Tennessee Roads: Nashville Traffic, Smoky Mountain Switchbacks and TVA Lakes

Nashville has added people faster than it has added lanes. I-24, I-40 and I-65 converge on the city, and rush hours stretch on the routes through Murfreesboro, Franklin, Hendersonville and Mount Juliet. A thirty-mile commute can take an hour, and game and concert nights downtown add more.

In that traffic, comfort and driver-assistance matter more than top speed. The Grand Cherokee, from $39,730, pairs a quiet cabin with a 293 hp V-6 or 324 hp turbo four, and the Durango, from $43,875, delivers a tall seating position with standard all-wheel drive. The Pacifica, from $41,595, has up to 140.5 cubic feet of cargo room and suits suburban family schedules. The Charger, from $49,995, has standard AWD on every trim for people who want performance for the weekends, with a clearance of 5.5 inches that calls for care on steep driveways.

Music City visitors often rent a vehicle, so locals know the places where parking and curb lanes are tight on lower Broadway. Check the Metro Nashville transportation and parking pages for current event-day closures, since they change weekly and vary by venue.

A hybrid like the Cherokee, with Jeep's estimate of up to 37 mpg combined, helps with the stop-and-go.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited national park in the country, and the road through Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge can crawl on a summer or October weekend. US-441 over Newfound Gap climbs through hairpins, and shoulders are narrow. The scenery is the draw, but the real driving skill is patience.

For that kind of road, braking confidence and a stable chassis matter. The Grand Cherokee and Durango are both planted in curves, and descents are better handled in lower gears than by riding the brakes. The Wrangler, starting at $36,635, is a popular tourist-town pick, and its open-air roof options suit the scenery, though it is noisier at highway speed. Families with luggage and kids will find the Pacifica's 87.5 cubic feet behind the second row more useful than a roof box.

If you tow a cabin-rental trailer or a camper to the area, check the vehicle's rating against the loaded weight and remember that steep grades heat up brakes.

For current park road closures, parking rules and seasonal restrictions, the National Park Service is the official source, and the Tennessee Department of Transportation posts SmartWay conditions for the highways leading in.

Memphis is hot and humid from May to September, and the Mississippi River floodplain around it is flat, open and exposed to afternoon thunderstorms. Heat is the dominant condition: a vehicle parked at a tailgate, a Beale Street night or a Grizzlies game can turn into an oven in minutes. Air-conditioning performance and shade-friendly parking become real buying criteria.

A vehicle with strong cooling and a comfortable cabin pays off here. Compare the climate and seating features on each trim of the Grand Cherokee, Durango and Pacifica before you buy. On the flat highways of West Tennessee, a tall tank helps with the long distances: the Durango's 24.6-gallon tank times its 22 mpg highway rating works out to about 540 miles, a rough estimate we calculated.

Pickup buyers in Memphis are often in logistics, building trades or farm supply, so the Ram 1500 and Ram 2500 are common. The 1500 starts at $42,575, and the 2500 begins at $48,040 and offers the Cummins diesel with 1,075 lb-ft of torque.

Flood and storm notices for the river and low-lying roads come from the National Weather Service and local emergency management.

Tennessee's reservoirs, built by the Tennessee Valley Authority, are a major reason people live here. Norris, Douglas, Watauga, Center Hill, Dale Hollow and Kentucky Lake all have marinas and campgrounds, and summer weekends bring lines of trucks and trailers to the ramps. Many ramps are long, steep and slick with algae at the waterline.

A good tow vehicle needs enough capacity and a stable chassis. The Ram 1500 handles most ski and fishing boats with up to 8,100 pounds of towing on the V-6 and 8,890 pounds with the 5.7L HEMI, and the Gladiator tows up to 7,700. The Durango handles 7,200 pounds standard and 8,700 with Tow 'n Go and keeps the family cool in a three-row cabin. Larger pontoon-and-trailer combinations or fifth-wheel campers point toward the Ram 2500 or even the Ram 3500, which lists up to 37,020 pounds of towing.

In the summer heat, trailer tires and wheel bearings work hard, so check them before long trips. For ramp access, lake levels, boating regulations and park rules, use the TVA, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the individual park or marina websites, which post current information.

East Tennessee is made of long parallel ridges. In Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain, Signal Mountain and the Walden Ridge roads climb quickly out of the valley, and in Knoxville the hills around Sequoyah, Cherokee Boulevard and the roads toward the Smokies are not flat either. Fog can fill valleys in the morning, and fall color season brings traffic.

Hill starts and descents are the daily test. The Grand Cherokee's turbo four, with 332 lb-ft, and the Durango's HEMI V8, with 390 lb-ft, handle climbs without strain, and AWD or 4x4 helps on wet leaves in October. The Compass, starting at $29,990 with standard 4x4, makes a sensible, lower-priced option for steep neighborhoods. The Gladiator and Wrangler suit rock climbers, mountain bikers and anyone headed for gravel forest roads around the Cherokee National Forest.

For University of Tennessee game days, expect traffic around Neyland Stadium and plan a route and parking early. Chattanooga and Knoxville both post event-day information on city websites.

When driving on mountain roads, use lower gears for descents, leave extra space and check Tennessee Department of Transportation conditions during winter, when ridges can ice over while valleys stay wet.