I-40

About I-40

Also known as Will Rogers Highway, Purple Heart Trail.

From Barstow, CA (I-15) to Wilmington, NC (US 117)

Interstate 40 is a major east-west route of about 2,556 miles running from Barstow, California, to Wilmington, North Carolina. It is one of the longest Interstates, crossing eight states: California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. The route links the Mojave Desert with the Atlantic coast, passing through the Southwest, the southern Great Plains, and the southern Appalachians.

From its western terminus at I-15 in Barstow, the route crosses the Mojave Desert and the Colorado River into Arizona, serving Flagstaff near the high country before continuing through Albuquerque, New Mexico, and across the Texas Panhandle at Amarillo. It then runs through Oklahoma City, Little Rock, Memphis, and Nashville.

In its eastern half I-40 crosses the Mississippi River at Memphis, climbs over the Appalachians through the gorge near the Tennessee-North Carolina line, and serves Knoxville, Asheville, Greensboro, and Raleigh before ending near Wilmington on the coast. The route broadly follows the historic path of US Route 66 across much of the Southwest.

State-by-state mileage

State	Miles
California	154.6
Arizona	359.1
New Mexico	373.5
Texas	177.1
Oklahoma	331.0
Arkansas	284.7
Tennessee	455.3
North Carolina	423.4
Total	2,558.7

History

I-40 was part of the Interstate plan approved in 1957 and was built in segments through the 1960s and 1970s. Across much of the Southwest it parallels or replaced US Route 66, and several former Route 66 towns were bypassed as the Interstate was completed.

The crossing of the Pigeon River Gorge between Tennessee and North Carolina was a major engineering effort and remains prone to rockslides and closures. The route was extended and renumbered at its eastern end over time to reach Wilmington.

Major cities and places

Notable features

• Colorado River crossing into Arizona
• Mississippi River crossing at Memphis
• Pigeon River Gorge in the Appalachians

Did you know

• One of the longest Interstates, crossing eight states coast region to coast.
• Parallels much of the historic US Route 66 across the Southwest.
• Crosses the Mississippi River at Memphis.
• The Pigeon River Gorge crossing near the Tennessee-North Carolina line is prone to rockslides.