U.S. Route 78 (US 78) is an east–west

United States Numbered Highway The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...

that runs for from Swifton, Arkansas, to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. 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 Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

Route description

, - ! AR , , - ! TN , , - ! MS , , - ! AL , , - ! GA , , - ! SC , , -class=sortbottom style="border-top: 2px solid #a2a9b1;" !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 In economics, cash is money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins. In book-keeping and financial accounting, cash is current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-i ...

, Jonesboro, Lake City, Black Oak, Monette,

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, Blytheville, Marion, and West Memphis before crossing on the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge over the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

to enter

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

in Memphis.

Tennessee

US 78 enters

along

Interstate 55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The ...

(I-55) from

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

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 Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of eight unconnected segments. The longest segment runs from Evansville, Indiana, northeast to the Canada–United States border, Canadian border in Po ...

). Around I-240, the road changes names to Lamar Avenue and then it meets

US 51 U.S. Route 51 or U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) is a major south–north United States highway that extends from the western suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana, to within of the Wisconsin–Michigan state line. As most of the United States Numbered Hi ...

and SR 3 before continuing southeastwardly to the

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

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 A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

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 Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. It is internally designated State Route 4 (SR 4) by the

Alabama Department of Transportation The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) is the government agency responsible for transportation infrastructure in Alabama. The Department is organized into five geographic regions, with a Central Office located in Montgomery, Alabama, ...

, 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 Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, 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 Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

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 Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

. 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 Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. After crossing

Peachtree Street Peachtree Street is one of several major streets running through the city of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Beginning at Five Points (Atlanta), Five Points in downtown Atlanta, it runs North through Midtown Atlanta, Midtown; a few blocks afte ...

, where US 78 marks a boundary between

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

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 Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, Social criticism, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the U ...

-designed parks in the Druid Hills Historic District at the eastern edge of the city. After entering Decatur in

DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johann de Kalb: * DeKalb County, Alabama DeKalb County is a County (United States), county in the Northeast Alabama, northeastern part ...

, 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

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

s of Clarkston, Tucker,

Stone Mountain Stone Mountain is a quartz monzonite dome Inselberg, monadnock and the site of Stone Mountain Park, east of Atlanta, Georgia. Outside the park is the city of Stone Mountain, Georgia. The park is the most visited tourist site in the state of Ge ...

, and Snellville. This portion is named the Stone Mountain Freeway, and provides an excellent view of

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 The Savannah River is a major river in the Southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and South Carolina. The river flows from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, ...

into South Carolina.

South Carolina

US 78 provides the most direct route between Augusta and Charleston, through the

South Carolina Lowcountry The Lowcountry (sometimes Low Country or just low country) is a geographic and cultural region along South Carolina's coast, including the Sea Islands. The region includes significant salt marshes and other coastal waterways, making it an impor ...

. Crossing

into the state, it goes northeast into Aiken before going southeasterly through the cities and towns of Williston, Blackville,

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main (river), Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in ...

, Branchville, and

St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

. 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 New Albany is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Mississippi, Union County, Mississippi, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, the population was 7,626. History New Albany was founded in 1840 at the site of a gri ...

, 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 Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, 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 The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT), formerly the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, is a government department in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Its mission is to provide a safe, efficient, aesthetically pleasing and env ...

(ARDOT), the US 78 designation would be extended along several other routes from its current western terminus in

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

is currently being upgraded between the

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 Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

: near Adamsville. End I-22 concurrency. : in

: in Birmingham. The highways travel concurrently through Birmingham. : in Birmingham : in Birmingham : in

: in Leeds : northwest of Chulavista. The highways travel concurrently to Pell City. : in Pell City : in Riverside : in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. ;Georgia : in

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

: 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 Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. : in Athens. The highways travel concurrently through Athens. : in Washington : southeast of Thomson. The highways travel concurrently to Clearwater, South Carolina. : in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

: in Augusta : in Augusta. The highways travel concurrently to

Aiken, South Carolina Aiken is the most populous city in, and the county seat of, Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. According to 2020 census, the population was 32,025, making it the 15th-most populous city in South Carolina, and one of the two largest ci ...

. : in Augusta. The highways travel concurrently to

North Augusta, South Carolina North Augusta is a city in Aiken and Edgefield counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina, on the north bank of the Savannah River. It lies directly across the river, and state border, from Augusta, Georgia. The population was 24,379 at the ...

. ;South Carolina : in North Augusta : in

: in

: in Branchville. The highways travel concurrently through Branchville. : in

: 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

References

External links

Evermore Community Improvement DistrictHigh Priority Corridors @ aaroads.com

Highway 78 CIDHighway 78 on OpenStreetMap.org

{{US Highways 78 U.S. Highways in Tennessee U.S. Highways in Mississippi