Tennessee State Route 111

State Route 111 (SR 111) is a north–south highway in Middle and East Tennessee. The road begins in Soddy-Daisy and ends north of Byrdstown in the community of Static, at the Tennessee/Kentucky state line. The length is 118.72 mi (191.1 km).[1]

State Route 111
Route information
Maintained by TDOT
Length	118.72 mi (191.06 km)
Major junctions
South end	US 27 in Soddy-Daisy
	US 127 / SR 8 in Dunlap SR 30 in Spencer US 70S / SR 1 in Sparta US 70 in Sparta I-40 in Cookeville US 70N in Cookeville SR 52 in Livingston
North end	US 127 in Static, Kentucky
Location
Counties	Hamilton, Sequatchie, Van Buren, White, Putnam, Overton, Pickett
Highway system
Tennessee State Routes Interstate U.S. State ← SR 110 → SR 112

Route description

The highway begins at an interchange with U.S. Route 27/SR 29 (US 27/SR 29) in Soddy-Daisy. SR 111 travels generally northwest as a controlled access highway before it crosses into Sequatchie County. The controlled-access sections of SR 111 are unusual, as they contain 70 mph speed limits, which are generally reserved for Interstate highways. It then proceeds over Walden Ridge and into the Sequatchie Valley, where it comes to an interchange with US 127 and starts a concurrency with SR 8 in Dunlap, where the freeway ends. The concurrency goes up the Cumberland Plateau, continuing as a 4-lane road, albeit without a dividing median or wide shoulders, and into the northern part of the county where it narrows to an improved 2-lane road and SR 8 splits off and continues to McMinnville. SR 111 turns north at this point and crosses into Van Buren County. Beyond this point, the entire road until passing Livingston is either a four-lane divided highway or a five-lane road with a continuous center turn lane, in both cases with wide, paved shoulders.

SR 111 approaching the Cumberland Plateau, near Spencer

In Van Buren County, the highway travels through the small town of Spencer, passing just west of Fall Creek Falls State Park, and continues into White County at the Caney Fork River. In this area SR 111 runs a brief concurrency with SR 285. The highway then proceeds north as Harold "Mose" Sims Memorial Highway and joins the concurrency of US 70S/SR 1. The concurrency continues to the west side of Sparta, at which point the highways split up and SR 111 becomes controlled access again, continuing north into Putnam County.

Entering Putnam County by crossing the Falling Water River, the highway runs a brief concurrency with SR 136 before continuing north and passing through eastern Cookeville, once again losing its status as a controlled-access highway. Here it intersects Interstate 40 (I-40) and US 70N as it turns north-northeastward and into the town of Algood. After passing Algood, SR 111 turns northeastward and enters Overton County.

In Overton County, SR 111 becomes Cookeville Highway and then Veterans Memorial Parkway as it approaches Livingston. It becomes a bypass around the northwest of town, known as Bradford Hicks Drive, before exiting Livingston as an improved two-lane highway and continuing northeast as Byrdstown Highway. It crosses into Pickett County and becomes Livingston Highway. Then, it crosses the Obey River, impounded as Dale Hollow Lake, and enters Byrdstown.

After bypassing the center of Byrdstown, the highway continues northeastward as Robert H. Roberts Memorial Highway before ending at US 127/SR 28 in Static, just yards from the state line. From this intersection, US 127 runs northwestward to Albany, Kentucky, and southeastward toward Jamestown, Tennessee, while Kentucky Route 1076 continues northeastward to KY 696, which crosses Poplar Mountain in the direction of Monticello, Kentucky. If not for the mountain, this would be the straightest route along the western edge of the Cumberland Plateau from Byrdstown to Monticello. It has been suggested that TN 111 and parts of US 127, KY 90, US 27, KY 914, KY 80 and KY 461 be renumbered US 111 (a route that no longer exists) to create a clearly numbered route along the scenic western edge of the plateau, connecting Interstates 75, 40 and 24.[2]

