it all since there were lots of rolling road blocks created by 18-wheelers trying to pass each other. Even small hills can make it hard for the big trucks to pass each other. The view of Kentucky Lake from the highway was nice, though.

East of Nashville, I don't understand why they don't have climbing lanes for the 18-wheelers as the highway ascends the Cumberland Plateau eastbound. It's more gradual than the (south)eastbound ascent on I-24, but it was enough to slow the big trucks down. Both I-40 and I-24 have dramatic eastbound descents, though.

Overall, I'd say that Tennessee is a lot like Pennsylvania, but more Southern, and with its two largest population centers being somewhat smaller. No other states east of the Mississippi River have the same combination of total land area and proportion of difficult terrain.

I just drove I-40 from where I-40 starts in Barstow California to Cookeville in four days. The Tennessee segment was the best as far a road conditions and scenery.

[Ridgerunner]

I enjoyed the desert scenery from Barstow to Flagstaff. Maybe this is because I've been across Tennessee so many times. The flat stretch between Memphis and Jackson is sooooooooooo long.

[Capt. Dan]

Originally Posted by Ridgerunner

I enjoyed the desert scenery from Barstow to Flagstaff. Maybe this is because I've been across Tennessee so many times. The flat stretch between Memphis and Jackson is sooooooooooo long.

And the stretch between Memphis and Jackson ALWAYS has a big DEA presence!