 U.S. Route 78 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US 78 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Length | 843.6 mi[citation needed] (1,357.6 km) | |||
| Existed | 1926[citation needed]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |    I-57 /US 67 /AR 226 nearCash, AR | |||
| Major intersections |
| |||
| East end | Line Street atCharleston, SC | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| States | Arkansas,Tennessee,Mississippi,Alabama,Georgia,South Carolina | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
U.S. Route 78 (US 78) is an east–westUnited States Numbered Highway that runs for 843.6 miles (1,357.6 km) fromSwifton, Arkansas, toCharleston, South Carolina. FromByhalia, Mississippi toGraysville, Alabama, US 78runs concurrently withInterstate 22 (I-22). The highway’s western terminus is atI-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 atUS 64/US 70/US 79 (Second Street) inMemphis, Tennessee.
| mi | km | |
|---|---|---|
| AR | 140.8 | 226.6 |
| TN | 15.9 | 25.6 |
| MS | 117.4 | 188.9 |
| AL | 194.0 | 312.2 |
| GA | 233.3 | 375.5 |
| SC | 142.2 | 228.8 |
| Total | 843.6 | 1,357.6 |
US 78 begins at interchange withI-57/US 67 at exit 102 where the roadway continues asAR 226 west towardSwifton. The route goes through towns ofCash,Jonesboro,Lake City,Black Oak,Monette,Manila andBlytheville. In Blytheville, the route runs concurrently withInterstate 55 (I-55) and travels south, going throughMarion andWest Memphis before turning east and crossing on theMemphis & Arkansas Bridge over theMississippi River to enterMemphis, Tennessee.
US 78 entersTennessee along I-55 fromArkansas and shortly after diverges from I-55 onto E.H. Crump Boulevard. It is concurrent withUS 61,US 64,US 70,US 79 andState Route 1 (SR 1) until Third Street/B.B. King Boulevard. US 61 turns south ontoSR 14 south (Third Street) while US 64, US 70, and US 79 turn north ontoSR 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 a1⁄4 mile (0.40 km) later, SR 1 turns north onto (Danny Thomas Boulevard). US 78/SR 4 then continues along E.H. Crump Boulevard to meet two interchanges withI-240 (the first interchange of I-240 is concurrent withI-69). Around I-240, the road changes names to Lamar Avenue and then it meetsUS 51 andSR 3 before continuing southeastwardly to theMississippi state line.[1]
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.
US 78 is afreeway for its entire length in Mississippi. The section from its intersection withI-269 inByhalia, Mississippi to the Alabama state line is concurrent withI-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 asMS 178.
US 78 is a major east–west U.S. highway across the central part ofAlabama. It is internally designated SR 4 by theAlabama Department of Transportation, though the only section of SR 4 that is signed is along portions mainly west of Jasper. The section from the Mississippi state line to nearGraysville is concurrent with I-22; from Graysville south toBirmingham, US 78 takes its original routing. East of Birmingham to the Georgia state line, US 78 has been replaced as a major through-route byI-20. The two routes roughly parallel each other, with junctions atLeeds andPell City.[2]
West of Jasper, old US 78 is signed as SR 118 to Guin, and the segment from Guin northward to I-22 at Hamilton is signed as US 43/US 278.
US 78 enters Georgia inHaralson County, passing through the downtowns ofTallapoosa andBremen. It then proceeds throughCarroll County andDouglas 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 throughCobb andFulton counties intoAtlanta. After crossingPeachtree Street, where US 78 marks a boundary betweenDowntown andMidtown, US 78 is largely conterminous withPonce de Leon Avenue. As it proceeds due east, this section of the route passesPonce City Market and crosses theEastside Trail of theBeltLine before skirting a number ofFrederick Law Olmsted-designed parks in theDruid Hills Historic District at the eastern edge of the city.
After enteringDecatur inDeKalb County, US 78 departs from Ponce de Leon Avenue to head northeast. South of the site ofNorth DeKalb Mall, another short freeway portion begins — leading from just inside the eastern rim ofInterstate 285 (the Perimeter) to thesuburbs ofClarkston,Tucker,Stone Mountain, andSnellville. This portion is named theStone Mountain Freeway, and provides an excellent view ofStone Mountain for eastbound motorists.
