I-75 to I-24 or I-40 to 111 (Manchester Tn.)

[Bug512]

Hello, we have traveled from New Jersey to Manchester Tennessee (Bonnaroo Music estival) for four years.

We have traveled I-81 to I-40 to I-75 then I-24. This has worked well for us in the past but I am wondering.....

Have any of you traveled I-40 to 70 (Crossville), 70 S (McMinnville) then 55 to Manchester ?

Looking for opinions.

[CoastieSCPO]

We live just outside of Crossville. That said, if you want to avoid Chattanooga, an alternate route could be I40 to Crossville, US 70 to Sparta, US 70S to McMinnville and then Tn 56 to the Bonnaroo. Iv'e been on all of those roads and they are easy. There is a fairly steep downgrade hill on US70 prior to Sparta and you will have to climb the grade up onto the the Cumberland Plateau on I40 just west of Harriman, but your Workhorse will do the job easily. Hope this helps.

There are others routes available as well. We've used US 27 and US127/Tn28 on occasion. I try to avoid Chattanooga if possible. The interstate is hilly with lots of sharp turns and the pavement is quite rough.

[Bug512]

Thanks for the response. Like I said I have traveled through Chattanooga four times before and looking for a alternate route.
What do you estimate the travel time being from the Crossville area to Manchester? Two hours? Are the state highways two lane divided?

Is the Cumberland Plateau the same is the mountain we would clime on I-24 west of Chattanooga?

Thanks again..

[CoastieSCPO]

The 2 hour time is a good ballpark estimate. The roads would be some 2 land undivided and some 4 lane divided. US 70 from Crossville to Sparta 2 lane undivided but is not heavily travelled. The rest of the trip is mostly 4 lane divided except for a little bit near McMinnville. Insofar as the Cumberland Plateau is concerned, I do not believe that the plateau extends as far west as Monteagle on I-24, which is where the grade is located. But the climb that you would encounter on I-40 westbound is about 3 or 4 miles long at about 6% and is no harder than the grade on I-24 but I have not driven the Monteagle grade in a long time. My mountain directory is packed away somewhere, so I can't look it up. It's not a problem for your W-22 as my W-20 drives up the I-40 grade without breaking a sweat. No worries!

[Bug512]

Thanks again for your input. I guess I have a couple on months to decide.
In years past we drive form New Jersey (Home) to Knoxville on the Wednesday before the festival, on that night we find a walmart or cracker barrel to spend the night, then Thursday morning is a short drive.