Tennessee State Route 56

State Route 56
State Route 56
Route information
	Maintained by TDOT
Length	164.85 mi (265.30 km)
Major junctions
South end	SR 117 near Sherwood
	I-24 at Monteagle; US 70S at McMinnville; US 70 at Smithville; I-40 near Silver Point & Baxter; US 70N near Baxter
North end	KY 63 near Gamaliel, KY
Location
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
Counties	Franklin, Marion, Grundy, Warren, DeKalb, Putnam, Jackson, Macon
Highway system
	Tennessee State Routes; Interstate; US; State;

State Route 56 (SR 56) is a 164-mile (265 km) highway that runs south to north in Middle Tennessee.

SR 56 is secondary south of Sewanee. It is primary (but unsigned) along US 41A and US 41 between Sewanee and Tracy City. From Tracy City to the Kentucky line, SR 56 is a signed primary route, except west from North Springs to Gibbs Crossroads, where SR 151 carries primary traffic more directly to Red Boiling Springs.^[1]

SR 56 begins at the end of Kentucky Route 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.^[1] It there becomes a division of the Tennessee Scenic Parkway system,^{[citation needed]} and it proceeds south to U.S. Route 70N just outside Baxter in Putnam County.^[1]

Before Interstate 40 was built in the 1960s, SR 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 SR 56, SR 56 accompanies I-40 west for 7 miles (11 km). At Exit 273 (Smithville - McMinnville exit) SR 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.^{[citation needed]} In McMinnville, drivers can travel west on State Route 55 to Manchester to reach I-24.

Beyond McMinnville, SR 56 goes through Irving College before ascending to the top of the Cumberland Plateau, where it passes through Altamont and Tracy City before merging with U.S. Route 41 and U.S. Route 41A in Monteagle. Just past Sewanee, SR 56 diverges from US-41A and descends from the Cumberland Plateau into the Crow Creek Valley. After passing through Sherwood, SR 56 terminates at the Alabama/Tennessee state line. The road continues into Alabama as State Route 117.^[1]

Major intersections

County	Location	Destinations	Notes
Franklin		SR 117 south – Stevenson	Alabama state line
	Sewanee	US 41A north (SR 15 west) – Cowan, Nashville, Memphis	south end of US 41A / SR 15 overlap
	St. Andrews	SR 156 south – Sewanee-Franklin County Airport
Marion	Monteagle	I-24 (US 64) – Nashville, Chattanooga	I-24 exit 134
		US 41 north (SR 2)	north end of US 41A / SR 15 overlap; south end of US 41 / SR 2 overlap
		Main Street (SR 2 south) - Chattanooga	north end of SR 2 overlap
Grundy	Tracy City	US 41 south (SR 150) – Jasper	north end of US 41 overlap
	Coalmont	SR 108 – Pelham, Gruetli-Laager
	Altamont	SR 50 west / SR 108 south	South end of SR 108 overlap
	Altamont	SR 108 north – Viola, McMinnville	north end of SR 108 overlap
Warren		SR 127 to SR 8 south – Dunlap
	McMinnville	SR 8 south – Dunlap
		East Main Street To SR 380 west
		Lua error in Module:Jct at line 204: attempt to concatenate local 'link' (a nil value).	Eastern terminus of SR 55 Bus.; Northern terminus of SR 108
		SR 380 (Main and Morford Streets)
		US 70S (SR 1) to I-24 / SR 55 – Manchester, Woodbury, Sparta
	Green Hill	SR 287 – Rock Island State Park
DeKalb		SR 288 south
	Smithville	US 70 (SR 26) – Lebanon, Sparta
	Smithville	SR 83 south
Putnam	Silver Point	SR 141 west – Edgar Evins State Park
	Silver Point	I-40 west – Nashville	South end of I-40 overlap; SR 56 south follows exit 273
	Roberts	Old Baxter Road	I-40 exit 276
	Baxter	I-40 east – Knoxville	North end of I-40 overlap; SR 56 south follows exit 280
	Baxter	US 70N (SR 24) – Carthage, Cookeville
	Bloomington Springs	SR 291 south
Jackson		SR 290 west	south end of SR 290 overlap
		SR 290 east – Cookeville	north end of SR 290 overlap
	Gainesboro	SR 53 south – Gainesboro, Granville, Gainesboro Antique District	South end of SR 53 overlap
	Gainesboro	SR 53 north / SR 85 east / SR 135 south – Celina, Livingston	north end of SR 53 overlap; south end of SR 85 / SR 135 overlap
		SR 85 west – Defeated, Carthage	north end of SR 85 overlap
	Whitleyville	SR 135 north	north end of SR 135 overlap
	North Springs	SR 151 north – Red Boiling Springs
Macon		SR 262 east	south end of SR 262 overlap
	Gibbs Crossroads	SR 80 south / SR 262 west – Lafayette, Carthage	north end of SR 262 overlap; south end of SR 80 overlap
	Red Boiling Springs	SR 52 – Lafayette, Celina	north end of SR 80 overlap
	Red Boiling Springs	SR 151 east – Cyclemos Motorcycle Museum
		KY 63 north – Gamaliel, Tompkinsville	Kentucky state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Tennessee Department of Transportation (2016). Official Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). c.1:1,013,760. Nashville: Tennessee Department of Transportation. §§ A9, A10–E10. Retrieved April 22, 2016.

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

[tdotmap-1] Tennessee Department of Transportation (2016). Official Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). c.1:1,013,760. Nashville: Tennessee Department of Transportation. §§ A9, A10–E10. Retrieved April 22, 2016.

[1]