Baxter closely follows the interstate. After the junction with US 70N/SR 24, SR 56 continues northward through farmland and Bloomington Springs into Jackson County. The highway then has an intersection and short concurrency with SR 290 in Center Grove before passing through some mountains and entering the town of Gainesboro. In downtown, SR 56 becomes concurrent with SR 53, and the two go north to the banks of the Cumberland River, where SR 53 splits from SR 56. SR 56 then becomes concurrent with SR 85 and SR 135 before crossing the river to leave Gainesboro. They continue through countryside to Jennings Creek, where SR 85 splits off, before heading on to Whitleyville, where SR 135 splits off via a Y-Intersection. The route from I-40 to Gainesboro is known to residents of the Upper Cumberland as part of the Corridor J-1 project of the Appalachian Development Highway System, a unit of the Appalachian Regional Commission. North Springs to the Kentucky state line SR 56 turns westward to meet SR 151 at North Springs, where SR 56 becomes a secondary route, enters Macon County, and makes a right turn to the north at the junction of SR 80 and SR 262 at Willette. SR 56 becomes primary again as the highway then enters farmland again and continues north to an intersection with SR 52 before entering Red Boiling Springs. It then continues into downtown to have another intersection with SR 151 before leaving Red Boiling Springs to continue north through farmland to end at the Kentucky state line. Upon reaching the Kentucky state line, the road continues as Kentucky Route 63 about south of Gamaliel. Additional facts about the route SR 56's entire course from Altamont to Gainesboro is a part of the Tennessee Scenic Parkway system. History Before Interstate 40 was built in the 1960s, SR 56 went from Smithville to Silver Point, and right-turns to proceed up what is now the Old Baxter Road from Silver Point to Baxter, and then it went directly through the town of Baxter. After the interstate came through, a spur route was built to intersect with Exit 280 (the Baxter - Gainesboro exit) that bypasses Baxter. The stretch of SR 56 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. Small sections of the original