Interstate 69 | ||||
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Route information | ||||
Maintained by TDOT | ||||
Length: | 15.1 mi (24.3 km) | |||
Existed: | January 18, 2009 | – present|||
Major junctions | ||||
South end: | I-55 / I-69 at Mississippi state line | |||
North end: | US 51 / SR 300 in Memphis | |||
Location | ||||
Counties: | Shelby | |||
Highway system | ||||
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Interstate 69 (I-69) is an incomplete U.S. Interstate Highway passing through the western part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, serving the cities of Union City, Troy, Dyersburg, and Memphis. State officials are considering building parts of I-69 as a toll road. Currently (while unsigned), a 15-mile (24 km) section of I-69 exists in the Memphis area. Portions of a 22-mile section between Union City and Troy are under construction.
From Fulton, Kentucky, I-69 is planned to continue to the southwest, replacing and bypassing existing U.S. Route 51, serving Union City, Dyersburg (where it will intersect Interstate 155), Ripley, Covington, and Millington. Tennessee is considering legislation that would allow I-69 to be built as a toll road, thereby accelerating its design and construction timetable by several years should such legislation be approved. Tennessee's toll road legislation comes as Congress withdrew $171 million allocated for Tennessee highway projects, including funds for I-69. This federal highway allotment was diverted to fund ongoing military operations in Iraq.
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, Mississippi; however, Tennessee has not yet[update] signed the extension of the route, although Mississippi has already done so.