Mississippi Highway 178

MS Highway 178 marker

MS Highway 178
Route information
Auxiliary route of US 78
Maintained by MDOT
Length: 114.605 mi[1] (184.439 km)
Highway system
MS 172MS 182

Mississippi Highway 178 (MS 178), or simply "Old 78", is a state highway maintained by the Mississippi Department of Transportation. It is the former alignment of U.S. Route 78, used from the 1940s until the 1990s. With the exception of a break at the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway at Fulton, MS 178 is a complete route from Memphis, Tennessee, to the Alabama State line.

History

Highway 178 in Tremont

MS 178 closely parallels both the current US 78 and the old Bankhead Highway, a macadam highway designated as part of US 78 in 1926, and used from then until the 1930s. In the 1940s, the Mississippi portion of US 78 was upgraded to a uniform two-lane highway, In some Mississippi towns, such as New Albany, the "new" US 78 routing followed the old Bankhead Highway, and thus became part of MS 178.

In some parts of North Mississippi, "Bankhead Road" or "Bankhead Street" identifies sections of the original (pre 1940's) US 78 highway.

In the 1980s US 78 began to be upgraded further, albeit in stages, into a four-lane, interstate-style route, bypassing parts of the original 1940's US 78 alignment. For instance, in 1990, the Mississippi portion of US 78 followed the 1940s two-lane from the Alabama state line to the Clay community, then joined four-lane US 78 to New Albany, reverted to the 1940s two-lane from New Albany to Holly Springs, then four-lane from Holly Springs to Memphis. By 2000, the entire length of US 78 in Mississippi was four-lane, and parts of old US 78 were reconditioned for use as MS 178.

In Mississippi, unlike Alabama or Tennessee, MS 178 and US 78 are totally separate routes.

The Elvis Connection

Although it is true the Presley family used US 78 to travel from Tupelo to Memphis, the current routing of US 78 was not the one used. In order to recreate the actual route used to make the move, MS 178 is the route used, as it was the main highway used in 1948.

Major intersections

CountyLocationmikmDestinationsNotes
DesotoOlive Branch0.00.0Lamar RoadRoad continues as Lamar Road into Tennessee
MarshallByhalia13.221.2 MS 703 (Church Street)Western terminus of MS 703
13.722.0 MS 309
14.823.8 MS 703 (Quinn Mill Road)Eastern terminus of MS 703
Holly Springs26.1–
26.2
42.0–
42.2
Landfill RoadPartial cloverleaf interchange
28.946.5 MS 7 (North Memphis Street)Western terminus of MS 7 concurrency
29.647.6 MS 4 / MS 7 (East Van Dorn Avenue)Western terminus of MS 4 concurrency; Eastern terminus of MS 7 concurrency
29.948.1 MS 4 (North Randolph Street)Eastern terminus of MS 4 concurrency
Potts Camp42.368.1 MS 701 (South Mulberry Street)Western terminus of MS 701
42.468.2 MS 349 (South Center Street)Northern terminus of MS 349
42.768.7 MS 701 (East Front Avenue)Eastern terminus of MS 701
BentonHickory Flat48.6–
48.8
78.2–
78.5
US 78I-22/US 78 exit 48; Diamond interchange.
49.479.5 MS 705 (Wolf Street)Western terminus of MS 705
49.880.1 MS 5 / MS 705 (Crum Street)Southern terminus of MS 5; Western terminus of MS 705
UnionMyrtle56.190.3 MS 761 (Springdale Avenue)Southern terminus of MS 761
New Albany62.8101.1 MS 30Eastern terminus of MS 30
64.9104.4 MS 15
Blue Springs74.1119.3 MS 9
PontotocSherman77.5124.7 MS 778Eastern terminus of MS 778
LeeTupelo81.9–
82.1
131.8–
132.1
US 78I-22/US 78 exit 81; diamond interchange.
85.9–
86.2
138.2–
138.7
Natchez Trace Parkway
86.5–
86.6
139.2–
139.4
Country Club RoadDiamond interchange
87.0–
87.2
140.0–
140.3
MS 145 (North Gloster Street)Western terminus of MS 145 concurrency; Partial cloverleaf interchange
88.2141.9 US 278 / MS 6 / MS 145 (West Main Street)Western terminus of US 278 and MS 6 concurrency; Eastern terminus of MS 145 concurrency
88.7142.7 MS 769 (North Green Street)
89.4–
89.5
143.9–
144.0
US 45 / US 278Eastern terminus of US 278 concurrency; Diamond interchange
90.2145.2 MS 6 (Briar Ridge Road)Eastern terminus of MS 6 concurrency
Mooreville96.3155.0 MS 371
Itawamba 102.9–
103.1
165.6–
165.9
US 78I-22/US 78 exit 101; diamond interchange.
 105.2169.3Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway
Gap in route
ItawambaFulton105.2169.3North Access Road
 110.9178.5 MS 25
Tremont115.3185.6 MS 23Western terminus of MS 23 concurrency
115.7186.2 MS 23Eastern terminus of MS 23 concurrency
 119.3192.0Dead end
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. Mississippi Department of Transportation Planning Division (December 31, 2011). Mississippi Public Roads Selected Statistics Extent, Travel, and Designation (PDF) (Report). Mississippi Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 10, 2014.

External links


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, February 06, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.