Tennessee State Route 56

State Route 56
Route information
Maintained by TDOT
Length:	164.85 mi (265.30 km)
Major junctions
South end:	SR 117 near Sherwood
	I-24 at Monteagle US 70S at McMinnville US 70 at Smithville I-40 near Silver Point & Baxter US 70N near Baxter
North end:	KY 63 near Gamaliel, KY
Location
Counties:	Franklin, Marion, Grundy, Warren, DeKalb, Putnam, Jackson, Macon
Highway system
Tennessee State Routes Interstate US State ← SR 55 SR 57 →

State Route 56 (SR 56) is a 164-mile (265 km) highway that runs south to north in Middle Tennessee.

SR 56 is secondary south of Sewanee. It is primary (but unsigned) along US 41A and US 41 between Sewanee and Tracy City. From Tracy City to the Kentucky line, SR 56 is a signed primary route, except west from North Springs to Gibbs Crossroads, where SR 151 carries primary traffic more directly to Red Boiling Springs.

SR 56 begins at the end of Kentucky Route 63. From there it starts its southern journey through the small town of Red Boiling Springs and on to the town of Gainesboro in Jackson County. It there becomes a division of the Tennessee Scenic Parkway system, and it proceeds south to U.S. Route 70N just outside Baxter in Putnam County.

Before Interstate 40 was built in the 1960s, SR 56 went directly through the town of Baxter and proceeded down what is now the Old Baxter Road to Silver Point and then to Smithville. After the interstate came through, a spur route was built to intersect with Exit 280 (the Baxter - Gainesboro exit) that bypasses Baxter. Also, the route from I-40 to Gainesboro is known to Upper Cumberland residents as part of the Corridor J project. At the junction of I-40 and SR 56, SR 56 accompanies I-40 west for 7 miles (11 km). At Exit 273 (Smithville - McMinnville exit) SR 56 proceeds south towards Smithville and then to McMinnville in Warren County. This stretch of road between I-40 and Smithville was notorious for terrible curves prior to the late 1970s, but it was rebuilt and is now considered a good route to follow. Some refer to this route as the I-40 to I-24 corridor. In McMinnville, drivers can travel west on State Route 55 to Manchester to reach I-24. Beyond McMinnville, SR 56 goes through Irving College, Altamont, Tracy City, Sewanee and then terminates near Sherwood at the Alabama/Tennessee state line at State Route 117.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Franklin	​			SR 117 south – Stevenson	Alabama state line
	Sewanee			US 41A north (SR 15 west) – Cowan, Nashville, Memphis	south end of US 41A / SR 15 overlap
	St. Andrews			SR 156 south – Sewanee-Franklin County Airport
Marion	Monteagle			I-24 (US 64) – Nashville, Chattanooga	I-24 exit 134
				US 41 north (SR 2)	north end of US 41A / SR 15 overlap; south end of US 41 / SR 2 overlap
				Main Street (SR 2 south) - Chattanooga	north end of SR 2 overlap
Grundy	Tracy City			US 41 south (SR 150) – Jasper	north end of US 41 overlap
	Coalmont			SR 108 – Pelham, Gruetli-Laager
	Altamont			SR 50 west / SR 108 south	South end of SR 108 overlap
				SR 108 north – Viola, McMinnville	north end of SR 108 overlap
Warren	​			SR 127 to SR 8 south – Dunlap
	McMinnville			SR 8 south – Dunlap
				East Main Street To SR 380 west
				SR 55 Bus. west – Manchester	Eastern terminus of SR 55 Bus.; Northern terminus of SR 108
				SR 380 (Main and Morford Streets)
				US 70S (SR 1) to I-24 / SR 55 – Manchester, Woodbury, Sparta
	Green Hill			SR 287 – Rock Island State Park
DeKalb	​			SR 288 south
	Smithville			US 70 (SR 26) – Lebanon, Sparta
				SR 83 south
Putnam	Silver Point			SR 141 west – Edgar Evins State Park
				I-40 west – Nashville	South end of I-40 overlap; SR 56 south follows exit 273
	Roberts			Old Baxter Road	I-40 exit 276
	Baxter			I-40 east – Knoxville	North end of I-40 overlap; SR 56 south follows exit 280
				US 70N (SR 24) – Carthage, Cookeville
	Bloomington Springs			SR 291 south
Jackson	​			SR 290 west	south end of SR 290 overlap
	​			SR 290 east – Cookeville	north end of SR 290 overlap
	Gainesboro			SR 53 south – Gainesboro, Granville, Gainesboro Antique District	South end of SR 53 overlap
				SR 53 north / SR 85 east / SR 135 south – Celina, Livingston	north end of SR 53 overlap; south end of SR 85 / SR 135 overlap
	​			SR 85 west – Defeated, Carthage	north end of SR 85 overlap
	Whitleyville			SR 135 north	north end of SR 135 overlap
	North Springs			SR 151 north – Red Boiling Springs
Macon	​			SR 262 east	south end of SR 262 overlap
	Gibbs Crossroads			SR 80 south / SR 262 west – Lafayette, Carthage	north end of SR 262 overlap; south end of SR 80 overlap
	Red Boiling Springs			SR 52 – Lafayette, Celina	north end of SR 80 overlap
				SR 151 east – Cyclemos Motorcycle Museum
	​			KY 63 north – Gamaliel, Tompkinsville	Kentucky state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

• Tennessee Department of Transportation (24 January 2003). "State Highway and Interstate List 2003".