According to Ehuacom, Memphis is a city in the state of Tennessee in the United States. The city has a population of 628,000 and has an agglomeration of 1,336,000 inhabitants (2021) that extends into the states of Arkansas and Mississippi.
Introduction
According to mcat-test-centers, Memphis is located on the Mississippi River, bordering the states of Mississippi and Arkansas. The city is located in far southwest Tennessee. The city is located 205 kilometers east of Little Rock, 315 kilometers southwest of Nashville, 390 kilometers south of St. Louis and 575 kilometers north of New Orleans. The Memphis metro area also includes suburbs across the Mississippi River in eastern Arkansas, as well as northern Mississippi. The city is known for Elvis Presley and to a lesser extent artists such as BB King and Muddy Waters. The city center is located on the east bank of the Mississippi River. The city is a major transit route for railroads to the west and has the busiest cargo airport in the world. The city’s population has been stagnant since the 1970s, but the urban area is still growing, albeit on a fairly limited scale. Until 2013, Memphis was the largest city in Tennessee, but has since been overtaken by Nashville.
Road network
The highway network of Memphis.
I-240 on the south side of Memphis.
Memphis has a distinctive ring road, which does not go around downtown, but lies east of it, surrounding residential areas. The ring road is formed by the I-240 and I-40 and is a total of 50 kilometers long. There is also a second ring road, Interstate 269, which runs through both Tennessee and Mississippi. In addition, important through routes pass through downtown Memphis. I-55 comes from the south and runs north through Arkansas, thus crossing the Mississippi River. I-40 forms an east-west connection. Sam Cooper Boulevard is a freeway and holdover from the 1950s when I-40 was planned through the city. The freeway revolts have changed these plans.
History
The history of the Memphis road network is linked to the construction of bridges over the Mississippi River. There are two, the first is the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge, opened in 1949, which was upgraded to Interstate Highway design requirements in the 1960s.. Before that, the Harahan Bridge, which also handled car traffic between 1917 and 1949, nowadays only consists of rail traffic. In 1973, the Hernando de Soto Bridge opened to traffic. Very little is known about opening dates for the highways around Memphis. Most highways like I-40, I-55, and I-240 probably opened mostly in the 1960s. Memphis is known for the fact that the Supreme Court banned the construction of I-40 through Memphis in 1971, the highway had to be routed over I-240, which has been widened for that purpose. A remnant of this is the Sam Cooper Boulevard, a highway in the administration of the city of Memphis. I-240 along the south and east sides is believed to have been the last freeway opening in Memphis, but exactly when is not known. Beginning in the 1980s, Memphis’ second beltway was built, State Route 385, which connects suburban and southeastern Memphis. The construction of this started around 1980 and in 1982 the first part was opened. The last section opened to traffic in 2013, and the road has since been renumbered I-269. In 2017-2018, the portion of I-269 in the state of Mississippi was also opened.
Future
A third bridge over the Mississippi River as an extension of I-269 north of Memphis is not currently being considered. Interstate 55 in Memphis is one of the most substandard highways in Tennessee, traffic entering I-55 toward Arkansas must exit through a substandard one-lane clover loop. The Mississippi River bridge is also substandard, but replacement is not being considered. In the future, Interstate 69 between Dyersburg and Memphis is to be constructed. I-69 will be routed over existing highways within Memphis.
Congestion
Memphis is not a city with severe congestion, yet traffic jams are a well-known phenomenon, especially around downtown it tends to get stuck. The I-240 has been modified for this numerous times. The Mississippi River bridges of I-40 and I-55 are seriously outdated and can also cause delays, but the commute from Arkansas is not that great because there is really only one suburb here; West Memphis. South of Memphis are several Mississippi suburbs that are busy on I-55.
