Is the Natchez Trace Parkway a highway?

[golden eagle]

Would you consider the Natchez Trace a highway? It's not designed for high speeds (speed limit is never greater than 50 mph, 40 in the Jackson area) and it's not a numbered route. Maybe if the speed limit were 55 or higher, it could be called a highway. What do you think?

[jdb1234]

Since trucks are banned, I would consider it a parkway.

[allniter89]

  ^^^^ 

[agentsteel53]

what is the definition of "highway" we are going with here?  I've always thought that term had no formal definition, but has been used since antiquity to refer to a through route that connects distant points.

for example, the "US highway system", even though most roads are two-laners with at-grade intersections.  Furthermore, some of them were even one-laners and/or dirt roads back in the day.  

I'd say the best, most specific term for the Natchez Trace Parkway is, indeed, "parkway".  

[corco]

From a literal standpoint it's definitely a parkway, but I don't see why it wouldn't count as a highway even if trucks are banned

[florida]

Isn't it technically a highway that connects Natchez to Nashville?

[roadfro]

The short answer to the OP: Yes.

Explanation: The term "highway" is ambiguous without context.

"Highway" can often be interpreted just as agentsteel53 defined it: "a through route that connects distant points". In the roadgeek sense, there are many subsets of highways which can include freeways, expressways, parkways, and the various numbered highway systems--and a single stretch of pavement can often be classified into multiple subcategories of highway.  So in this context, one should specify what type of highway to avoid ambiguity.

Then there is the legal sense. Nevada (and some other states, I'd imagine) uses the term "highway" in the state's traffic laws to refer to practically any type of roadway, regardless of functional classification (freeway, expressway, arterial street, residential road, etc.) or maintenance ownership.

[US71]

Officially, it is considered a "Parkway" and there are no commercial services along it.

[froggie]

and there are no commercial services along it.

No private commerical services.  There is one commercial service area (mainly a convenience store) along the route somewhere south of Tupelo (I don't remember exactly where), but I believe this is either NPS-run or NPS-contracted.

[jdb1234]

and there are no commercial services along it.

No private commerical services.  There is one commercial service area (mainly a convenience store) along the route somewhere south of Tupelo (I don't remember exactly where), but I believe this is either NPS-run or NPS-contracted.

From what I have read, the convenience store at the Jeff Busby Campground south of Tupelo is closed.

[Sykotyk]

I've driven a part of the Natchez Trace from Tupelo to about 30 miles or so into Tennessee. Tennessee had some construction work being done when I was there. Mississippi and Alabama regard it with limited access (although the ramps require crossing Parkway traffic), while Tennessee had a few spots with cross roads.

Very nice drive. The speed limit does bother you, but it's under the NPS, so it's not meant to be a through route.

[DollarBill]

I dont consider it a highway but with the cities it connects i dont see why it wouldnt be a highway in the first place.

[wriddle082]

I've driven a part of the Natchez Trace from Tupelo to about 30 miles or so into Tennessee. Tennessee had some construction work being done when I was there. Mississippi and Alabama regard it with limited access (although the ramps require crossing Parkway traffic), while Tennessee had a few spots with cross roads.

Very nice drive. The speed limit does bother you, but it's under the NPS, so it's not meant to be a through route.

The cross roads in Tennessee are only in Wayne County b/w the Alabama border and the TN 13 interchange.  My theory as to why they exist is that this section of the parkway appears to be in a flood plain, and building bridges would have been against the method by which the NPS built the parkway, which was by disturbing the land as little as possible while still maintaining a 50 MPH design speed and giving the landscape the appearance of what the original Natchez Trace travellers would have seen in the 1800s.

I have been on that section of the NTP many times over the years and have seen only one car in one of those intersections, patiently waiting for me to pass by before crossing.  This is a very rural part of TN, so very little risk of an accident.