Take a ride through the beating heart of the Mid‑South as we follow Interstate 55 southbound through Memphis, Tennessee—a 15‑mile stretch that’s anything but ordinary.
Our journey begins just moments after crossing the Memphis–Arkansas Bridge into Tennessee. Immediately we reach Crump Boulevard, where the old cloverleaf once forced I‑55 traffic onto slow, single‑lane ramps to stay on the interstate. That changed in May 2025, when TDOT officially opened the revamped interchange. Instead of the old looping ramps, traffic now continues on a straight mainline with a multi‑lane roundabout below, connecting to Crump Blvd and Riverside Drive — no flyovers, just a ground‑level solution with improved flow and safety.
Continuing south, we descend into a corridor that hugs the western edge of Martin Luther King Jr. Riverside Park, its wooded hills and open green spaces offering a moment of calm amid the hum of the interstate. I-55 curves southeast briefly before meeting U.S. Highway 61—also known as South 3rd Street—an important corridor into Memphis from Mississippi. This part of I-55 isn’t your typical long-haul freeway. Instead, it feels more like a patchwork of ramps and merges, where “staying on I-55” means keeping a close eye on the signs and exiting in order to continue.
Soon we reach one of the most important junctions in the area: the confluence with Interstate 240 and Interstate 69. Here, I-55 turns south once more, now conjoined with I-69—a designation that remains unsigned in places, but officially tracks alongside. This stretch of roadway becomes much more traditional, with full interchanges and steady southbound flow as we pass landmarks like Whitehaven and head into the shadow of Graceland, which sits just off U.S. 51 (Elvis Presley Boulevard). While you won’t see the King’s mansion from the interstate, you’re only a few minutes away from one of Memphis’s most famous attractions.
From here, the interstate straightens out and resumes its more typical freeway character. The neighborhoods thin out, the commercial zones fade, and the road begins its final southern stretch toward the Mississippi state line. A few minor exits later, we leave Tennessee behind and enter DeSoto County, Mississippi, where our video—and this leg of the journey—comes to a close.
In a city often more associated with music, barbecue, and the blues than with highways, I-55 tells its own unique story: one of evolution, infrastructure, and the daily dance of traffic that keeps the Bluff City humming. Whether you’re passing through or navigating its complicated interchanges, it’s a route that makes you pay attention—and perhaps makes you appreciate the engineering (and patience) that keeps it all moving.
🗺️ Route Map
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