U.S. Route 78 in Mississippi

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 78 in Mississippi. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 78.

U.S. Highway 78 (US 78) is a 117.4 miles (188.9 km) east-west controlled-access highway in northern Mississippi. The section from its intersection with Interstate 269 (I-269) in Byhalia to the Alabama state line runs concurrently with I-22. The highway runs across the northeastern rural part of the state, connecting several population centers.

U.S. Highway 78
Route information
Maintained by MDOT
Length	117.4 mi[1] (188.9 km)
Existed	November 11, 1926–present
Major junctions
West end	US 78 / SR 4 at the Tennessee state line
Major intersections	I-22 / I-269 / MS 304 in Byhalia MS 4 / MS 7 in Holly Springs MS 178 at various locations MS 15 / MS 30 in New Albany US 45 in Tupelo MS 23 in Tremont
East end	I-22 / US 78 / SR 4 at the Alabama state line
Location
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
Counties	DeSoto, Marshall, Benton, Union, Pontotoc, Lee, Itawamba
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Mississippi State Highway System Interstate US State
← MS 76 → US 80
← MS 172 MS 178 → MS 182

Mississippi's portion of US 78 is defined in Mississippi Code Annotated § 65-3-3.

Route description

See also: Interstate 22

US 78 enters Olive Branch in DeSoto County, Mississippi from Capleville in Shelby County, Tennessee. In DeSoto County; it then has an interchanges with Craft Road, MS 302, MS 305, Bethel Road, and Red Banks Road before meeting the western terminus of I-22 at the DeSoto-Marshall line at Byhalia. I-22/US 78 bypasses the city to the southwest; exits 26 (Landfill Road) and 30 (MS 4/MS 7) provide access to the city. Continuing southeastward, the freeway than passes through the Holly Springs National Forest and into Benton County passing near several small towns that are accessible through interchanges with or connecting to MS 178. Upon exiting the forest into Union County, I-22/US 78 approaches the county seat of New Albany before passing just southwest of it with four exits (60, 61, 63, and 64) providing direct access to the city. MS 30 shares a brief concurrency with I-22/US 78 between exits 61 and 64 with the latter exit being at MS 15. To the southeast of the city near the town of Sherman in Pontotoc County, I-22/US 78 has a second brief concurrency with MS 9 starting between the exits 73 and 76. Exit 73 is a six-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange, the first non-diamond interchange on the freeway since I-22's starting point at I-269, a distance of about 61.2 miles (98.5 km). I-22/US 78 then enters Lee County and passes north of Tupelo, its county seat, with five exits (81, 82, 85, 86, and 87) connecting to the city, including an interchange with MS 178 (exit 81) northwest of Tupelo along with interchanges with the Natchez Trace Parkway (exit 85) and US 45/Corridor V (exit 86) north of the city with Corridor V becoming concurrent with I-22/US 78. The freeway then turns eastward and has an interchange with MS 371 north of Mooreville before crossing into Itawamba County. I-22/US 78/Corridor V then has an interchange with MS 178 (to MS 363) in Peppertown before crossing the Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway to its next interchange with South Adams Street (exit 104), which provides access to the community of Fulton, the county seat. MS 25 becomes concurrent with I-22/US 78/Corridor V and heads eastward along the route at the exit as well. A weigh station is also just beyond the exit. One exit later (108), MS 25 and Corridor V branch off and head northward. I-22/US 78 then turns east-southeastward with one final interchange (exit 113) with MS 23 south of Tremont before crossing into Alabama.^[1]

History

Pre-1940s

See also: Bankhead Highway

Bankhead Highway
Location	Olive Branch–Alabama state line

In 1916, the Bankhead Highway was established along modern-day MS 178 from Olive Branch in DeSoto County to Itawamba County.

Across the country, the numerous named auto trails began creating problems for motorists. Many auto trails had confusing alternate routes and were not always the most direct routes; also, multiple different auto trails often overlapped on the same roadway. During the annual meeting of the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) in San Francisco, California, in 1924, Minnesota state maintenance engineer A.H. Hinkle lobbied the organization to reorganize the nation's transcontinental highway system, suggesting a nationwide numbering system of well-located and direct interstate highways be implemented. AASHO agreed to Hinkle's ideas, passing a resolution on November 20, 1924, to develop a better organized interstate highway system. AASHO then sent a recommendation to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Howard M. Gore, to create a joint board between the Bureau of Public Roads and state highway officials from across the nation to develop a new organized system of numbered interstate highways. Gore acted on the recommendation in 1925, establishing the Joint Board on Interstate Highways.^[2]

The road that would become US 78 was established in 1926 along Bankhead Highway from Olive Branch to the Alabama state line.

