History A controlled-access highway between Nashville and Chattanooga was first included in the National Interregional Highway Committee's 1944 report, titled Interregional Highways, and a subsequent 1947 plan produced by the Public Roads Administration of the now-defunct Federal Works Agency. The route was subsequently part of the original of Interstate Highways authorized for Tennessee by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, commonly known as the Interstate Highway Act. The numbering was approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) on August 14, 1957. While most of the routing of I-24 proved was chosen without difficulty, the mountainous topography of the Chattanooga area posed a challenged to planners. The route was initially slated to pass near 38th Street through the Alton Park and East Lake neighborhoods, but was moved approximately north in August 1955. The route was also planned to pass through a tunnel under Missionary Ridge until October 1960, when planners announced that a deep and wide cut would be made through the ridge. Engineers also initially recommended that the Interstate cross the Tennessee River onto Moccasin Bend south of downtown, and then again cross the river into Lookout Valley a short distance beyond, but this was rejected by the Bureau of Public Roads in April 1958 as too expensive.
History A controlled-access highway between Nashville and Chattanooga was first included in the National Interregional Highway Committee's 1944 report, titled Interregional Highways, and a subsequent 1947 plan produced by the Public Roads Administration of the now-defunct Federal Works Agency. The route was subsequently part of the original of Interstate Highways authorized for Tennessee by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, commonly known as the Interstate Highway Act The numbering was approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) on August 14, 1957. While most of the routing of I-24 proved was chosen without difficulty, the mountainous topography of the Chattanooga area posed a challenged to planners. The route was initially slated to pass near 38.th Street through the Alton Park and East Lake neighborhoods, but was moved approximately north in August 1955. The route was also planned to pass through a tunnel under Missionary Ridge until October 1960, when planners announced that a deep and wide cut would be made through the ridge. Engineers also initially recommended that the Interstate cross the Tennessee River onto Moccasin Bend south of downtown, and then again cross the river into Lookout Valley a short distance beyond, but this was rejected by the Bureau of Public Roads in April 1958 as too expensive.