Existed: 1926 – present Constructed 1926 | Length 1,151 km | |
 | ||
West end: US 64 / US 70 / US 79 at Memphis, TN East end: Line Street at Charleston, SC States: Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina | ||
U.S. Highway 78 is an east–west United States highway that runs for 715 miles (1,151 km) from Memphis, Tennessee, to Charleston, South Carolina. A segment of US 78 from near Memphis, Tennessee, to Birmingham, Alabama, is designated as Interstate 22.
Contents
- Map of US 78 United States
- Tennessee
- Mississippi
- Alabama
- Georgia
- South Carolina
- History
- Future
- Major intersections
- References
Map of US-78, United States
The highway's western terminus is at U.S. Route 70 (Second Street) in Memphis, Tennessee. Its eastern terminus is on Line Street, in Charleston, South Carolina.
Tennessee
US-78 runs along Linden Avenue, Somerville Street, E. H. Crump Boulevard, and Lamar Avenue through Memphis, Tennessee. In Tennessee, US-78 is historically known as Pigeon Roost Road, and some aborted sections of the highway in Mississippi also claim that name as well as Lamar Avenue.
Mississippi
US 78 is completely freeway from the Tennessee state line to Graysville, Alabama. It is now designated Interstate 22 from its intersection with the Memphis Outer Beltway in Byhalia, Mississippi to Graysville where it diverges from I22. At the time the highway was reconstructed to freeway standards, conversion to an interstate was not considered likely. As a result, Tennessee has never upgraded its portion from the state line to Interstate 240. Mississippi's portion of U.S. 78 is defined in Mississippi Code Annotated § 65-3-3.
Alabama
US-78 is a major east–west state highway across the central part of Alabama. It is internally designated "State Route 4" (SR-4) by the Alabama Department of Transportation. Due to the construction of Interstate 22 along the US-78 corridor west of Birmingham, part of US-78 is temporarily State Route 5 only, since that part of the new I-22/US-78/SR-4 is not completed. US-78 roughly parallels Interstate 20 from Birmingham east to the Georgia state line.
The only section of State Route 4 that is signed is along portions of the completed sections of future Interstate 22 (Corridor X), mainly west of Jasper. As of December, 2007, Corridor X is open from the Mississippi State line through the West Jefferson community, rejoining the old alignment near Graysville. As of January, 2009, the old routing of US-78 west of Graysville to Jasper is now signed only as AL 5. There is a possibility that, upon completion of I-22, US 78 may be decommissioned west of Birmingham. The stretch from I-20/59 at the Arkadelphia Road exit in Birmingham to Jasper would continue to be signed as AL 5. West of Jasper, the old US 78 is already signed as AL 118 to Guin, and then from Guin northward to I-22 at Hamilton is signed as US-43/US-278.
East of Birmingham, US 78 has been replaced as a major through-route by Interstate 20. The two routes roughly parallel each other, with junctions at Leeds and Pell City.
Georgia
US 78 enters Georgia in Haralson County, and then proceeds through Carroll County and Douglas County. In Douglasville, located in Douglas County, US 78 runs through the downtown, historical part of the city. It is the original thoroughfare for these Georgia counties.
There is another short freeway portion east of Atlanta, leading from just inside (west of) I-285 (the Perimeter) eastward to the suburb of Stone Mountain, Georgia. This portion is named the Stone Mountain Freeway, and has an excellent view of Stone Mountain while traveling eastbound.
The route then continues eastward through DeKalb, Gwinnett, Walton, and Oconee counties. In Oconee county US 78 leaves Moina Michael Highway at the SR 316 interchange, turning right and running concurrent with Ga. 316/US 29. (From this point, Moina Michael Highway is signed as US 78 Business, which follows the original route of US 78 through Athens, Ga.) At the terminal eastern interchange of SR 316 both US 78 and US 29 turn right and join with SR 10 Loop, a mostly interstate-grade bypass that rings Athens-Clarke County. US 78 exits the bypass and turns right at the Lexington Road interchange. From there US 78 passes through Oglethorpe, Wilkes, McDuffie and Columbia Counties into Augusta and then onto one of the twin bridges across the Savannah River into South Carolina.
South Carolina
US 78 provides the most direct route between Augusta and Charleston, through the South Carolina Lowcountry. Crossing Savannah River into the state, it goes northeast into Aiken before going southeasterly through the cities and towns of Williston, Blackville, Denmark, Bamberg, Branchville, and St. George. East of Dorchester, it parallels Interstate 26 into downtown Charleston, where it ends.
History
In western Alabama, the historical name of US 78 is Bankhead Highway. It is also known by this name in portions of Georgia, including Atlanta, and the Bankhead neighborhood takes its name from that stretch of road. Also, the old section of US 78 (now MS 178) that travels through downtown New Albany, Mississippi, is named Bankhead Street.
Future
There is a freeway portion of US 78 that begins from the Tennessee / Mississippi border near southeast Memphis and continues through Mississippi to Graysville, Alabama, and the freeway is under construction all the way to Birmingham, Alabama, where it will junction with Interstate 65 and U.S. Highway 31. Although there are major Interstate highways near this freeway's endpoints, it is a discrete segment of controlled-access freeway. This will change over the next few years as it is upgraded to become the new Interstate 22. It is uncertain whether US 78 will be decommissioned west of Birmingham or the old route recommissioned as US 78 upon completion of Interstate 22.
If the old route is recommissioned as US 78 after the opening of I-22, parts of I-22 and US 78 would be forced to overlap. A stretch from just west of Hamilton, Alabama to the first exit in Mississippi, as well as a stretch from MS 25 in Fulton, Mississippi to the next exit west of Fulton after crossing the Tennessee-Tombigbee waterway will overlap. The Hamilton area overlap would be due to the old US 78 routing no longer exists west of Hamilton having been upgraded to I-22 from Weston westward into Mississippi. The second overlap would be necessary because the old US 78 no longer exists west of downtown Fulton, Mississippi due to the Tennessee-Tombigbee waterway and no bridge in place to carry US 78 traffic on the former route.
In Mississippi, the old routing is numbered as Mississippi State Route 178. In Alabama, the old routing is numbered as Alabama State Route 118 (west of Jasper) and Alabama State Route 5 (east of Jasper) to Graysville where US 78 is co-signed with Alabama 5 into Birmingham.