U.S. Route 72

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U.S. Route 72

Length:

337 mi^[1] (542 km)

Formed:

1926^[1]

West end:

US 64/70 at Memphis, TN

Major
junctions:

I-65 at Athens, AL

US 231 at Huntsville, AL

East end:

US 11/41 at Chattanooga, TN

United States Numbered Highways

U.S. Highway 72 is an east-west United States highway that runs for 337 miles (542 km) from southeast Tennessee through northern Alabama and northern Mississippi to southwest Tennessee.

1 Route summary
2 Termini
3 Alternate routes
4 Corridor V
5 States traversed
6 Notable cities on the route
7 Notes
8 See also
9 References

[edit] Route summary

[edit] Tennessee

US Highway 72 begins at the corner of Main Street and Broad Street in Chattanooga and follows Broad Street to the south multiplexed with US 11 South, US 41 North and US 64 West. US 76 also ends at this intersection on Main Street. The route follows the bluffs on Lookout Mountain above the Tennessee River. US 11 separates just before the second junction of Interstate 24. The route then follows a cut in the Cumberland Plateau made by the Tennessee River. The highways cross the Tennessee River on Nickajack Lake just east of Jasper. US 41 separates from US 72 at Jasper, and US 64 separates at Kimbell. US 72 enters Alabama just south of South Pittsburg. US 72 originally went through downtown South Pittsburg on Cedar Avenue.

[edit] Alabama

US 72 follows a southwesterly route into Alabama from Tennessee to Scottsboro and the follows several mountain valleys to Huntsville. It then crosses mostly farmland west through Athens to Florence where it crosses the Tennessee River and enters Mississippi just west of Cherokee.

Much of US 72 has been upgraded through northeast Alabama, with interchanges at the major state highways, and the entire route through the state is four lanes. Just west of Moores Mill Road in Huntsville, US 72 becomes limited access over Chapman Mountain. Alternate US 72 diverges with Interstate 565 at Huntsville and continues to travel to Decatur where it turns towards Muscle Shoals.

Through Alabama, US 72 is paired with unsigned State Route 2.

[edit] Historical routes in Alabama

State Route 277 from the state line with Tennessee through Bridgeport to Stevenson. This was the last two lane section of US 72.
State Route 279 east of Downtown Scottsboro.
State Route 35 west of Scottsboro to Woodville
Until 1931 US 72 followed a route into Huntsville from Paint Rock through Big Cove, before its present routing over Chapman Mountain.
Andrew Jackson Way in Huntsville to Holmes Avenue.
Holmes Avenue in Huntsville.
In the 1960's US 72 was temporarily routed down Sparkman Drive.
Clinton and Washington Streets in Athens and this was signed as Business 72 into the 1980's.
Old Lee Highway and Main Street in Tuscumbia.
County Road through Cherokee.

[edit] Mississippi

US 72 enters Mississippi near the town of Iuka leaving the Tennessee Valley crossing the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway near Burnsville and following rolling hills across the extreme northern part of the state passing through Corinth and Walnut before crossing into Tennessee in western Marshall County.

Most of US 72 in Mississippi has been upgraded to four lane highway.

[edit] Historical routes in Mississippi

Tishomingo County Road 172 / Quitman Street through Iuka before being bypassed in the mid 1980s.
An Old US 72 exists south of US 72 between Burnsville and Glen.
US 72 also followed Alcorn County Road 218 and entered Corith on Proper Street.
Until 1935 US 72 followed US 45, now Polk Street / Mississippi State Route 145 north into Tennessee.
The original 1935 routing west of Cornith followed Mississippi State Route 2 / Kossuth Road to Kossuth before turning west.
An Old US 72 exists south of US 72 in Benton County from just west of the Tippah County line to just east of the Wolf River near Canaan. The bridge across the Wolf River is closed. The continuation of this segment west of Wolf River to Mississippi State Route 5 is signed Wyatt Road.

[edit] Tennessee

Map showing the west end of US 72 in Memphis, TN

Just after US 72 enters Tennessee just south of Collierville it junctions State Route 385, the Bill Morris Parkway, a freeway which links Collierville with I-240. From Collierville US 72 follows Poplar Avenue and Union Avenue into Memphis, ending at Bellevue Boulevard (U.S. Route 51).

[edit] Historical routes in western Tennessee

Originally US 72 followed US 45 to Selmer and followed a route west to Memphis.
In 1931, US 64 replaced US 72 between Memphis and Selmer.
In 1935 US 72 was routed to Memphis through Mississippi from Corinth removing the extension on US 45 to Selmer.
As late as the early 1970s, US 72 followed Poplar Ave. from Collierville to its western terminus at East Parkway N. (which carried the U.S. Highways 64, 70, and 79, as well as State Route 1.)

[edit] Termini

As of 2004, the highway's eastern terminus is Chattanooga, Tennessee. Its western terminus is Memphis, Tennessee. It is the only US Highway to have both termini in the same state, yet pass through other states in between.

[edit] Alternate routes

An Alternate US 72 exists in Alabama on the south side of the Tennessee River between Muscle Shoals and Decatur. Alternate 72 crosses the Tennessee River at Decatur along with U.S. Highway 31 and follows the entire route of Interstate 565. AL 20 was co-signed with Alternate US 72 from Muscle Shoals to Huntsville. AL 20 has since been truncated to the junction of I-65 just east of Decatur. Originally, Alternate US 72 turned off of AL 20 on to AL 53 / Jordan Lane in Huntsville and followed it north 1 mile to rejoin with US 72. With the completion of I-565 in the early 1990s, Alt US 72 was routed along with I-565 to the termination of I-565 at US 72.

[edit] Corridor V

Corridor V and U.S. Highway 72 banner

Corridor V is part of the Appalachian Development Highway System and follows the path of U.S. 72 between Huntsville, Alabama and South Pittsburg, Tennessee and Alternate U.S. 72 between Decatur and Huntsville Alabama. Most of that section is a four-lane divided expressway with at-grade intersections.

[edit] States traversed

The highway passes through the following states:

[edit] Notable cities on the route

[edit] Notes

US 72 ends at the same intersection as U.S. Highway 76 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, making one highway in essence a continuation of the other.

[edit] See also

List of U.S. Routes

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b US Highways from US 1 to US 830 Robert V. Droz

Rand McNally Road Atlases 1926 - 2006

		edit Main U.S. Routes
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
40	41	42	43	44	45	46		48	49	50	51	52	53	54	55	56	57	58	59
60	61	62	63	64	65	66	67	68	69	70	71	72	73	74	75	76	77	78	79
80	81	82	83	84	85		87		89	90	91	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99
101		163						400				412				425
Lists		U.S. Routes - Bannered - Divided - Replaced