History

SR 111 existed by 1938,[3] but only as a short portion of the current SR 111 route between the town of Spencer in Van Buren County and Doyle in White County and maintained this alignment at least through 1951.[4] By 1963, it had been extended south from Spencer to the Tennessee State Route 8 junction in Sequatchie County north of Cagle. Between 1975 and 1978, SR 111 was extended north to Cookeville replacing SR 42 in that section.[5] Between 1987 and 1989 the highway was extended northward over the remainder of the path of SR 42 to Static. Between 1988 and 1994, the section between SR 8 in Dunlap and US 27 between Soddy-Daisy and Bakewell was built. This extension was four lanes on the downgrades of Walden Ridge, and two lanes elsewhere, with the intent of eventually expanding the entirety to four lanes.[6] The section opened to traffic on December 13, 1994, and cost $96 million.[7] This was expanded to a four lane controlled-access highway between 2000 and 2004, which included replacing the four-way intersection with US 127 with an overpass and interchange.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Hamilton	Soddy-Daisy	0.0	0.0	US 27 (SR 29) – Chattanooga, Dayton	Southern terminus; freeway continues as US 27 south (SR 29 south)
		0.8	1.3	Back Valley Road
	​	4.4	7.1	Jones Gap Road
Sequatchie	​	11	18	Lewis Chapel Road
	​	14.7	23.7	East Valley Road
	Dunlap	17.2	27.7	US 127 (Rankin Avenue/SR 8 south/SR 28) – Pikeville, Dunlap	Northern end of freeway; southern end of SR 8 concurrency; interchange
	Cagle	25.8	41.5	SR 399 west (Rifle Range Road) – Palmer, Gruetli-Laager	Eastern terminus of SR 399; provides access to Savage Gulf State Natural Area (South Cumberland State Park)
	​	29.9	48.1	SR 8 north – McMinnville	Northern end of SR 8 concurrency
Van Buren	​	36.5	58.7	SR 284 east (Baker Mountain Road) – Fall Creek Falls State Park	Interchange; western terminus of SR 284
	Spencer	44.8	72.1	SR 30 (College Street) – McMinnville, Pikeville, Fall Creek Falls State Park	Interchange via access road; provides access to downtown
	​	49.6	79.8	SR 285 east (Cane Creek Cummingsville Road)	Southern end of SR 285 concurrency
White	​	51.4	82.7	SR 285 west (Gooseneck Road) – Doyle	Northern end of SR 285 concurrency
	​	54.4	87.5	US 70S west (Memorial Highway/SR 1 west) – McMinnville	Southern end of US 70S/SR 1 concurrency; interchange; provides access to Rock Island State Park
	Sparta	57.5	92.5	SR 1 east (Mayberry Street) – Sparta	Interchange; northern end of SR 1 concurrency
		58.8	94.6	US 70S end / US 70 (W Bockman Way/SR 26) – Sparta, Smithville	Interchange; eastern terminus of US 70S
		60.9	98.0	SR 289 south (N Spring Street) – Sparta	Interchange; northern terminus of SR 289; south end of freeway
	​	62.8	101.1	SR 135 (Burgess Falls Road)	Interchange
	​	64.7	104.1	O'Connor Road	Interchange
	Hampton Crossroads	67.2	108.1	SR 136 south (Old Kentucky Road) – Hampton Crossroads	South end of SR 136 concurrency; interchange; provides access to Upper Cumberland Regional Airport
Putnam	Cookeville	70.5	113.5	SR 136 north (S Jefferson Avenue) – Cookeville	North end of SR 136 concurrency; interchange; north end of freeway
		73.3	118.0	I-40 – Nashville, Knoxville	I-40 exit 288; interchange; at-grade on SR 111
		74.5	119.9	US 70N (E Spring Street/SR 24) – Cookeville, Monterey	Interchange; south end of freeway
		76.6	123.3	Cookeville, Algood (10th Street)	Interchange; north end of freeway
Overton	Rickman	85.4	137.4	SR 293 east (Rickman Monterey Highway) – Rickman	Southern end of SR 293 concurrency
		85.5	137.6	SR 293 west (Tommy Dodson Highway)	Northern end of SR 293 concurrency
	Livingston			SR 84 – Monterey	Interchange; at-grade on SR 111
				SR 85 west (Hilham Highway) – Gainesboro	Southern end of SR 85 concurrency
				SR 85 east (Main Street) – Livingston	Northern end of SR 85 concurrency
		94.7	152.4	SR 52 (Celina Highway/Church Street) – Celina, Livingston	Provides access to Standing Stone State Park
		96.3	155.0	SR 294 south (East Main Street) – Livingston	Southern end of SR 294 concurrency
	Monroe	100	160	SR 294 north (Willow Grove Highway) – Dale Hollow Lake	Northern end of SR 294 concurrency
Pickett	Byrdstown	112	180	SR 325 west (Cordell Hull Memorial Drive) – Cordell Hull Birthplace State Park	Southern end of SR 325 concurrency; provides access to Dale Hollow Lake
		113	182	SR 325 east (West Main Street) – Byrdstown Business District	Northern end of SR 325 concurrency; provides access to Sgt. Alvin C. York State Historic Park
		115	185	SR 295 east (North Main Street) – Downtown	Western terminus of SR 295
	Static	118.7	191.0	US 127 (N York Highway/SR 28 south) – Albany KY, Jamestown, Sgt. Alvin C. York State Historic Park	Northern terminus; northern terminus of SR 28; road continues into Kentucky as US 127 north
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

See also

•  United States portal
•  U.S. Roads portal

References

1. Microsoft (2006). MapPoint (Map). Microsoft.
2. http://www.mapquest.com/?le=t&saddr=&flv=1&vs=directions
3. Tennessee Department of Highways and Public Works (1938). Road Condition Map of Tennessee Showing the designated Trunk Line System of State Highways (Map). Nashville: Tennessee Department of Highways and Public Works.
4. Tennessee Department of Highways and Public Works (1951). Tennessee Highways (Map). Nashville: Tennessee Department of Highways and Public Works.
5. Tennessee Department of Highways (1978). SR-111 Reconstruction, Appalachian Hwy Corridor J, White/Putnam Counties (Report). Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved 2018-01-16.
6. Google (16 January 2018). "TN-111" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 16 January 2018. February 25, 1999
7. Dodson, Wade (December 15, 1994). "Highway links Cookeville to Chattanooga". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2020-09-01 – via Newspapers.com.