The route, concurrent with SR 38 from the state line north, runs parallel to Interstate 24 (I-24) for three miles (4.8 km) to an intersection with Cummings Highway (US 41/US 64/US 72/SR 2).

The routes briefly overlap with US 41, here concurrent to US 76, on Dodds Avenue before resuming an easterly progression on Brainerd Road thereafter called Lee Highway.

At exit 11, the route splits, running through Ooltewah and Collegedale before entering Bradley County.

[2] The longest segment of the original concrete US 11 located in Charleston was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on January 10, 2008, as the Cleveland to Charleston Concrete Highway.

[3] This segment, built from 1925 to 1927, now consists of Market and Water streets and runs from US 11 to the Hiwassee River where the original bridge was located.