South end: SR 117 near Sherwood | Length 265.3 km | |
North end: KY 63 near Gamaliel, KY Major cities McMinnville, Monteagle, Gainesboro, Smithville, Altamont, Sewanee, Red Boiling Springs Counties Franklin County, Tennessee | ||
State Route 56 (SR 56) is a 164-mile (265 km) highway that runs south to north in Middle Tennessee.
Map of TN-56, Tennessee, USA
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.
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. It there becomes a division of the Tennessee Scenic Parkway system, and it proceeds south to U.S. Route 70N just outside Baxter in Putnam County.
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. 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.