State Route 266 (SR 266) is a state highway in

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 ...

. The southern terminus is in a currently undeveloped section of

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

at an interchange with I-24. The northern terminus is in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

at an intersection with US 70.

Route description

Rutherford County

SR 266 begins in Rutherford County in

at an interchange with I-24 (Exit 66). It goes east as a 4-lane, changing to a 6-lane, divided highway called Sam Ridley Parkway, a major thoroughfare featuring numerous strip malls, apartments, a high school, and a hospital. It has an interchange with

US 41 U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part i ...

/ US 70S/ SR 1 (N Lowry Street) on the southern edge of Smyrna Airport. SR 266 then becomes undivided and continues east to an intersection with SR 102 (Nissan Drive), where Sam Ridley Parkway officially end and SR 266 continues east as Jefferson Pike. The highway then narrows to 2-lanes and crosses a bridge over the Stones River just south of

Percy Priest Lake J. Percy Priest Lake is a reservoir in north central part of Tennessee. It is formed by J. Percy Priest Dam, located between miles six and seven of the Stones River. The dam (easily visible from Interstate 40) is located about east of do ...

, where it leaves Smyrna. SR 266 then passes through rural areas to come to have an interchange with I-840 (Exit 61) before passing through Walterhill and having an intersection with

US 231 U.S. Route 231 (US 231) is a north–south U.S highway that is a parallel route of US 31. It runs for from St. John, Indiana, at US 41 to south of US 98 in downtown Panama City, Florida. One of its most notable landmark ...

/ SR 10. SR 266 then continues east through farmland to pass through Lascassas, where it has a short concurrency with SR 96 before turning northward and crossing into Wilson County.

Wilson County

SR 266 winds its way northward through farmland as Cainsville Road, where it passes through Norene and has an intersection with SR 265. The highway then enters

and passes through an industrial area and has an intersection with Maddox-Simpson Parkway before crossing an overpass over I-40. SR 266 continues north through industrial areas before entering downtown at an intersection with Tennessee Boulevard, where it becomes S College Street. It goes north to have an intersection with US 70 Bus./ SR 24 (E Main Street), where it becomes N College Street, before coming to an end at an intersection with US 70/ SR 26 (E High Street) in a business district.

History

For most of its length through Smyrna, Route 266 is a 4-lane, now changing to a 6-lane, highway called Sam Ridley Parkway, named for the mayor of the city from 1947 to 1987. (Sam Ridley was forced to resign in 1987 due to a conflict-of-interest suit; as a testament to his popularity, his identical twin brother Knox was promptly instated as mayor.) Once an undeveloped highway forming part of a beltway around Smyrna and serving the Smyrna Airport, Sam Ridley Parkway now features numerous Strip Malls, Apartments, and even a Hospital. The Tennessee General Assembly, along with State Representative Mike Sparks and Senator Bill Ketron honored former Rutherford County Historian Ernie Johns by naming a section of Jefferson Pike, "Ernie Johns Honorary Highway." Beginning in 2021, construction began on the Jefferson Pike section of highway from Sam Ridley Parkway to I-840 to widen it to four lanes.

Major intersections

References