U.S. Route 278 in Alabama

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This article is about the section of U.S. Route 278 in Alabama. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 278.
U.S. Route 278 marker
U.S. Route 278
State Route 74
Route information
Auxiliary route of US 78
Maintained by ALDOT
Length199.182 mi[1] (320.552 km)
Major junctions
West end US 278 towards Amory, Mississippi and Tupelo, Mississippi
Major intersections
East end US 278 / SR 6 towards Cedartown, Georgia and Atlanta, Georgia
Location
CountiesLamar, Marion, Winston, Cullman, Blount, Etowah, Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne
Highway system
  • Alabama State Highway System
← SR 277US 278→ SR 279
← SR 73SR 74→ SR 75

U.S. Route 278 (US 278), mostly internally designated by the Alabama Department of Transportation as State Route 74 (SR 74), is a major east–west U.S. highway across the northern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. West of Hamilton, SR 74 continues west to end at US 78 (unsigned SR 4), while US 278 turns south along US 43/SR 17/SR 171 to Guin, where it turns west along SR 118 to the Mississippi state line.

Route description[]

US 278 enters Alabama near Sulligent. After passing through the city, the route continues on a winding path until it reaches Guin, where it turns north and gains US 43. It then junctions with I-22/US 78. It eventually reaches Hamilton, where it junctions with SR 17 and turns off of US 43's right of way.

It continues on a curvy path until it reaches Natural Bridge, where it junctions with SR 5 and SR 13. It continues onward and enters the William B. Bankhead National Forest, where Double Springs lies. It junctions with SR 33 and SR 195. It continues onward, passing through Houston (AL). It then exits the National Forest and enters Addison, which is home to its junction with CR 41, which is a corridor connecting Jasper, Arley, Danville, and Decatur. It passes through much less hilly terrain and crosses the county line into Cullman County.

The route passes through slightly curvy terrain until its junction with I-65. It enters the city of Cullman and junctions with US 31 and SR 69. It continues east for about one mile from its second junction with SR 69 and junctions with SR 157. It continues east and eventually enters Holly Pond, which is home to its junction with SR 91. It continues onto Blount County.

It eventually junctions with US 231, which leads to SR 67 to the north and SR 79 south to the south in Cleveland. The main junction here is in Blountsville. The route continues through hilly terrain to SR 79 itself. It passes through hilly terrain to Snead, which is home to its junction with SR 75. It continues onward through hilly terrain to the county line to Etowah County.

The route is mostly hilly with three-lane stretches at points due to the steep uphills along the route, specifically eastbound. It reaches Altoona, where it junctions with SR 132. It continues to Ivalee, which is home to its junction with SR 179 and is also home to the Mountain Top Flea Market, among the biggest flea markets in the state. It almost immediately descends down a hill into Ridgeville, which is home to its junction with SR 77. It passes through a slight ridge cut and crosses a railroad line, where it junctions with Gallant Road at a fork and then junctions with US 431, which is a four-lane divided highway. The route joins US 431 into Attalla, which is home to its notable concurrency with US 11. US 278 and US 431 leave US 11, cross below a railroad track, and enter into Gadsden. It immediately junctions with I-59 and heads into town, where it junctions with SR 211, US 411, and George Wallace Drive, which leads to I-759. It leaves the city and finally splits off from US 431.

The route passes through Hokes Bluff on its way to Piedmont. In Piedmont, the route junctions SR 21. It then turns off of its right of way, the right-of-way becoming Nances Creek Indian Boulevard.

The route has no more major junctions at this point as it crosses through Cherokee County. It passes through highly hilly terrain and crosses into Cleburne County. It then crosses into Georgia at Esom Hill, Georgia, continuing on its way to Cedartown.

History[]

From its creation in 1955 to 1965, US-278 followed a very different route from to Double Springs. It followed SR-129 from Whitehouse to Haleyville; In Haleyville, the route followed SR-13 to SR-195. It would then follow SR-195 to Double Springs, where it would turn onto its present-day routing. Oddly, State Route 74 followed the present day routing between the two cities via Natural Bridge from 1956 onward. [2][3]

During the 1960s–1980s, there were some different variations of the routing of US 278 through the cities of Gadsden and Attalla, however construction of four-lane segments on the western side of Gadsden and in Attalla allowed the highway to be placed on its current route which has been in place since the mid-1980s.

Business plate.svg

U.S. Route 278 Business marker

U.S. Route 278 Business

LocationPiedmont
Existed?–1980s

Until the mid-1980s, a US 278 Business (US 278 Bus.) existed in the city of Piedmont. US 278 is carried on a four-lane segment that bypasses the center of Piedmont. US 278 Bus. began where the four-lane segment began on the northeast side of Piedmont, then traveled southwest into the center of the city and intersected SR 9 and then traveled to the north, concurrent with SR 9 until it intersected the four-lane US 278 on the northern edge of the city.

Future[]

A four-laning project is ongoing east of Gadsden near the town of Hokes Bluff.

