U.S. Route 25E

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U.S. Route 25E marker

U.S. Route 25E
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Route information
Auxiliary route of US 25
Length: 114 mi[2] (183 km)
Existed: November 26, 1926 (1926-11-26)[1] – present
Major junctions
South end: US 25 / US 25W / US 70 in Newport, TN
  US 58 at Cumberland Gap, TN US 25 / US 25W in North Corbin, KY
North end: I-75 in North Corbin, KY
Location
States: Tennessee, Kentucky
Counties: TN: Cocke, Jefferson, Hamblen, Grainger, Claiborne
KY: Bell, Knox, Laurel
Highway system

U.S. Route 25E is the eastern branch of U.S. Route 25 from Newport, Tennessee, where US 25 splits into US 25E and US 25W, to North Corbin, Kentucky, where the two highways rejoin. The road, however, continues as US 25E for roughly 2 miles (3.2 km) until it joins Interstate 75 in North Corbin.

All of US-25E in Tennessee is now the East Tennessee Crossings Byway, a National Scenic Byway.[3] A portion of US 25E in Tennessee is also designated as Appalachian Development Corridor S. The corridor follows US 25E between I-81 in White Pine and State Route 63 (Corridor F) in Harrogate.[4]

US 25E has been included in the U.S. Highway System since the system's inception in 1926.

Route description

Tennessee

File:US 25E Warning Signs near Cumberland Gap.JPG
Warning signs along U.S. 25E approaching Cumberland Gap Tunnel

Northbound US 25 and westbound US 70 leave Newport concurrent with one another. At an intersection west of town, US 25 splits into two highways: US 25E, which heads north from this point, and US 25W, which continues west along US 70.

US 25E crosses over Douglas Lake south of Baneberry. Between White Pine and Witt, the highway has an interchange with Interstate 81 (exit 8). North of the Interstate, the road widens out to four lanes, and receives the Appalachian Development designation "Corridor S". US 25E intersects US 11E east of Morristown. It then crosses Cherokee Lake.

Near Bean Station, US 25E joins US 11W. The two roads split 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Bean Station, and US 25E continues northwest to Tazewell.[5]

Northwest of Tazewell, the road bridges the Powell River, and then passes through Harrogate. In the town of Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, US 25E serves as the western terminus of US 58. US 25E used that highway en route to the Cumberland Gap prior to 1996, however, it now uses a new highway leading to the Cumberland Gap Tunnel, freeing up a portion of road that US 58 now uses. US 25E then passes through the tunnel, emerging on the other side in Kentucky.

Kentucky

The Kentucky side of the Cumberland Gap Tunnel.

US-25E remains a multilane divided highway for its entire extent in Kentucky.[6] Upon departing the tunnel, the road heads west to the town of Middlesboro, Kentucky, where it intersects Route 74. US-25E turns north at Middlesboro toward Pineville, the county seat of Bell County. In Pineville, the route is the western terminus of US-119.

US-25E departs Pineville and heads northwest, indirectly serving Tinsley via KY 92, crossing into Knox County, and bypassing Flat Lick to the west. The route makes an S-shaped curve, dipping south then turning back northwest as it approaches Barbourville. After serving the east side of Barbourville, the highway passes near Heidrick and runs through Baileys Switch.

Between Baileys Switch and Gray, US-25E gradually turns more east–west. After running through Gray, the route serves as the northern terminus of KY 3041. The road then reunites with US-25W north of Corbin, and the unsuffixed US-25 continues to points north. However, the US-25E designation continues west to Interstate 75, where it ends at Exit 29.[7]

History

Old US 25E sign in Cumberland Gap, Tennessee directing traffic to the former route over Cumberland Gap.

Before the Cumberland Gap Tunnel was opened in 1996, US 25E passed through the Cumberland Gap in Virginia. Prior to the U.S. highway system's arrival, Virginia's State Highway 10 began at the Cumberland Gap and proceeded to Bristol.[8] A short spur south to Tennessee was soon added,[citation needed] becoming State Route 107 in the 1923 renumbering and State Route 100 in the 1928 renumbering.[9]

Early U.S. Highway planning assigned the number U.S. Route 411 to SR 10 through Cumberland Gap to Kentucky, and no number to SR 107.[10] By the final 1926 plan, US 411 was truncated to Cumberland Gap, and US 25E ran from Tennessee to Kentucky along SR 10 and SR 107.[1] The State Route numbers were dropped in the 1933 renumbering.

