Interstate 55 in Tennessee

I-55 northbound as it enters Tennessee in Memphis

I-55 northbound, at intersection with I-240 in Memphis. Note I-240 is signed as North as opposed to West.

I-55 enters Tennessee from Mississippi, heading north to an interchange with I-240. I-55 then turns westward for a brief period before turning northward again. Just before reaching downtown, the highway turns westward again at E.H. Crump Boulevard and crosses the Mississippi River via the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge into West Memphis, in Crittenden County, Arkansas.

I-55 provides an alternate route for motorists who do not want to take I-240 and I-40 through downtown to cross the Mississippi River.

The Memphis and Arkansas Bridge, the first link of what is now I-55, was integrated into the Interstate system. Construction began on September 12, 1945, and the bridge opened to traffic on December 17, 1949.[3][4] The first segment of I-55 to begin construction after the passage of the Interstate Highway Act of 1956 was the section between the Mississippi State Line and U.S. Route 51 (US 51)/Brooks Road in early 1959. This segment opened to traffic on December 2, 1961, and was the first completed freeway segment in Memphis.[5] On March 18, 1966, the section between I-240 and US 61 (Third Street) was opened.[6] The section between US 61 and South Parkway opened on October 14, 1966.[7] Work on the last section, located between South Parkway and the Memphis and Arkansas Bridge and which consisted of upgrading a stretch of Crump Boulevard between the bridge and the cloverleaf interchange to freeway standards, began on September 11, 1964, and was opened on April 20, 1967.[8]

I-55 was widened from four to eight lanes between the Mississippi state line and the I-240 interchange in two phases. The first phase, which took place between February 1999 and June 2001, widened the section between Winchester Road and I-240, and the second phase, which ran from early 2000 to July 2002, widened the highway between the state line and Winchester Road.[9]

On January 18, 2008, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) authorized the states of Mississippi and Tennessee to extend I-69 from the I-40/State Route 300 (SR 300) interchange in north Memphis to the I-55/I-69 interchange in Hernando; however, Tennessee has not yet signed the extension of the route, although Mississippi has already done so.[10] I-55 is one of Tennessee's Interstates where the speed limit is 65 mph (105 km/h) instead of 70 mph (110 km/h).

There are currently plans to revamp the I-55/Crump Boulevard Interchange. The current design (a cloverleaf interchange) causes northbound motorists, especially truck drivers, to slow down from 55 mph (89 km/h) to 25 mph (40 km/h) when going from the section they are on to the section passing over the Mississippi River. Prior to 2011, northbound traffic had to merge on a one-lane loop with a tight radius while traffic going from I-55 southbound to Riverside Drive merged into traffic on another loop ramp. This has caused several accidents over the years. A temporary solution has been put into effect by making the northbound loop into two lanes, eliminating I-55 southbound to Riverside Drive loop and creating a left turn lane for I-55 to Riverside Drive traffic. This eliminated having to make a lane change in order to stay on I-55 northbound. In 2021, a second lane was added for I-55 southbound in response to the Hernando de Soto Bridge closure.[11]

In 2012, the FHWA approved TDOT's permanent solution. The planned project eliminated the cloverleaf entirely and added two flyover ramps for Interstate traffic and a roundabout to accommodate Riverside Drive traffic, E.H. Crump Boulevard traffic, and the I-55 entrance/exit ramps.[12] The project, originally scheduled to begin in 2018, was on hold due to controversy over the nine-month closure of the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge during the project. On March 30, 2022, TDOT awarded a $141.2 million contract for the project; work is expected to be completed in early 2025.[13] The project shortens the closure time of the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge to two weeks.[14][15]

The entire route is in Shelby County.

Location	mi[1]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Tennessee–Mississippi line	0.00	0.00	I-55 south / I-69 south continue into Mississippi
			291	Southaven	Southbound exit and northbound entrance each extend into Tennessee; exit number is based on Mississippi mileage
Memphis	1.5	2.4	2	SR 175 (Shelby Drive) – Whitehaven, Capleville	Signed as exits 2A (east) and 2B (west) southbound
	4.4	7.1	5	US 51 (Elvis Presley Boulevard, SR 3) / Brooks Road – Graceland	Signed as exits 5A (Brooks Road) and 5B (US 51 south) southbound
	5.5	8.9	6	I-240 – Nashville, Little Rock, Memphis International Airport	Signed as exits 6A & 6B; I-240 North and West, exit 25; I-55 and I-240 change carriageways; future northern end of I-69 overlap
	7.5	12.1	7	US 61 (3rd Street, SR 14) – Vicksburg, Mississippi	No access from southbound US 61 to northbound I-55 or southbound I-55 to northbound US 61
	8.2	13.2	8	Horn Lake Road	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	8.9	14.3	9	Mallory Avenue
	10.4	16.7	10	South Parkway
	11.0	17.7	11	McLemore Avenue - President's Island
	11.7	18.8	12A	Crump Boulevard east ( US 61 south / US 64 / US 70 / US 79 / SR 1 east)	South end of US 61/US 64/US 70/US 79/SR 1 overlap; left exit southbound and left entrance northbound; 25 mph (40 km/h) advisory speed for ramps carrying I-55 in both directions
	11.9	19.2	12B	Riverside Drive - Downtown	Southbound left exit and left entrance
	12.2	19.6	12C	Metal Museum Drive	Serves the National Ornamental Metal Museum; right-in/right-out southbound
Mississippi River	12.6	20.3	Memphis & Arkansas Bridge; Tennessee–Arkansas state line; north end of SR 1 overlap
				I-55 north (US 61 north / US 64 west / US 70 west / US 79 south) – West Memphis, St. Louis, Little Rock	Continuation into Arkansas
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access