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 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 SR 1 until Third Street/B.B. King Boulevard. US 61 turns south onto SR 14 (Third Street) at this intersection. US 64, US 70, US 79 and SR 1 turn north onto SR 4 (Danny Thomas Boulevard), while southbound SR 4 becomes concurrent with US 78 and continues along E.H. Crump Boulevard. Around I-240, the road changes names to Lamar Avenue and continues southeastwardly to the Mississippi state line.[1]
Before the extension of this roadway into Arkansas, US 78 ran along MLK Avenue (formerly Linden Street) and Somerville Street until E. H. Crump Boulevard, turning onto Lamar Avenue. This former portion of US 78 was overlapped in its entirety by State Route 278 (SR 278).
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 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.
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.[2]
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.
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 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.[3]
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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.[citation needed]
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 11 miles (18 km) eastward to its terminus at I-65.[5]
US 78 and SR 4 in Memphis, Tennessee is currently being upgraded between the Mississippi state line and SR 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]
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