Major intersections[]

CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
Lamar​0.0000.000
 US 278 west / begins – Tupelo		Continuation into Mississippi; western end of SR 118 concurrency
Sulligent5.7419.239 SR 17 – Vernon, Hamilton
MarionGuin17.78528.622 SR 142 eastWestern terminus of SR 142
19.40831.234 SR 107 south – FayetteNorthern terminus of SR 107
19.69231.691 US 43 south / SR 118 west / SR 171 south (11th Avenue East) / SR 142 west (11th Avenue West) – WinfieldSouthern end of US 43 and SR 171 concurrencies; eastern end of SR 118 concurrency
Hamilton28.05445.149 I-22 / US 78 (SR 4) – Tupelo, BirminghamI-22/US 78 exit 16
32.81152.804
 SR 17 south / SR 171 ends – Vernon		Southern end of SR 17 concurrency; northern end of SR 171 concurrency
33.16353.371 US 43 north / SR 17 north (Military Street North) / SR 74 west (Bexar Avenue West) – HackleburgNorthern end of US 43 and SR 17 concurrencies; western end of SR 74 concurrency
​43.48669.984 SR 253 – Hackleburg, Winfield
​47.78176.896
 SR 241 north to SR 129 – Phil Campbell		Southern terminus of SR 241
​48.34277.799 SR 129 – Haleyville, Brilliant, Fayette
WinstonNatural Bridge56.40290.770 SR 13 south – TuscaloosaWestern end of SR 13 concurrency
56.85791.502 SR 5 south / SR 13 north – Russellville, JasperEastern end of SR 13 concurrency; northern terminus of SR 5
Double Springs69.277111.491 SR 195 north – HaleyvilleWestern end of SR 195 concurrency
69.742112.239 SR 33 north / SR 195 south – Double Springs, MoultonEastern end of SR 195 concurrency; southern terminus of SR 33
CullmanCullman105.738170.169 I-65 – Birmingham, HuntsvilleI-65 exit 308
107.674173.285 US 31 (SR 3 / 2nd Avenue SW) / SR 69Western end of SR 69 concurrency
110.736178.212 SR 69 north – Arab, GuntersvilleEastern end of SR 69 concurrency
111.173178.916 SR 157 north / CR 719 south – Moulton, Muscle Shoals, FlorenceSouthern terminus of SR 157
Holly Pond120.978194.695 SR 91 south – Hanceville, Garden CityNorthern terminus of SR 91
Blount​126.822204.100 US 231 (SR 53) – Arab, Birmingham
Brooksville129.322208.124 SR 79 – Guntersville, Birmingham
Snead134.880217.068 SR 75 – Albertville, Oneonta
Etowah​146.360235.544 SR 132 west – Altoona, OneontaEastern terminus of SR 132
​148.539239.050 SR 179 northSouthern terminus of SR 179
Attalla152.840245.972 SR 77 – Albertville, Lincoln
153.338246.774 US 431 north (SR 1) – Albertville, Guntersville, HuntsvilleWestern end of US 431 concurrency
155.253249.855 US 11 south (SR 7 / 3rd Street SW)Western end of US 11 concurrency
155.585250.390 US 11 north (SR 7 / 3rd Street NW)Eastern end of US 11 concurrency
156.428251.746 I-59 – Birmingham, ChattanoogaI-59 exit 183
Gadsden159.707257.024 SR 211 north (Noccalula Road)Southern terminus of SR 211
161.182259.397 US 411 (SR 25 / Albert Rains Boulevard) – Centre, Rainbow City, AshvilleInterchange
161.469259.859
 SR 291 south (Hood Avenue) to I-759		Northern terminus of SR 291
163.243262.714 US 431 south (SR 1 / East Meighan Boulevard) – AnnistonEastern end of US 431 concurrency
CalhounPiedmont184.081296.250 SR 21 south (Tom Bible Memorial Highway) – Jacksonville, Anniston, Atmore, PensacolaNorthern terminus of SR 21
184.605297.093 SR 9 south (N. Main Street)Western end of SR 9 concurrency
184.693297.235 SR 9 north – CentreEastern end of SR 9 concurrency
Cherokee
 No major junctions
Cleburne​199.182320.552 US 278 east / SR 6 east – AtlantaContinuation into Georgia
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also[]

  • Blank shield.svg U.S. roads portal
  • Flag of the United States.svg United States portal

References[]

Route map:

( • help)
KML is from Wikidata
  1. ^ a b "Milepost Maps". Alabama Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  2. ^ http://cartweb.geography.ua.edu/lizardtech/iserv/calcrgn?cat=North%20America%20and%20United%20States&item=States/Alabama/State%20Roads//Alabama1955a.sid&wid=1000&hei=900&props=item(Name,Description),cat(Name,Description)&style=simple/view-dhtml.xsl
  3. ^ http://cartweb.geography.ua.edu/lizardtech/iserv/calcrgn?cat=North%20America%20and%20United%20States&item=States/Alabama/State%20Roads//Alabama1964a.sid&wid=1000&hei=900&props=item(Name,Description),cat(Name,Description)&style=simple/view-dhtml.xsl


U.S. Route 278
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