U.S. Route 78

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U.S. Route 78 (US 78) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that runs for from Swifton, Arkansas, to Charleston, South Carolina. From Byhalia, Mississippi to Graysville, Alabama, US 78 runs concurrently with Interstate 22 (I-22). The highway’s western terminus is at I-57/US 67 near Swifton, and its eastern terminus is on Line Street, in Charleston. Prior to November 2023, before the western extension, the highway's former western terminus was at US 64/US 70/US 79 (Second Street) in Memphis, Tennessee.

Route description

Lengths

	mi	km
AR
TN
MS
AL
GA
SC
Total

Arkansas

US 78 begins at interchange with I-57/US 67 at exit 102 where the roadway continues as AR 226 west toward Swifton. The route goes through towns of Cash, Jonesboro, Lake City, Black Oak, Monette, Manila, Blytheville, Marion, and West Memphis before crossing on the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge over the Mississippi River to enter Tennessee in Memphis.

Tennessee

File:Downtown Memphis.svg

Map showing the former west end of US 78 in downtown Memphis before the extension to Northeast Arkansas in November 2023

US 78 enters Tennessee along Interstate 55 (I-55) from Arkansas and shortly after diverges from I-55 onto E.H. Crump Boulevard. It is concurrent with US 61, US 64, US 70, US 79 and Tennessee State Route 1 (SR 1) until Third Street/B.B. King Boulevard. US 61 turns south onto SR 14 south (Third Street) while US 64, US 70, and US 79 turns north onto SR 4 west and SR 14 north (B.B. King Boulevard) at this intersection. This is also where SR 4 becomes concurrent with US 78 for the remainder of its length. About a later, SR 1 turns north onto (Danny Thomas Boulevard). US 78 and SR 4 then continues along E.H. Crump Boulevard to meet two interchanges with I-240 (the first interchange of I-240 is concurrent with I-69). Around I-240, the road changes names to Lamar Avenue and then it meets US 51 and SR 3 before continuing southeastwardly to the Mississippi state line.

In Memphis, 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 a freeway for its entire length in Mississippi. The section from its intersection with Interstate 269 in Byhalia, Mississippi to the Alabama state line is concurrent with Interstate 22. The highway runs across the northeastern rural part of the state, connecting several population centers. Mississippi's portion of US 78 is defined in Mississippi Code Annotated § 65-3-3. The old routing of US 78 through the state is signed as MS 178.

Alabama

US 78 is a major east–west U.S. highway across the central part of Alabama. It is internally designated State Route 4 (SR 4) by the Alabama Department of Transportation, though the only section of State Route 4 that is signed is along portions mainly west of Jasper. The section from the Mississippi state line to near Graysville is concurrent with Interstate 22; from Graysville south to Birmingham, US 78 takes its original routing. East of Birmingham to the Georgia state line, 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.

West of Jasper, old US 78 is signed as AL 118 to Guin, and the segment from Guin northward to I-22 at Hamilton is signed as US 43/US 278.

Georgia

US 78 enters Georgia in Haralson County, passing through the downtowns of Tallapoosa and Bremen. It 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.

The route then continues eastward through Cobb and Fulton counties into Atlanta. After crossing Peachtree Street, where US 78 marks a boundary between downtown and Midtown, US 78 is largely conterminous with Ponce de Leon Avenue. As it proceeds due east, this section of the route passes Ponce City Market and crosses the Eastside Trail of the BeltLine before skirting a number of Frederick Law Olmsted-designed parks in the Druid Hills Historic District at the eastern edge of the city.

After entering Decatur in DeKalb County, US 78 departs from Ponce de Leon Avenue to head northeast. South of the site of North DeKalb Mall, another short freeway portion begins — leading from just inside the eastern rim of Interstate 285 (the Perimeter) to the suburbs of Clarkston, Tucker, Stone Mountain, and Snellville. This portion is named the Stone Mountain Freeway, and provides an excellent view of Stone Mountain for eastbound motorists.

