Alabama State Route 73

State Route 73
Route information
Maintained by ALDOT
Length: 11.219 mi[1] (18.055 km)
Major junctions
South end: SR-71 at Higdon
North end: SR-377 near South Pittsburg, TN
Highway system

Alabama State Routes

← US-72 SR-74 →

State Route 73, also known as SR-73, is a numbered state highway in Alabama. The route runs 11.219 miles (18.055 km) from SR-71 in Higdon north to the Tennessee border, where it becomes State Route 377 (SR-377). SR-73 passes through rural areas in eastern Jackson County, serving the community of Bryant, Alabama.

The SR-73 designation was first used for present-day CR 29 between Piedmont in Calhoun County and Forney in Cherokee County, existing in the 1930s and 1940s. In the 1950s, SR-207 was briefly assigned to the road between Higdon and Bryant before it received the SR-73 designation. SR-73 was extended in the 1980s north to the Tennessee state line to connect to SR-377.

Contents

Route description

SR-73 begins at an intersection with SR-71 in the community of Higdon, Alabama, heading north on a two-lane undivided road. The route heads through rural areas of farms and woods with some homes, curving to the northwest. The road heads north again as it crosses under several power lines radiating from the Widows Creek Power Plant along the Tennessee River. SR-73 continues northeast past homes and businesses in the Bryant, Alabama area on top of Sand Mountain prior to going north through more forested areas with a few rural homes. The route passes through a mix of farm and woodland before it turns east into forests. SR-73 makes a sharp curve north again to traverse Sand Mountain as it comes to the Tennessee border. At this point, the road continues into Tennessee as SR-377, which ascends Sand Mountain to end at SR-156, east of South Pittsburg, Tennessee.[1][2][3]

History

The SR-73 designation was first assigned in 1934 to an unimproved road connecting SR-74 in Piedmont and SR-62 in Forney, passing through Spring Garden and Rock Run, Alabama.[4] By 1948, this road was removed from the state highway system, becoming CR 29 in Calhoun and Cherokee counties by 1955.[5][6] What would become the current SR-73 south of Bryant became a part of SR-207 by 1955; at this time, the portion of road was a paved highway.[6] SR-207 was redesignated SR-73 by 1957.[7] By 1987, SR-73 was extended north from Bryant to the Tennessee border.[8]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Jackson County.

Location Mile[1] Destinations Notes
Higdon 0.000 SR-71
Bryant 11.219 SR-377 north Tennessee border
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ^ a b c Alabama Department of Transportation (PDF). Milepost Map Jackson County, Alabama (Map) (1999 ed.). http://aldotgis.dot.state.al.us/milepostinternet/default.aspx. Retrieved March 27, 2011. 
  2. ^ Alabama Department of Transportation (PDF). General Highway Map Jackson County, Alabama (Map) (2006 ed.). http://aldotgis.dot.state.al.us/milepostinternet/default.aspx. Retrieved March 27, 2011. 
  3. ^ Google, Inc. Google Maps – overview of Alabama State Route 73 (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Alabama+71+%26+Alabama+73,+Long+Island,+Jackson,+Alabama+35979&daddr=alabama+73+and+tennessee+377&hl=en&geocode=FTLmEwIdt6Tl-im5YaGPurRhiDELBOcS-HTThQ%3BFZbSFQId9azl-ilrF5UKN61hiDEsN3a3XJm0gg&mra=ls&sll=34.926475,-85.630531&sspn=0.126387,0.338173&ie=UTF8&ll=34.92169,-85.623322&spn=0.126394,0.338173&t=h&z=12. Retrieved March 27, 2011. 
  4. ^ General Drafting. State Road Map of Alabama (Map) (1934 ed.). http://cartweb.geography.ua.edu:9001/StyleServer/calcrgn?cat=North%20America%20and%20United%20States&item=States/Alabama/State%20Roads/Alabama1934a.sid&wid=500&hei=400&props=item%28Name,Description%29,cat%28Name,Description%29&style=simple/view-dhtml.xsl. Retrieved March 27, 2011. 
  5. ^ Alabama State Highway Department. Alabama Highways (Map) (1948 ed.). http://cartweb.geography.ua.edu:9001/StyleServer/calcrgn?cat=North%20America%20and%20United%20States&item=States/Alabama/State%20Roads/Alabama1948a.sid&wid=500&hei=400&props=item%28Name,Description%29,cat%28Name,Description%29&style=simple/view-dhtml.xsl. Retrieved March 27, 2011. 
  6. ^ a b Alabama State Highway Department. Alabama Highways (Map) (1955 ed.). http://cartweb.geography.ua.edu:9001/StyleServer/calcrgn?cat=North%20America%20and%20United%20States&item=States/Alabama/State%20Roads/Alabama1955a.sid&wid=500&hei=400&props=item%28Name,Description%29,cat%28Name,Description%29&style=simple/view-dhtml.xsl. Retrieved March 27, 2011. 
  7. ^ Alabama State Highway Department. Official 1957 Alabama Highway Map (Map) (1957 ed.). http://cartweb.geography.ua.edu:9001/StyleServer/calcrgn?cat=North%20America%20and%20United%20States&item=States/Alabama/State%20Roads/Alabama1957a.sid&wid=500&hei=400&props=item%28Name,Description%29,cat%28Name,Description%29&style=simple/view-dhtml.xsl. Retrieved March 27, 2011. 
  8. ^ Alabama State Highway Department. Official Alabama Highway Map, 1987-88 (Map) (1987 ed.). http://cartweb.geography.ua.edu:9001/StyleServer/calcrgn?cat=North%20America%20and%20United%20States&item=States/Alabama/State%20Roads/Alabama1987a.sid&wid=500&hei=400&props=item%28Name,Description%29,cat%28Name,Description%29&style=simple/view-dhtml.xsl. Retrieved March 27, 2011. 

External links

Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Alabama_State_Route_73 Alabama State Route 73] at Wikimedia Commons