Chattanooga is wedged between the Tennessee River and a series of ridges, and its roads squeeze through the gaps. I-24 enters from the west along the foot of Lookout Mountain, runs past the south side of downtown and cuts through Missionary Ridge before meeting I-75. I-75 heads north toward Knoxville and south into Georgia toward Atlanta, and I-59 branches off I-24 just over the Georgia line toward Birmingham. US 27 runs north from downtown through Red Bank toward Soddy-Daisy, and SR 153 links the airport, Chickamauga Dam and Hixson. Brainerd Road and Lee Highway carry the busy east-side surface traffic.
The I-24 and I-75 interchange in East Ridge is a notorious truck bottleneck, and breakdowns there and through the Ridge Cut tie up traffic fast. The long Monteagle grade on I-24 toward Nashville tests cooling systems and brakes on every trip. Mountain neighborhoods add their own access quirks: Signal Mountain's switchbacks, the narrow roads on Lookout Mountain and the winding routes up Missionary Ridge all lead to driveways on steep grades. Mechanics plan for that and look for a level spot nearby.
Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport sits east of downtown off SR 153, and its lots are a simple place to meet. CARTA runs city buses and a downtown shuttle, and the Incline Railway climbs Lookout Mountain from St. Elmo. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and the hospital campuses near downtown keep the center of the city busy with commuters, students and staff. Downtown garages vary in clearance, so surface lots near the river are often the easier meeting point.