Didn't want to highjack Tom's topic regarding what to do and see in Nashville. This topic is specifically about getting into or out of the Nashville area...
I was wondering if anyone has ever taken I-24 between Nashville and Chattanooga? We avoided it when we drove from the Atlanta area to Nashville last year because we had learned it was 'challenging', even though it was the most direct route. Instead we opted for taking I-75 up to almost Knoxville and then picked up I-40 West into Nashville, which was a lot longer.
Wikipedia echoes a number of other resources we found, and here's a portion of what they say:
One of the more hazardous stretches of Interstate highway in the United States is located approximately 40 miles west of Chattanooga on I-24 in Monteagle, where the highway crosses the Cumberland Plateau. Compared to grades elsewhere, Monteagle's 4–6% grade does not come close to the steepest, but the slope is protracted over a distance of several miles. While all motorists need to exercise caution, truckers are particularly vexed by Monteagle, and many have died going through this area. As runaway trucks had been a regular and deadly occurrence, in part of the failure or inability of truckers to slow down to the 35 mph truck speed limit once on the slope, the eastbound lanes were rebuilt in the late 1980s. This work reduced the grade, widened the road, added a required stopping area with traffic lights for trucks prior to descending the mountain, and added two runaway truck ramps. Owing to geography, these two ramps are on the left side of the grade. This stretch of highway inspired Johnny Cash to write a song about Monteagle Mountain. It is also mentioned in "The Legend", the introductory song for Smokey and the Bandit.
Has anyone done this stretch in their rig?
- Mike