The route then proceeds east across 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 SR 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.

Throughout the 2000s, US 78 has been gradually upgraded into a four-lane freeway in Mississippi and Alabama and signed as I-22. US 78 is concurrent with I-22 from Byhalia, Mississippi to just outside of Birmingham, Alabama, only branching off just outside of Graysville, Alabama with I-22 traveling about eastward to its terminus at I-65.

On October 25, 2023, the Arkansas Highway Commission voted unanimously to extend the US 78 designation into northeast Arkansas. According to the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT), the US 78 designation would be extended along several other routes from its current western terminus in Memphis, Tennessee across the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge to a new western terminus near Swifton, Arkansas at US 67 (before I-57 was designated at that time). The route would be cosigned along portions of US 64, US 70, US 79, I-55, US 61, I-40, Arkansas Highway 18 (AR 18), AR 18S, I-555, US 49, US 63, and AR 226. This extension of the US 78 route designation was seen as a way to boost economic growth in the region by assigning a single route number for travelers to follow. The extension was approved by AASHTO in November 2023.

Future

US 78 and SR 4 in Memphis, Tennessee is currently being upgraded between the Mississippi state line and SR 176, a distance of about . The route, Lamar Avenue, sees heavy freight traffic and has "crippling congestion." The work includes expanding the road from four to six lanes, adding three new interchanges, and upgrading additional ones. The work is being done in three segments with the first one starting in 2018.

Major intersections

Arkansas

near Swifton

west of Jonesboro. The highways travel concurrently toward and through Jonesboro.

in Jonesboro. The highway travels through Jonesboro.

in Blytheville

in Blytheville. Begin I-55 concurrency.

in Blytheville

northwest of Turrell. Begin US 61 concurrency.

in Marion. Begin US 64 concurrency.

in West Memphis. I-40/US 78 travels through West Memphis. Begin US 79 concurrency.

in West Memphis. Begin US 70 concurrency.

Tennessee

in Memphis. End I-55 concurrency.

in Memphis. End US 61/US 64/US 70/US 79 concurrency.

in Memphis

in Memphis

in Memphis

Mississippi

west-northwest of Byhalia. Begin I-22 concurrency.

in Tupelo

Alabama

in Hamilton

near Adamsville. End I-22 concurrency.

in Birmingham

in Birmingham. The highways travel concurrently through Birmingham.

in Birmingham

in Birmingham

in Leeds

in Leeds

northwest of Chulavista. The highways travel concurrently to Pell City.

in Pell City

in Riverside

in Oxford.

Georgia

in Bremen

in Lithia Springs. The highways travel concurrently to Druid Hills.

in Atlanta

in Atlanta. The highways travel concurrently through Atlanta.

in Atlanta. US 29/US 78 travels concurrently to the Scottdale–North Decatur city line.

in Atlanta. The highways travel concurrently to Decatur.

on the Scottdale–Clarkston city line

southeast of Bogart. The highways travel concurrently to Athens.

in Athens. The highways travel concurrently through Athens.

in Washington

southeast of Thomson. The highways travel concurrently to Clearwater, South Carolina.

in Harlem

in Augusta

in Augusta. The highways travel concurrently to Aiken, South Carolina.

in Augusta. The highways travel concurrently to North Augusta, South Carolina.

South Carolina

in North Augusta

in Denmark

in Bamberg

in Branchville. The highways travel concurrently through Branchville.

in St. George

in St. George

east of Dorchester

in North Charleston

in North Charleston. The highways travel concurrently through North Charleston.

in North Charleston

in North Charleston

in Charleston

King Street/Line Street in Charleston

See also

• Special routes of U.S. Route 78

Related U.S. Routes

• U.S. Route 178
• U.S. Route 278
• U.S. Route 378

External links

• Evermore Community Improvement District
• High Priority Corridors @ aaroads.com Template:Webarchive
• Highway 78 CID
• Highway 78 on OpenStreetMap.org
• Endpoints of U.S. Highway 78