100 Years of Funding
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State Route 1 (SR 1), known as the Memphis to Bristol Highway, is a 538.8-mile-long (867.1 km) mostly-unsigned state highway in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It stretches all the way from the Arkansas state line at Memphis in the southwest corner of the state to Bristol in the northeast part. Most of the route travels concurrently with U.S. Route 70 (US 70) and US 11W. It is the longest highway of any kind in the state of Tennessee. The route is signed as both in the state of Tennessee, a Primary and Secondary Highway.

State Route 1

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Length of Route
538.8 mi.
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Year Built:
1915
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Begins:
I-55/US 61/US 64/US 70/US 79 (Memphis & Arkansas Bridge)
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Ends:
US 11E/US 19/SR 34
in Bristol
Counties Covered:
Shelby, Fayette, Tipton, Haywood, Madison, Carroll, Benton, Humphreys, Dickson, Cheatham, Davidson, Rutherford, Cannon, Warren, Van Buren, White, Cumberland, Roane, Loudon, Knox, Grainger, Hawkins, Sullivan
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In 2015, the Tennessee Department of Transportation erected signs along SR 1 showing motorists they are traveling on the Memphis to Bristol Highway, Tennessee’s first state road. TDOT installed the signs at every county line while it celebrated its 100th anniversary.

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Listen to our history....
Including a story on of the Memphis to Bristol Highway.
"In Tennessee, the main road was called the Memphis to Bristol Road, and it was designated by the General Assembly as State Route 1. Still carries that designation. It’s US 70 for most of the part, from Memphis pretty much through Knoxville, and then it becomes US 11W going up to Bristol. So, it was the major road, about 500 miles of it in Tennessee."
Listen to Episode 1

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