south and southeast to U.S. Route 17 in Charleston, South Carolina. runs west-east across the Tennessee portion of the Tennessee Valley, connecting Nashville with Knoxville and Asheville, North Carolina. runs along the border of the Tennessee Valley, connecting Chattanooga with New Orleans, Louisiana. is the main north-south road in the central part of the valley, connecting Birmingham, Huntsville, Decatur, and Nashville. is the main corridor of the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area that links the Huntsville Metropolitan Area and the Decatur Metropolitan Area, along with all of the scientific research and space exploration institutions in North Alabama. The road also provides a vital link to I-65 for both urban and suburban areas. runs down the middle of the valley of East Tennessee. It connects Chattanooga and Knoxville with Atlanta, Georgia and Cincinnati, Ohio. is a north-south highway that connects areas east of Knoxville to the Tri-State area of Tennessee and Virginia. Airports Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport, Chattanooga Huntsville International Airport, Huntsville McGhee Tyson Airport, Alcoa, Tennessee (serves the Knoxville metropolitan area) Northwest Alabama Regional Airport, Muscle Shoals Pryor Field Regional Airport, Decatur Tri-Cities Regional Airport, Blountville, Tennessee (serves the Tri-Cities area and Southwest Virginia) Guntersville Municipal Airport (also known as Joe Starnes Field) in Guntersville, Alabama River Ports Chattanooga Decatur Florence Guntersville Knoxville Muscle Shoals Paducah See also Tennessee Valley Authority References Tennessee River Valleys of Tennessee Valleys of Alabama Valleys of Kentucky Valleys of Georgia (U.S. state) Valleys of Mississippi Valleys of Virginia Landforms of North Carolina