Tennessee State Route 26

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State Route 26 marker

State Route 26

Route information
Maintained by TDOT
Length59.25 mi (95.35 km)
ExistedOctober 1, 1923[1]–present
Major junctions
East end US 70 / SR 1 – Sparta
Major intersections
West end
US 70 / US 70 Bus. – Lebanon
Location
CountryUnited States
StateTennessee
CountiesWilson, DeKalb, White
Highway system
SR 25 I-26

State Route 26 (SR 26) is an east–west highway in Middle Tennessee. The road begins in Lebanon and ends in Sparta. The current length is 59.25 mi (95.4 km).[2]

Route description[edit]

Wilson County[edit]

The highway runs an unsigned concurrency with U.S. Route 70 for its entire existence. It begins at an intersection with U.S. Route 70 Business and US 70 in Lebanon as US 70 and State Route 24 move east from Mt. Juliet. SR 26 moves around north Lebanon with US 70 as SR 24 continues with Business 70 through downtown Lebanon. At this point, SR 26/US 70 is known as West Baddour Pkwy and later as East High St. SR 26 then continues south on the east side of town as Sparta Pike, intersecting SR 24 once more, this time it is concurrent with US 70N, before leaving Lebanon. The concurrency moves southeast, passing under Interstate 40 on its way to Watertown.

DeKalb County[edit]

SR 26/US 70 continues through Watertown and moves into DeKalb County, becoming Nashville Highway as it moves through the towns of Alexandria, Liberty, and Dowelltown. During this time SR 26/US 70 runs two concurrencies with SR 53 (from Liberty to Alexandria) and SR 96 (from Liberty to just west of Smithville) with the routes briefly overlapping in Liberty so that all four routes run together.

After leaving Dowelltown, the highways go up a hill and end the concurrency with SR 96 at the top. SR 26/US 70 moves through Smithville as West Broad St, later East Broad St, and moves east, becoming Sparta Highway as it does so. It then crosses Center Hill Lake and moves into White County.

White County[edit]

It moves into the west side of Sparta and becomes West Brockman Way before having an interchange with SR 111 and US 70S, where US 70S ends, before entering downtown and coming to an end at an intersection with SR 1, which US 70 continues east concurrent with towards Crossville.[3]

History[edit]

Until US 70 was commissioned in Tennessee in 1926, the route was signed solely as SR 26. Prior to the 1930s, SR 26 followed its current route in its entirety (except for any later bypasses), but turned north on a path towards Cookeville to intersect SR 24.[4] That segment would later become SR 42 in the 1930s, and then SR 111 by the mid 1970s.

Major intersections[edit]

CountyLocationmikmDestinationsNotes
WilsonLebanon0.00.0


US 70 Bus. east / US 70 west (W Main Street/SR 24) – Downtown Lebanon, Mount Juliet
Western end of US 70 concurrency; western terminus of US 70 Bus and SR 26
US 231 (North Cumberland Street/SR 10) – Westmoreland, Murfreesboro

SR 266 south (N College Street) – Norene
Northern terminus of SR 266

SR 141 north (Hartsville Pike) – Hartsville
Western end of SR 141 concurrency



US 70N east / US 70 Bus. west (E Main Street/SR 24) – Carthage, Lebanon Business District
Eastern terminus of US 70 Bus; Western terminus of US 70N

SR 141 east (Trousdale Ferry Pike) – Gordonsville
Eastern end of SR 141 concurrency
I-40 – Nashville, KnoxvilleI-40 Exit 239A-B eastbound and 239 westbound


SR 265 west (Trammel Lane) to I-840 – Hermitage
Eastern terminus of SR 265; provides access to Cedars of Lebanon State Park
Watertown
SR 267 south (Statesville Road) – Statesville
Northern terminus of SR 267
DeKalbAlexandria
SR 53 north (Brush Creek Road) – Gordonsville
Western end of SR 53 concurrency

SR 96 west – Auburntown, Murfreesboro
Western end of SR 96 concurrency
Liberty
SR 53 south (Woodbury Highway) – Woodbury
Eastern end of SR 53 concurrency

SR 96 east (Dale Ridge Road) – Center Hill Dam
Eastern end of SR 96 concurrency
Smithville SR 83 (New Home Road/Allen Ferry Road)Partial loop around Smithville

SR 146 south (South Mountain Street)
Northern terminus of SR 146
SR 56 (Congress Boulevard) – Baxter, McMinnville
White SR 136 (Old Kentucky Road) – Cookeville, Rock IslandProvides access to Rock Island State Park
Sparta
US 70S west / SR 111 (Spencer Highway) – Cookeville, McMinnville, Spencer
Eastern terminus of US 70S; interchange
59.2595.35

SR 1 / US 70 east (Mayberry Street/W Bockman Way) to SR 111 – McMinnville, Crossville
Eastern terminus; US 70 continues east along SR 1 towards Crossville
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Highway Planning Survey Division (1925). Biennial Report of the Commissioner of the Department of Highways and Public Works State of Tennessee for the Years 1923 and 1924 (PDF) (Report). Nashville: Tennessee Department of Highways and Public Works. pp. 39–44. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  2. ^ Microsoft MapPoint 2006, Retrieved on 2007-8-13
  3. ^ "Get Driving Directions, Live Traffic & Road Conditions - MapQuest".
  4. ^ Austin Peay Campaign Committee (1926). Highway Map of Tennessee Showing the Construction Progress During 8 Year Period 1918–1926, on Federal and State Aid Roads (Map). Scale not given. Nashville: Austin Peay Campaign Committee – via Tennessee Virtual Archive.