I-40

Interstate 40 is a major west-east interstate highway in the United States. Its western terminus is at Interstate 15 in Barstow, California; its eastern terminus is at North Carolina State Highway 132 in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Much of the western portion of I-40, from Oklahoma City on, follows historic Route 66.

Length

Because I-40 goes through the Mojave Desert in California (just like Route 66 before it), its unofficial name is the Mojave Freeway.

In Memphis, I-40 was originally intended to go through the city's Overton Park toward downtown. Several miles of interstate were actually built within the I-240 loop; this portion of highway still exists and is in regular use as Sam Cooper Boulevard, reaching Chickasaw Country Club at its western end. However, public opposition, combined with a court victory by opponents of the Overton Park route, forced abandonment of the plans, and the road never reached the park. For several years, I-40 signage existed on the dead-end route toward Overton Park. Eventually, the northern portion of the I-240 loop was redesignated as I-40.

The California state government has submitted Highway 58 between Barstow and Bakersfield for I-40 extension potential. This portion of Highway 58 was once signed as U.S. Highway 466.

In North Carolina, I-40 merges with I-85 between Greensboro and Hillsborough, just west of Durham. In Alamance County, the highway is also known as the Sam Hunt Freeway. Due to a recent rerouting of I-85 around Greensboro, I-40 departs from it eight miles east of the original split.

The state of Arkansas originally asked AASHTO to allow the Interstate segment between Fort Smith and Bentonville to be named Interstate 49, to emphasize plans to extend the route from Shreveport, Louisiana through Arkansas to Kansas City, Missouri. AASHTO refused, and the route opened in 1999 as a northern extension of I-540.

Future Interstate 840 around Nashville, Tennessee was once planned to completely surround the city. But in October 2003, Tennessee DOT discontinued plans for a northern loop around the city. Currently the Highway is signed as Primary Interstate Highways


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