Interstate 55 (Tennessee)
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| Bishop J.O. Patterson Sr. Memorial Parkway W.B. Fowler Sr. Expressway |
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_map.svg) |
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by TDOT | ||||
| Length: | 12 mi (19 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end: |
  I-55 / I-69 at the Mississippi state line |
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 US 51 in Memphis I-240 in Memphis    US 61 / US 64 / US 70 / US 79 in Memphis |
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| North end: |
I-55 at Arkansas state line |
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| Highway system | ||||
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Interstate 55 in Tennessee lies entirely within the city of Memphis, located in Shelby County. The highway enters the city from Southaven in Desoto County, Mississippi and passes through the Whitehaven area of the city, bypassing Memphis International Airport to the west.
I-55 enters Tennessee from Mississippi concurrent with I-69. I-55/I-69 heads due north before turning northwest. Then I-55 has an interchange with Interstate 240, where I-69 ends its concurrency with I-55, and begins with I-240. I-55 then turns westward for a brief period before turning northward again. Just before reaching downtown, the highway turns westward again at E.H. Crump Boulevard and crosses the Mississippi River via the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge into West Memphis, in Crittenden County, Arkansas.
I-55 provides an alternate route for motorists who do not want to take Interstates 240 and 40 through downtown to cross the Mississippi River.
On January 18, 2008, the Federal Highway Administration authorized the states of Mississippi and Tennessee to extend I-69 from the I-40/TN 300 interchange in north Memphis to the I-55/I-69 interchange in Hernando; however, Tennessee has not yet[update] signed the extension of the route, although Mississippi has already done so. Interstate 55 is one Tennessee's interstates where the speed limit is 65 MPH instead of 70.
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