Exit list

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
DeSoto	Olive Branch	0.0	0.0		US 78 west (SR 4 west) – Memphis	Continuation into Tennessee
		1.5	2.4	1	Craft Road
		2.7	4.3	2	MS 302 (Goodham Road) – Olive Branch, Southaven
		3.5	5.6	–	Weigh Station
		4.4	7.1	4	MS 305 (Cockrum Road) – Olive Branch, Independence
		5.3	8.5	–	Parking area	Closed to traffic
		6.6	10.6	6	Bethel Road / Hacks Cross Road
	​	10.2	16.4	10	Red Banks Road – Ingrams Mill, West Byhalia
DeSoto–Marshall county line	Byhalia	11.4	18.3	12	I-269 / MS 304 – Tunica, Collierville I-22 east	Western end of I-22 concurrency; exit 16 on I-269; signed as exits 12A (I-269 south, MS 304 west), 12B (I-269 north, MS 304 east)
Marshall		13.8	22.2	14	MS 309 – Byhalia
	​	18.0	29.0	18	Victoria Road – Victoria, East Byhalia
	​	21.2	34.1	21	Red Banks Road – Red Banks
	Holly Springs	25.8	41.5	26	Landfill Road – West Holly Springs, Ashland	Former MS 4/MS 7
		29.9	48.1	30	MS 4 / MS 7 – Holly Springs, Oxford	Access to Senatobia via MS 7
	​	36.9	59.4	37	CCC Road – Lake Center
	Potts Camp	41.0	66.0	41	To MS 349 – Potts Camp
Benton	Hickory Flat	47.8	76.9	48	MS 178 – Hickory Flat	Access to MS 2 and MS 5
Union	Myrtle	54.3	87.4	55	Willow Drive – Myrtle
	New Albany	60.0	96.6	60	Musford Drive – Glenfield	Connector to MS 30 and to a Walmart distribution center
		61.0	98.2	61	MS 30 west – West New Albany, Mississippi, Oxford	Western end of MS 30 concurrency
		62.4	100.4	63	Bratton Road / Carter Avenue / Central Avenue – Downtown New Albany
		63.4	102.0	64	MS 15 / MS 30 east – Pontotoc, Ripley	Eastern end of MS 30 concurrency
		72.6	116.8	73	MS 9 north – Blue Springs	Western end of MS 9 concurrency; signed as exits 73A and 73B
Pontotoc	Sherman	76.2	122.6	76	MS 9 south (MS 178) – Sherman, Pontotoc	Eastern end of MS 9 concurrency
Lee	Tupelo	80.4	129.4	81	MS 178 (McCullough Boulevard) – West Tupelo
		81.7	131.5	82	Coley Road / Barnes Crossing Road
		84.3	135.7	85	Natchez Trace Parkway
		85.7	137.9	86	US 45 (Corridor V west) – Tupelo, Corinth	Western end of Corridor V concurrency; signed as exits 86A (south) and 86B (north)
		87.2	140.3	87	Veterans Boulevard	Access to Elvis Presley birthplace
	​	89.5	144.0	90	Auburn Road
	​	93.6	150.6	94	MS 371 – Mantachie, Mooreville
Itawamba	​	96.7	155.6	97	Fawn Grove Road – Dorsey
	​	100.2	161.3	101	MS 178 / MS 363 – Peppertown, Mantachie
	Fulton	104.3	167.9	104	MS 25 south – Fulton, Amory	Western end of MS 25 concurrency, MS 178 resumes eastbound in downtown Fulton
	​	108.0	173.8	108	MS 25 north (Corridor V east) – Belmont, Iuka Corridor X ends	Eastern end of MS 25/Corridor V concurrency; western end of Corridor X concurrency; access to MS 76
	Tremont	101.4	163.2	113	MS 23 – Tremont, Smithville	MS 178 terminates eastbound at intersection with MS 23 just north of Corridor X
	​	117.4	188.9		I-22 east / US 78 east (SR 4 east) – Birmingham	Continuation into Alabama
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Closed/former       Concurrency terminus

Mississippi Highway 178

Main article: Mississippi Highway 178

Mississippi Highway 178
Old 78
Location	Olive Branch–Tremont
Length	119.1 mi[3] (191.7 km) (126.160 mi according to MDOT mileage)
Existed	1993–present

Mississippi Highway 178 (MS 178), or simply "Old 78", is a 119.1-mile-long (191.7 km) east-west state highway across the northern portion of the state of Mississippi. It is the former alignment of US 78, used from the 1940s until the 1990s.^[3] With the exception of a break at the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway in Fulton, MS 178 is a complete route from Memphis, Tennessee, to the Alabama state line.

See also

• Mississippi portal
• U.S. Roads portal