Transportation

Airports

The city is blessed with access to many transportation options. Upper Cumberland Regional Airport, with its 6,000-foot asphalt runway, is nine miles north near the Putnam and White County line. For more information about the UCRA, visit www.airnav.com/airport/KSRB.

 

Nashville International Airport -- only a 90-minute drive -- has 16 airlines offering an average of 400 daily flights to 89 markets, 49 of them nonstop (as of August 2006). Visit www.nashintl.com for more information.

 

Highways

Major U.S. highways include Hwy. 70 passing through the city east to west; 70S crossing north to south; and 70N traversing the eastern portion of the county.

 

State roads include Hwy. 111, which is a major four-lane connector from Kentucky to southern Florida, and Hwys. 84, 135, 136 and 289.

 

Freight

One airfreight and four motor freight companies serve Sparta.

 

Rail

The Caney Fork & Western Railroad, once called the Sparta Branch, provides rail service. In 1983, when Seaboard Systems petitioned the government to remove rails in Coffee, Warren and White counties, the counties formed the Tri-County Railroad Association and bought the branch to avoid losing an important transportation asset and protect the rail needs of regional industries.

 

Waterways

The Cumberland River is the closest navigable waterway. There is a commercial port at Gainesboro, 29 miles away. The Calfkiller River winds through the city but is not suited for commerce.