Driving from Downtown Nashville to Chattanooga, Tennessee on I24

One of the more hazardous stretches of Interstate highway in the United States is located approximately 40 miles (64 km) west of Chattanooga on I-24 in Monteagle, where the highway crosses the Cumberland Plateau. Compared to grades elsewhere, Monteagle's 4–6% grade does not come close to the steepest (I-40 between Nashville and Knoxville features 5% grades in each direction as well as a 5% grade north of Nashville on I-24, near Joelton), but the slope is protracted over a distance of several miles. While all motorists need to exercise caution, truckers are particularly vexed by Monteagle, through this area. As runaway trucks had been a in part of the failure or inability of truckers to slow down to the 35 miles per hour (55 km/h) truck speed limit once on the slope, the eastbound lanes were rebuilt in the late 1980s. This work reduced the grade, widened the road, added a required stopping area with traffic lights for trucks prior to descending the mountain, and added two runaway truck ramps where a truck whose brakes have failed due to overheating can exit into a long pit full of loose gravel to safely stop. Owing to geography, these two ramps are on the left side of the grade. This stretch of highway inspired Johnny Cash to write a song about Monteagle Mountain. It is also mentioned in "The Legend", the introductory song for Smokey and the Bandit, which touts the protagonist's driving skill in having reportedly navigated his truck down the Monteagle Grade during a heavy rainstorm, despite an airbrake failure