Tennessee State Route 56

Infobox road
state=TN
type=Dual
route=56
alternate_name=
maint=TDOT


length_mi=164.85
length_round=2
length_ref=
established=
direction_a=South
starting_terminus=jct|state=AL|AL|117 near Sherwood
junction=jct|state=TN|I|24 at Monteagle
jct|state=TN|US|70S|TN|1 at McMinnville
jct|state=TN|US|70|TN|26 at Smithville
jct|state=TN|I|40 near Silver Point & Baxter
jct|state=TN|US|70N|TN|24 near Baxter
direction_b=North
ending_terminus=jct|state=KY|KY|63 near Gamaliel, KY
counties=Franklin, Marion, Grundy, Warren, DeKalb, Putnam, Jackson, Macon
cities=Sewanee, Monteagle, Altamont, McMinnville, Smithville, Gainsboro, Red Boiling Springs
previous_type=TN
previous_route=55
next_type=Dual
next_route=57

State Route 56 is a 164-mile (265 km) highway that runs south to north in Middle Tennessee.Starting at the northern border, TN-56 is considered a secondary road; at the Kentucky state line, it terminates with KY-63. From there it starts its southern journey through the small town of Red Boiling Springs and on to the town of Gainesboro in Jackson County. It there becomes a primary route and a division of the Tennessee Scenic Parkway system, and it proceeds south to U.S. Route 70 N just outside of Baxter in Putnam County.

Before Interstate 40 was built in the 1960s, TN-56 went directly through the town of Baxter and proceeded down what is now the Old Baxter Road to Silver Point and then to Smithville. After the interstate came through, a spur route was built to intersect with Exit 280 (the Baxter - Gainesboro exit) that bypasses Baxter. Also, the route from I-40 to Gainesboro is known to Upper Cumberland residents as part of the Corridor J project. At the junction of I-40 and TN-56, TN-56 accompanies I-40 west for 7 miles. At Exit 273 (Smithville - McMinnville exit) TN-56 proceeds south towards Smithville and then to McMinnville in Warren County. This stretch of road between I-40 and Smithville was notorious for terrible curves prior to the late 1970s, but it was rebuilt and is now considered a good route to follow. Some refer to this route as the I-40 to I-24 corridor. In McMinnville, drivers can travel west on State Route 55 to Manchester to reach I-24. Beyond McMinnville, TN-56 once again is considered a secondary route. It goes through Altamont, Tracey City, and then terminates in Monteagle, Tennessee at U.S. Route 41 and Interstate 24.

Counties traversed (north to south)

*Macon — 17.37 mi
*Jackson — 27.37 mi
*Putnam — 6.05 mi
*DeKalb — 20.20 mi
*Warren — 24.88 mi
*Grundy — 33.88 mi
*Marion — 0.01 mi
*Franklin — 16.55 mi

References

*Tennessee Department of Transportation (24 January 2003). "State Highway and Interstate List 2003".

ee also

*List of Tennessee state highways