US 70, Day 13: Maryville, TN - Alma, AR
9/5/2000
Okay, I'm not actually driving US 70 on the way back, but this keeps the topics together.
Monday night we went to see Knoxville's "Boomsday" Labor Day fireworks show. It's gigantic; certainly the biggest fireworks show I've ever seen. Its specialties are shaped fireworks (hearts, stars, smiley faces, and even rainbows), and a cascade of white fire off the Henley St. bridge into the river.
I suppose there won't be as much to talk about on the way back -- I'm driving the interstate, after all. I took US 129 to I-140 to I-40. I stopped briefly to get a picture of the end of US 321. As it heads south away from I-40, it's signed as "NORTH". At the east end of the state, it changes direction to SOUTH in Elizabethton. I think TennDOT should just call its section of US 321 EAST/WEST. It would make a lot more sense.
I made much better time on I-40 than I did in North Carolina. There were a few construction zones, but not much in the way of backups.
There's an awkward interchange on the east side of Memphis where I-40 has to exit on a one-lane ramp to go around the city. I-40 was originally planned to go through town on what is now Sam Cooper Blvd., but resident protests killed it. Given that, I really think the interchange should be rebuilt to favor the turn onto what was supposed to be I-240. On the other side of town, the ramp was widened to two lanes, but it's a rather awkward merge.
The I-40 bridge over the Mississippi is newer than the US 70/I-55 bridge, though I'm not sure of the year. The deck in the right hand is currently being rehabbed.
In Arkansas, I-40's pavement is in poor shape. It's mostly concrete, and the right lane is pretty bumpy from decades of truck traffic. A few areas are being rebuilt, though. Arkansas uses button copy signs (with little reflectors) like Arizona, but the newer signs seem to be just reflective sheeting.
I stopped for the night in Alma, AR, near Ft. Smith. I drove 681 miles today, for a total of 4380 (including 48 miles driven over the weekend).
Next day: 9/6
Previous day: 9/5
Return to US 70
Return to Arizona Roads