The Cumberland Gap Tunnel opened in 1996, completely bypassing Cumberland Gap and Virginia. U.S. Route 58 was moved to a new alignment, meeting US 25E in Tennessee, and US 25E was decommissioned through Virginia. As it lay within the boundaries of the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, the National Park Service now controls the former road, and decided to return it to its pre-pavement state. The pavement was torn up, and old US 25E is now a dirt path.[11]

Major intersections

State County Location mi[7][12][13][14] km Exit Destinations Notes
Tennessee Cocke Newport 0.0 0.0 US 25 south / US 25W north / US 70 (SR 9 / SR 32 south / SR 35) to I-40 – Newport, Dandridge, Sevierville
Jefferson ​ 9.5 15.3 SR 341 west
White Pine 11.1 17.9 SR 113 south – Dandridge south end of SR 113 overlap
Hamblen 13.0 20.9 I-81 – Knoxville, Bristol I-81 exit 8
Morristown 14.8 23.8 SR 343 north
15.5 24.9 SR 113 north north end of SR 113 overlap
17.1 27.5 1 SR 160 Interchange
19 31 1A College Square Drive/College Park Drive Interchange
19.5 31.4 2A US 11E south (Morris Boulevard / SR 34) – Morristown Interchange; south end of US 11E / SR 34 overlap
19.8 31.9 2B US 11E north (East A.J. Highway / SR 34) – Greeneville, Morristown Interchange; north end of US 11E / SR 34 overlap
22.3 35.9 SR 343 south – Morristown Central Business District interchange
Grainger Bean Station 26.2 42.2 SR 375 south (Lake Shore Road)
29.3 47.2 US 11W north (SR 1) – Rogersville interchange; south end of US 11W / SR 1 overlap
31.2 50.2 US 11W south (SR 1) – Rutledge, Knoxville interchange; north end of US 11W / SR 1 overlap
​ 38.6 62.1 SR 131 – Washburn, Thorn Hill
Claiborne ​ 45.5 73.2 SR 33 north – Sneedville south end of SR 33 overlap
Tazewell 50.8 81.8 SR 33 south – New Tazewell, Maynardville, Knoxville north end of SR 33 overlap
51.3 82.6 SR 345 north (Cedar Fork)
Harrogate 60.2 96.9 SR 63 east south end of SR 63 overlap
60.4 97.2 SR 63 west – LaFollette north end of SR 63 overlap
​ 61.2 98.5 US 58 east (SR 383) – Cumberland Gap, TN, Jonesville, VA interchange
Cumberland Gap 65.9
0.000		 106.1
0.000		 Cumberland Gap Tunnel
Kentucky Bell Cumberland Gap NHP 1.343 2.161 Cumberland Gap National Park Visitor Center & Craft Shop interchange
Middlesboro 1.719 2.766 KY 74 west – Airport
2.781 4.476 KY 441 west / KY 74 Truck west
​ 6.322 10.174 KY 3486 south
​ 6.402 10.303 KY 188 east
Ferndale 8.313 13.378 KY 1534 north
​ 8.900 14.323 KY 3151 east
​ 11.604 18.675 KY 190 west – Chenoa, Frakes, Pine Mountain State Resort Park
Pineville 12.355 19.883 US 119 north – Harlan, Martins Fork Lake
13.460 21.662 KY 66 north to KY 221 – Red Bird Mission
14.200 22.853 KY 2015 north
​ 17.360 27.938 KY 2014 east
​ 17.576 28.286 KY 92 west – Williamsburg, Whitley City
Knox ​ 19.075 30.698 KY 3085 south
​ 20.309 32.684 KY 3085 north
​ 21.543 34.670 KY 930 west
​ 21.709 34.937 KY 3085 south – Flat Lick
​ 22.471 36.164 KY 223 north – Dewitt
​ 24.081 38.755 KY 3439 west
​ 25.581 41.169 KY 1304 north to KY 11 – Bimble
Barbourville 26.684 42.944 KY 3153 west
27.418 44.125 KY 2415 north
28.470 45.818 KY 225 south / KY 3439 east
29.439 47.377 KY 11 south – Barbourville south end of KY 11 overlap
29.596 47.630 KY 2420 west – Downtown Barbourville
30.205 48.610 KY 11 north – Manchester north end of KY 11 overlap
​ 30.811 49.585 KY 1487 south
​ 31.206 50.221 KY 2418 south
​ 32.610 52.481 KY 3438 east
​ 33.124 53.308 KY 229 north – London
​ 34.437 55.421 KY 1527 east
​ 40.366 64.963 KY 233 – Gray
​ 42.227 67.958 KY 830
Corbin 42.872 68.996 KY 3041 south to I-75 south
44.301 71.296 KY 312 west
44.593 71.765 KY 1629
Laurel North Corbin 45.192 72.729 US 25 north / US 25W south – Airport
45.703 73.552 KY 3431 to KY 1223
46.805–
46.872		 75.325–
75.433		 I-75 / KY 770 west – Knoxville, Lexington I-75 exit 29
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Popular culture

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. The northern section of US 25E from the Kentucky State line to Tazewell, along with the junctioning Tennessee SR-33 between Tazewell and Knoxville, were the inspiration for the song "The Ballad of Thunder Road", in which a moonshiner runs illegal whiskey from Kentucky to Tennessee along this route.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[self-published source]
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ ADHS Approved Corridors and Termini
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found., Proposed "State Highway System" for Virginia, as Recommended by the State Roads Committee, January 1918
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[self-published source]
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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