State Route 227 (SR 227) is a east–west state highway in extreme southern
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the state's capital an ...
. It is the only state highway in Tennessee that both begins and ends at the
Alabama
Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
state line, with one end at
Cypress Inn and the other just across the state line from
Lexington, Alabama.
Route description
SR 227 begins in
Wayne County at the
Alabama
Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
state line in the
Cypress Inn community, where it continues south as
Alabama State Route 157
State Route 157 (SR 157) is a state highway in the northern and northwestern parts of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its southern terminus is at an intersection with U.S. Route 278 (US 278) approximately east of Cullman, w ...
(SR 157). SR 227 immediately makes a sharp right turn at an intersection with Big Cypress Road, which provides access to the
Natchez Trace Parkway
The Natchez Trace Parkway is a limited-access national parkway in the Southeastern United States that commemorates the historic Natchez Trace and preserves sections of that original trail. Its central feature is a two-lane road that extends 44 ...
, before going east through a mix of farmland and wooded areas for several miles to the community of
Fairview, where it has a short concurrency with
SR 13. It then enters the
Highland Rim
The Highland Rim is a geographic term for the area in Tennessee, North Alabama, and Kentucky which surrounds the Central Basin. The Central Basin is a geological dome which has subsequently fractured and eroded to produce a basin. The Highland R ...
and winds its way east through mountains to cross into
Lawrence County.
The highway almost immediately passes through the town of
Iron City, where it has an intersection with
SR 242 and crosses over
Shoal Creek, before going east through mountains to the town of
Saint Joseph
According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus.
Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern O ...
where it comes to an intersection and becomes concurrent with
US 43/
SR 6. They head northeast through farmland for a few miles to the town of
Loretto, where SR 227 breaks off and turns southeast. SR 227 passes through wooded areas, then very rural farmland, for several miles before coming to the
Alabama
Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
state line, where it continues into
Lexington, Alabama as
Alabama State Route 101 (SR 101).
Excluding the concurrency with US 43, which is a four-lane undivided highway, the entire route of SR 227 is a two-lane highway.
Major intersections
References
{{reflist
227
Year 227 (Roman numerals, CCXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Senecio and Fulvius (or, less frequently, year 980 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination ...
Transportation in Wayne County, Tennessee
Transportation in Lawrence County, Tennessee