U.S. Route 278 in Alabama

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 (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.

U.S. Route 278
State Route 74
US 278 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of US 78
Maintained by ALDOT
Length	199.182 mi[1] (320.552 km)
Major junctions
West end	US 278 towards Amory, Mississippi and Tupelo, Mississippi
Major intersections	US 43 in Guin and Hamilton I-22 / US 78 near Hamilton I-65 in Cullman US 31 in Cullman US 231 in Blountsville US 431 west of Attalla US 11 in Attalla I-59 in Attalla US 411 in Gadsden
East end	US 278 / SR 6 towards Cedartown, Georgia and Atlanta, Georgia
Location
Country	United States
State	Alabama
Counties	Lamar, Marion, Winston, Cullman, Blount, Etowah, Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Alabama State Highway System Interstate US State
← SR 277 US 278 → SR 279 ← SR 73 SR 74 → SR 75

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 Whitehouse 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]

The routing of U.S. Route 278 in between Double Springs and Cullman has witnessed several minor changes from 1955 to the present day. From its creation until at least 1985, the route followed present-day Winston County Roads 3800 and 3700, crossing Brushy Creek at a now-abandoned bridge before climbing up to join its present-day route into Addison. On the east side of Addison, the route followed Main Street, descending down and crossing Blevens Creek at another abandoned bridge before rejoining the modern-day route.^[4] Both of these routings have been replaced with straighter routings. On the west side of Cullman, the route previously descended down into a hollow where it proceeded to cross Vest Creek before climbing up the hollow and rejoining the modern-day routing; this routing was replaced in 2012 with a much straighter bridge across the same creek.^[5] Until at least 1997, the route followed 4th Street into Cullman, where it engaged in a short concurrency with U.S. Route 31 before rejoining the modern-day route; this was replaced with the modern-day routing along 3rd Street.^[5]

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.

U.S. Route 278 Business
Location	Piedmont
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