The route then proceeds east acrossGwinnett,Walton, andOconee counties. In Oconee County, US 78 leaves Moina Michael Highway at theSR 316 interchange, turning right and running concurrently with SR 316/US 29. (From this point, Moina Michael Highway is signed asUS 78 Business, which follows the original route of US 78 through Athens) At the terminal eastern interchange of SR 316 both US 78 and US 29 turn right and join withSR 10 Loop, a mostly Interstate-grade bypass that ringsAthens-Clarke County. US 78 exits the bypass and turns right at the Lexington Road interchange. From there US 78 passes throughOglethorpe,Wilkes,McDuffie andColumbia Counties intoAugusta and then onto one of the twin bridges across theSavannah River into South Carolina.[3]
US 78 provides the most direct route between Augusta and Charleston, through theSouth Carolina Lowcountry. CrossingSavannah River into the state, it goes northeast intoAiken before going southeasterly through the cities and towns ofWilliston,Blackville,Denmark,Bamberg,Branchville, andSt. George. East ofDorchester, it parallelsI-26 into downtown Charleston, where it ends.[4]
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In western Alabama, the historical name of US 78 isBankhead Highway. It is also known by this name in portions of Georgia, including Atlanta, and theBankhead neighborhood takes its name from that stretch of road. Also, the old section of US 78 (nowMS 178) that travels through downtownNew Albany, Mississippi, is namedBankhead Street.[citation needed]
Throughout the 2000s, US 78 has been gradually upgraded into a four-lane freeway in Mississippi and Alabama and signed asI-22. US 78 is concurrent with I-22 fromByhalia, Mississippi to just outside ofBirmingham, Alabama, only branching off just outside ofGraysville, Alabama with I-22 traveling about 11 miles (18 km) eastward to its terminus atI-65.[5]
On October 25, 2023, the Arkansas Highway Commission voted unanimously to extend the US 78 designation intonortheast Arkansas. According to theArkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT), the US 78 designation would be extended along several other routes from its current western terminus inMemphis, Tennessee across theMemphis & Arkansas Bridge to a new western terminus nearSwifton, Arkansas atUS 67 (beforeI-57 was designated at that time). The route would be cosigned along portions ofUS 64,US 70,US 79,I-55,US 61,I-40,Arkansas Highway 18 (AR 18),AR 18S,I-555,US 49,US 63, andAR 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.[6][7] The extension was approved by AASHTO in November 2023.[1]
US 78 and SR 4 inMemphis, Tennessee is currently being upgraded between theMississippi state line andSR 176, a distance of about 5.1 miles (8.2 km). 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.[8]
I-57 /US 67 nearSwifton
US 49 /US 63 west ofJonesboro. The highways travel concurrently toward and through Jonesboro.
I-555 in Jonesboro. The highway travels through Jonesboro.
US 61 inBlytheville
I-55 in Blytheville. Begin I-55 concurrency.US 61 in BlythevilleI-555 /US 61 northwest ofTurrell. Begin US 61 concurrency.
US 64 inMarion. Begin US 64 concurrency.
I-40 /US 79 inWest Memphis. I-40/US 78 travels through West Memphis. Begin US 79 concurrency.
US 70 in West Memphis. Begin US 70 concurrency.I-55 inMemphis. End I-55 concurrency.US 61 /US 64 /US 70 /US 79 in Memphis. End US 61/US 64/US 70/US 79 concurrency.
I-69 /I-240 in Memphis
US 51 in MemphisI-240 in Memphis
I-22 /I-269 west-northwest ofByhalia. Begin I-22 concurrency.
US 45 inTupelo
US 43 /US 278 inHamiltonI-22 nearAdamsville. End I-22 concurrency.
I-20 /I-59 inBirmingham
US 11 in Birmingham. The highways travel concurrently through Birmingham.
I-65 in Birmingham
US 31 /US 280 in BirminghamI-20 inLeeds
US 411 in LeedsI-20 northwest ofChulavista. The highways travel concurrently toPell City.
US 231 in Pell CityI-20 inRiverside
US 431 inOxford.
US 27 inBremenUS 278 inLithia Springs. The highways travel concurrently toDruid Hills.
I-285 inAtlanta
US 19 /US 41 in Atlanta. The highways travel concurrently through Atlanta.
US 19 /US 29 /US 41 in Atlanta. US 29/US 78 travels concurrently to theScottdale–North Decatur city line.
US 23 in Atlanta. The highways travel concurrently toDecatur.I-285 on the Scottdale–Clarkston city lineUS 29 southeast ofBogart. The highways travel concurrently toAthens.
US 129 /US 441 in Athens. The highways travel concurrently through Athens.
US 378 inWashingtonUS 278 southeast ofThomson. The highways travel concurrently toClearwater, South Carolina.
US 221 inHarlem
I-520 inAugusta
US 1 in Augusta. The highways travel concurrently toAiken, South Carolina.
US 25 in Augusta. The highways travel concurrently toNorth Augusta, South Carolina.I-520 in North Augusta
US 321 inDenmark
US 301 /US 601 inBamberg
US 21 inBranchville. The highways travel concurrently through Branchville.
I-95 inSt. George
US 15 in St. George
US 178 east ofDorchester
I-26 inNorth Charleston
US 52 in North Charleston. The highways travel concurrently through North Charleston.I-26 in North Charleston
I-526 in North Charleston
I-26 /US 17 inCharleston
Routes initalics are no longer a part of the system. Highlighted routes are considered main routes of the system. |
