The Originally Planned Nashville Outer Loop That Never Happened

[HPfromTN]

In the late 1950's, there was a plan in the works to build a future outer loop bypass of Nashville from I-40 on the west side of town to I-40 on the east side of town.  This was not present day I-440 or I-840.

When I describe the general location for this outer loop, it will quickly become apparent why it never went past the planning stages if you know anything about Nashville.

The loop would have had its junction with I-40 on the west side of town around the Old Hickory Boulevard exit, actually between OHB and Charlotte Pike.  It would have headed east through the neighborhoods of West Meade, Belle Meade, Forest Hills, and Berry Hill before rejoining I-40 on the east side of town just inside the airport.  At the time, BNA was much smaller and did not envelope McGavock Pike north of Murfreesboro Pike.

If you don't know much about Nashville, the neighborhoods I mentioned are basically the top tomatoes of Nashville.  Belle Meade and Forest Hills are like Beverly Hills and Bel Air in LA.  This idea was dead before it could be fully designed.

If it had been created, it would have quickly been outdated by about 1990.  I-840 is now quickly beginning to back up at times during morning and evening commutes.  When it opened, it appeared to be almost unneeded, because it was too far outside the city and too long of an alternate.  Not any more.

[froggie]

Got a map or other documentation showing this?

[wriddle082]

I vaguely remember hearing about something like this.  But yes, following pretty much the entire southern portion of OHB with a freeway would have been impossible with the amount of upscale development that had pretty much even started to occur even way back then.  Not to mention the scenic Warner Parks and Radnor Lake.

And personally I've never seen a map of this.

[SPAdriver]

I've never heard of seen evidence of an outer loop and have been collecting Tennessee state official maps for years. 

[HPfromTN]

There was never a real map showing this, but one of the papers back then had a drawing of the interstate system through Nashville.  I-40 had just started to be graded.  There was a dotted line to represent the inner loop of 40/65/24 and no drawing for 440.  The drawing for what I speak of called it the "outer loop."

I have tried numerous times through the city and the planning commission to find more information on this, but nobody remembers this other than a couple of Belle Meade and West Meade residents that have lived here for 65 years.

There is an active movement to get a nature hiking trail to traverse a good bit of this planned route that never lived.  It will connect Kelly's Point Battlefield just behind Lowe's and Walmart to Radnor Lake.  I've been in the cave that is on this tract.