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Lamar	​	0.000	0.000	US 278 west – Tupelo SR 118 begins	Continuation into Mississippi; western end of SR 118 concurrency
	Sulligent	5.741	9.239	SR 17 – Vernon, Hamilton
Marion	Guin	17.785	28.622	SR 142 east	Western terminus of SR 142
		19.408	31.234	SR 107 south – Fayette	Northern terminus of SR 107
		19.692	31.691	US 43 south / SR 118 west / SR 171 south (11th Avenue East) / SR 142 west (11th Avenue West) – Winfield	Southern end of US 43 and SR 171 concurrencies; eastern end of SR 118 concurrency
	Hamilton	28.054	45.149	I-22 / US 78 (SR 4) – Tupelo, Birmingham	I-22/US 78 exit 16
		32.811	52.804	SR 17 south / SR 171 ends – Vernon	Southern end of SR 17 concurrency; northern end of SR 171 concurrency
		33.163	53.371	US 43 north / SR 17 north (Military Street North) / SR 74 west (Bexar Avenue West) – Hackleburg	Northern end of US 43 and SR 17 concurrencies; western end of SR 74 concurrency
	​	43.486	69.984	SR 253 – Hackleburg, Winfield
	​	47.781	76.896	SR 241 north to SR 129 – Phil Campbell	Southern terminus of SR 241
	​	48.342	77.799	SR 129 – Haleyville, Brilliant, Fayette
Winston	Natural Bridge	56.402	90.770	SR 13 south – Tuscaloosa	Western end of SR 13 concurrency
		56.857	91.502	SR 5 south / SR 13 north – Russellville, Jasper	Eastern end of SR 13 concurrency; northern terminus of SR 5
	Double Springs	69.277	111.491	SR 195 north – Haleyville	Western end of SR 195 concurrency
		69.742	112.239	SR 33 north / SR 195 south – Double Springs, Moulton	Eastern end of SR 195 concurrency; southern terminus of SR 33
Cullman	Cullman	105.738	170.169	I-65 – Birmingham, Huntsville	I-65 exit 308
		107.674	173.285	US 31 (SR 3 / 2nd Avenue SW) / SR 69	Western end of SR 69 concurrency
		110.736	178.212	SR 69 north – Arab, Guntersville	Eastern end of SR 69 concurrency
		111.173	178.916	SR 157 north / CR 719 south – Moulton, Muscle Shoals, Florence	Southern terminus of SR 157
	Holly Pond	120.978	194.695	SR 91 south – Hanceville, Garden City	Northern terminus of SR 91
Blount	​	126.822	204.100	US 231 (SR 53) – Arab, Birmingham
	Brooksville	129.322	208.124	SR 79 – Guntersville, Birmingham
	Snead	134.880	217.068	SR 75 – Albertville, Oneonta
Etowah	​	146.360	235.544	SR 132 west – Altoona, Oneonta	Eastern terminus of SR 132
	​	148.539	239.050	SR 179 north	Southern terminus of SR 179
	Attalla	152.840	245.972	SR 77 – Albertville, Lincoln
		153.338	246.774	US 431 north (SR 1) – Albertville, Guntersville, Huntsville	Western end of US 431 concurrency
		155.253	249.855	US 11 south (SR 7 / 3rd Street SW)	Western end of US 11 concurrency
		155.585	250.390	US 11 north (SR 7 / 3rd Street NW)	Eastern end of US 11 concurrency
		156.428	251.746	I-59 – Birmingham, Chattanooga	I-59 exit 183
	Gadsden	159.707	257.024	SR 211 north (Noccalula Road)	Southern terminus of SR 211
		161.182	259.397	US 411 (SR 25 / Albert Rains Boulevard) – Centre, Rainbow City, Ashville	Interchange
		161.469	259.859	SR 291 south (Hood Avenue) to I-759	Northern terminus of SR 291
		163.243	262.714	US 431 south (SR 1 / East Meighan Boulevard) – Anniston	Eastern end of US 431 concurrency
Calhoun	Piedmont	184.081	296.250	SR 21 south (Tom Bible Memorial Highway) – Jacksonville, Anniston, Atmore, Pensacola	Northern terminus of SR 21
		184.605	297.093	SR 9 south (N. Main Street)	Western end of SR 9 concurrency
		184.693	297.235	SR 9 north – Centre	Eastern end of SR 9 concurrency
Cherokee	No major junctions
Cleburne	​	199.182	320.552	US 278 east / SR 6 east – Atlanta	Continuation into Georgia
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

State Route 74

State Route 74
Bexar Avenue W
Location	Hamilton
Length	4.9 mi (7.9 km) Signed Segment
Existed	1934–present

State Route 74 (SR 74) exists mostly as the unsigned state route for all of US 278 throughout the state, east of Hamilton. It is signed however along a separate 4.9-mile-long (7.9 km) east-west segment in Marion County. Consisting of the former alignment of US 78 on the western side of town, it connects Hamilton with I-22. It is entirely a rural, two-lane highway except within Hamilton, where it is an undivided four-lane boulevard and is known as Bexar Avenue W.^[6]

The entire route is in Marion County.

Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Fikes Crossing	0.0– 0.2	0.0– 0.32	I-22 (SR 4) / US 78 – Birmingham, Tupelo CR 94 west – Bexar	Western terminus; I-22/US 78 exit 7; road continues (along with former US 78) as CR 94 west
	0.3	0.48	SR 19 – Sulligent, Vina, Red Bay
Hamilton	4.9	7.9	US 278 west / US 43 / SR 17 (Military Street)	Western end of US 278 concurrency; SR 74 becomes unsigned
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

See also

• U.S. roads portal
• United States portal

References

Template:Attached KML/U.S. Route 278 in Alabama

KML is from Wikidata

1. "Milepost Maps". Alabama Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
2. "Alabama Highways". cartweb.geography.ua.edu. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
3. "Alabama State Roads". cartweb.geography.ua.edu. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
4. "AL Addison 303079 1969 24000 Geography". ngmdb.usgs.gova. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
5. "Historic Aerials: Viewer".
6. "Map of signed Alabama State Route 74" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved July 25, 2024.

U.S. Route 278
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