U.S. Route 25E

U.S. Route 25E marker
U.S. Route 25E
Map
US 25E highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of US 25
Maintained by KYTC, TDOT, and FHWA[a]
Length112.8 mi[2] (181.5 km)
ExistedNovember 26, 1926 (1926-11-26)[3]–present
Major junctions
South end US 25 / US 25W / US 70 in Newport, TN
Major intersections
North end I-75 in North Corbin, KY
Location
CountryUnited States
StatesTennessee, Kentucky
CountiesTN: Cocke, Jefferson, Hamblen, Grainger, Claiborne
KY: Bell, Knox, Laurel
Highway system
  • Kentucky State Highway System
← US 25KY→ US 25W
← US 25TN→ US 25W

U.S. Route 25E (US 25E) is the eastern branch of US 25 from Newport, Tennessee, where US 25 splits into US 25E and US 25W, to North Corbin, Kentucky, where the two highways rejoin. The highway, however, continues as US 25E for roughly two miles (3.2 km) until it joins Interstate 75 (I-75) in the Laurel County community of North Corbin at exit 29. The highway serves the Appalachia regions of Kentucky's Cumberland Plateau and the Ridge-and-Valley section of East Tennessee, including the urbanized areas of Corbin and Middlesboro in Kentucky and Morristown in Tennessee.

US 25E follows the original pathway of early U.S. pioneer Daniel Boone's Wilderness Road,[4] which contributed to the increased settlement of Appalachia given its access through the rugged Cumberland Gap. By 1815, the route became the first state-funded road in Tennessee and, in 1923, unsigned State Route 32 (SR 32) in the Tennessee State Route System in its statewide entirety. It would be recognized as part of the Dixie Highway, one of the earliest federal auto trails, in 1915. The route was officially established as US 25E with the creation of the U.S. Numbered Highway System in 1926.

By 1965, economic conditions in Appalachia remained dire, and the formation of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) provided new incentive for US 25E as part of the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS), designated as Corridor S in Tennessee and partially as Corridor F in both Tennessee and Kentucky.[5] Corridor S follows US 25E between I-81 in Morristown to SR 63 (Corridor F) in Harrogate, and Corridor F follows the route from SR 63 to US 119 in Pineville. With its role in the ADHS, US 25E was planned for improvements as a regional limited-access highway between I-75 and I-81.

Initial construction work began in both states around the 1960s and 1970s but was accelerated in the 1980s and 1990s with additional federal funding for the section of US 25E between I-75 and I-81 with its designation as a federal truck route in the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)'s National Network by 1982[6] and as High-Priority Corridor 12 of the National Highway System by Congress in 1991 with the passing of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ITSEA).[7] In 1996, the highway received national recognition with its realignment under the Cumberland Gap with the large-scale Cumberland Gap Tunnel project.[8] Considered a civil engineering achievement,[9][10] the tunnel is one of two in the entire U.S. that crosses state lines.[11]

US 25E serves as an arterial expressway for long-distance travelers and truckers connecting central Appalachia to the Great Lakes and Eastern Seaboard regions of the U.S. via access to I-75, I-81, and proximity to I-26 and I-40. Since the completion of the Cumberland Gap Tunnel in 1996, upgrades to freeway-grade standards have been planned and constructed for US 25E in both states to improve regional freight movement.[12][13][14]

In 2009, all of US 25E in Tennessee, along with US 25 from Newport to the North Carolina state line, was designated as the East Tennessee Crossing Byway, a National Scenic Byway.[15]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference tmiJMT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference tnky-ggm was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Bureau of Public Roads; American Association of State Highway Officials (November 11, 1926). United States System of Highways Adopted for Uniform Marking by the American Association of State Highway Officials (Map). 1:7,000,000. Washington, DC: United States Geological Survey. OCLC 32889555. Retrieved November 7, 2013 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  4. ^ "US 25". KentuckyRoads.com. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  5. ^ "ADHS Approved Corridors and Termini". Archived from the original on November 1, 2007.
  6. ^ Office of Highway Policy Information. "Figure 1-4: National Truck Network". Our Nation's Highways 2008. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference istea was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ C. Butcher, Marianne (May 4, 2002). "Cumberland Gap: A Symbol of American Identity" (PDF). Ball State University. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  9. ^ Meachum, Kelly; Jeanneret, Matt (December 6, 2002). "Parkway System & Cumberland Gap Tunnel Project Selected Kentucky's Top Transportation Infrastructure Projects of 20th Century". American Road & Transportation Builders Association. Archived from the original on February 1, 2003. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  10. ^ Mooney, Robert (1998). "1998 Excellence in Highway Design Category 9 - Highway Improvements on Publicly Owned Land Merit Award". Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  11. ^ U.S. Federal Highway Administration Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division (2001). "The Cumberland Gap Tunnel : pioneering a new route to the past". Library of Congress. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference noble was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference corrstudy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference exit8 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ O'Neil, Duay (October 20, 2009). "Hwy 25 East Is Now a National Scenic Byway". The Newport Plain Talk. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved October 23, 2009.


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