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

Numbered Highways in Mississippi

Interstates
US
State
Unsigned

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MS 172

MS 182

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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

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

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Desoto	Olive Branch	0.0	0.0	Lamar Road	Road continues as Lamar Road into Tennessee
Marshall	Byhalia	13.2	21.2	MS 703 (Church Street)	Western terminus of MS 703
		13.7	22.0	MS 309
		14.8	23.8	MS 703 (Quinn Mill Road)	Eastern terminus of MS 703
	Holly Springs	26.1– 26.2	42.0– 42.2	Landfill Road	Partial cloverleaf interchange
		28.9	46.5	MS 7 (North Memphis Street)	Western terminus of MS 7 concurrency
		29.6	47.6	MS 4 / MS 7 (East Van Dorn Avenue)	Western terminus of MS 4 concurrency; Eastern terminus of MS 7 concurrency
		29.9	48.1	MS 4 (North Randolph Street)	Eastern terminus of MS 4 concurrency
	Potts Camp	42.3	68.1	MS 701 (South Mulberry Street)	Western terminus of MS 701
		42.4	68.2	MS 349 (South Center Street)	Northern terminus of MS 349
		42.7	68.7	MS 701 (East Front Avenue)	Eastern terminus of MS 701
Benton	Hickory Flat	48.6– 48.8	78.2– 78.5	US 78	Diamond interchange
		49.4	79.5	MS 705 (Wolf Street)	Western terminus of MS 705
		49.8	80.1	MS 5 / MS 705 (Crum Street)	Southern terminus of MS 5; Western terminus of MS 705
Union	Myrtle	56.1	90.3	MS 761 (Springdale Avenue)	Southern terminus of MS 761
	New Albany	62.8	101.1	MS 30	Eastern terminus of MS 30
	New Albany	64.9	104.4	MS 15
	Blue Springs	74.1	119.3	MS 9
Pontotoc	Sherman	77.5	124.7	MS 778	Eastern terminus of MS 778
Lee	Tupelo	81.9– 82.1	131.8– 132.1	US 78	Diamond interchange
		85.9– 86.2	138.2– 138.7	Natchez Trace Parkway
		86.5– 86.6	139.2– 139.4	Country Club Road	Diamond interchange
		87.0– 87.2	140.0– 140.3	MS 145 (North Gloster Street)	Western terminus of MS 145 concurrency; Partial cloverleaf interchange
		88.2	141.9	US 278 / MS 6 / MS 145 (West Main Street)	Western terminus of US 278 and MS 6 concurrency; Eastern terminus of MS 145 concurrency
		88.7	142.7	MS 769 (North Green Street)
		89.4– 89.5	143.9– 144.0	US 45 / US 278	Eastern terminus of US 278 concurrency; Diamond interchange
		90.2	145.2	MS 6 (Briar Ridge Road)	Eastern terminus of MS 6 concurrency
	Mooreville	96.3	155.0	MS 371
Itawamba		102.9– 103.1	165.6– 165.9	US 78	Diamond interchange
Itawamba		105.2	169.3	Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway
Gap in route
Itawamba	Fulton	105.2	169.3	North Access Road
		110.9	178.5	MS 25
	Tremont	115.3	185.6	MS 23	Western terminus of MS 23 concurrency
	Tremont	115.7	186.2	MS 23	Eastern terminus of MS 23 concurrency
		119.3	192.0	Dead end
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus