U.S. Route 70S
U.S. Route 70S (US 70S) is an alternate to U.S. Route 70 between the western part of Nashville, Tennessee, and Sparta, Tennessee. It runs concurrent with US 70 for several blocks in downtown Nashville. The highway follows Murfreesboro Pike from Nashville to Murfreesboro then heads due east to McMinnville then northeast to Sparta where it ends at its junction with US 70. It was originally designated as U.S. Route 270 in 1926.
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US 70S highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Auxiliary route of US 70 | ||||
| Maintained by TDOT | ||||
| Length | 113.1 mi[1] (182.0 km) | |||
| Existed | 1939–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  | |||
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| East end |  | |||
| Location | ||||
| Counties | Davidson, Rutherford, Cannon, Warren, Van Buren, White | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Route description
US 70S begins at a junction with US 70 and SR 24 as the Charlotte Pike, and runs concurrently with SR 1. The road descends to an interchange with I-40, before passing through the community of Bellevue and intersecting SR 251. After this, US 70S enters the urban Nashville area along Harding Pike, intersecting SR 100 and then crossing I-440 as West End Avenue. US 70S and SR 1 merge with US 431 and SR 106 and crosses the I-40 and I-65 freeway as Broadway. At that interchange, the one-way couplet of US 70 and SR 24 meets US 70S, and all these routes continue into downtown Nashville. At the intersection of Rosa Parks Boulevard and Broadway, US 31 and US 41 run concurrently with the other routes on 8th Avenue South and then Lafayette Street, while US 431 splits off with US 31 and US 41 headed north, and US 70 and SR 24 continue east. US 31 eventually continues south, splitting from the other routes. US 70S and SR 1 and US 41 come to an interchange with I-24 near the I-40 interchange, before the three routes leave the Nashville area as Murfreesboro Pike, intersecting SR 155 and passing under the runways of Nashville International Airport.[1]
East of the airport, US 70S intersects SR 255, Donelson Pike, and later SR 254 as well as SR 171 (Hobson Pike), as it passes through the suburbs east of Nashville. In Rutherford County, US 70S has an interchange with SR 266 near the airport before passing through Smyrna. The highway then has an interchange with Lee Victory Parkway (SR 102) and I-840 before briefly paralleling the west fork of the Stones River and entering the city of Murfreesboro. U.S. Route 231 and SR 10 briefly run concurrently with the route, and SR 96 intersects it. Southeast of town, US 41 and SR 2 continue south, splitting off from SR 1 and US 70S. As Mercury Boulevard, and then as the John Bragg Highway, the two routes leave the city and continue east through forested areas and farmland for several miles.[1]
In the town of Woodbury, the highway intersects with SR 145, and passes through the town as Main Street, also briefly running concurrently with SR 53. The road then winds through foothills before intersecting SR 281, SR 146, and SR 287. Main Street comes to an interchange with SR 380 and SR 55, and US 70S and SR 1 continue northeast on the Bobby Ray Memorial Parkway. The parkway continues along the outskirts of McMinnville, intersecting SR 56 and SR 380. As Sparta Highway, the routes continue east, intersecting SR 30 and SR 288 before passing near Campaign and becoming first Bone Cave Parkway and then Memorial Highway. After several miles, the routes run concurrently with SR 111 before heading due north on Spencer Highway before SR 1 exits from the divided highway. US 70S and SR 111 continue north to the diamond interchange with US 70 and SR 26 just west of downtown Sparta.[1]
History
Route improvements
During the 1980s the section of the route between Belle Meade and Smyrna was upgraded from two to four lanes.
In 1991 the portion from Smyrna to Murfreesboro was also upgraded to four lanes.
In the early 1990s the 18-mile (29 km) stretch from Murfreesboro to Woodbury was widened from two to four lanes.
Between 1994 and 2002 the section between McMinnville and Sparta was widened to four lanes and a four lane bypass around McMinnville was built. The former routing through downtown McMinnville is now designated State Route 380.
As of 2006, besides the two-mile (3.2 km) western terminus near Bellevue past Interstate 40 to the intersection with US 70, the only section of US 70S that lacked four lanes was between Woodbury and McMinnville. Construction began outside McMinnville on widening to five lanes (including one left turn lane) for three miles (5 km) as a way to avoid congestion. As of 2018, most of the section between McMinnville and Woodbury had been upgraded to a four-lane divided highway. From McMinnville west to where the road starts up the ridge is four-laned. The stretch of highway going through Woodbury proper is still two-lanes. As the remaining two-lane portion will be adjacent to the site chosen in late January 2017 by the Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County Board of Education for the relocation of Hillwood High School,[2] this may also be upgraded.
Junction list
| County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davidson | | 0.0 | 0.0 | | Western terminus of US 70S; western end of SR 1 concurrency; western terminus of unsigned SR 24 | |||
| Bellevue | | I-40 exit 196 | ||||||
 | Southern terminus of SR 251; continues south as Old Hickory Boulevard | |||||||
| Belle Meade |  | Eastern terminus of SR 100; provides access to Natchez Trace Parkway | ||||||
 Woodmount Boulevard | Southern terminus of SR 155; continues south as Woodmount Boulevard; beltway around Nashville | |||||||
| Nashville | | I-440 west exit 1, east exit 1A. | ||||||
 | Western end of US 431 concurrency; northern terminus of unsigned SR 106 | |||||||
| I-40 EB/I-65 SB accessed via 14th Avenue S | |||||||
| Western end of US 70 / SR 24 concurrency | |||||||
   | Eastern end of US 70/US 431/SR 24 concurrency; western end of US 31/US 41/US 41A/SR 6/SR 11 concurrency | |||||||
 | Eastern end of US 31/SR 6 concurrency; Roundabout; northern terminus of US 31A; southern end of US 31A concurrency | |||||||
| Eastern end of US 31A/US 41A/SR 11 concurrency; I-40 exit 210C | |||||||
| I-24 exit 52; I-40 exit 213 (westbound only) | |||||||
 | SR 155 exit 4; Single-point urban interchange; beltway around Nashville | |||||||
  | Provides access to Nashville International Airport | |||||||
| Antioch |  | Eastern terminus of SR 254 | ||||||
 | ||||||||
| Rutherford | Smyrna |  | Provides access to Smyrna Airport; interchange | |||||
 | Interchange | |||||||
| Murfreesboro | | I-840 exit 55 A/B | ||||||
   | Western end of US 231/SR 10/SR 99 concurrency | |||||||
| Eastern end of US 231/SR 10 concurrency | |||||||
| Eastern end of US 41/SR 99 concurrency; western terminus of unsigned SR 2 | |||||||
| Cannon | Readyville |  | Eastern terminus of SR 64 | |||||
| Woodbury |  | Southern terminus of SR 145 | ||||||
 | Western end of SR 53 concurrency | |||||||
| Eastern end of SR 53 concurrency | |||||||
| Bluewing |  | |||||||
 | Southern terminus of SR 146 | |||||||
| Warren | Centertown |  | Western end of short SR 287 concurrency | |||||
| Eastern end of short SR 287 concurrency | |||||||
| McMinnville |   | Interchange; eastern terminus of SR 55; western terminus of SR 380; SR 380 is the former routing of US 70S/SR 1 | ||||||
 | ||||||||
| Eastern terminus of SR 380; former routing of US 70S/SR 1 | |||||||
| |  | Western terminus of SR 30 | ||||||
| |  | Southern terminus of SR 288 | ||||||
| Campaign |  | Southern terminus of SR 136 | ||||||
| Van Buren |
No major junctions | |||||||
| White | Doyle | W Gooseneck Road - Doyle | Wester terminus of SR 285; W Gooseneck Road is an access road into the town of Doyle | |||||
| | | Western end of SR 111 concurrency; interchange | ||||||
| Sparta |  | Eastern end of SR 1 concurrency; interchange | ||||||
| 113.1 | 182.0 | | Eastern terminus of US 70S; interchange; eastern end of SR 111 concurrency | |||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
References
- Google (March 3, 2013). "U.S. Route 70S" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
- WKRN, January 24, 2017
External links
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