U.S. Route 278 in Alabama

U.S. Route 278
State Route 74
Route information
Maintained by ALDOT
Length:	199.182 mi[1] (320.552 km)
Major junctions
West end:	US 278 towards Amory, MS
	I‑22 / US-78 near Hamilton I‑65 in Cullman I‑59 in Attalla
East end:	US 278 towards Atlanta, GA
Location
Counties:	Marion, Winston, Cullman, Blount, Etowah, Cherokee, Cleburne
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List Bannered Divided Replaced Alabama State Routes Interstate US State ← SR-277 SR-279 → ← SR-73 SR-74 SR-75 →

U.S. Highway 278 (US-278), mostly internally designated by the Alabama Department of Transportation as State Route 74 (SR-74), is a major east–west state highway across the northern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. West of Hamilton, SR-74 continues west to end at US-78 (SR-4), while US-278 turns south along US-43 (SR-17 and SR-171) to Guin, where it turns west along SR-118 to Mississippi.

Route description

For the most part, US-278 and SR-74 are routed parallel to U.S. Highway 78, along the north side of it. The only section of State Route 74 that is signed as an independent route is along the former route of US-78 between the interchange with Corridor X/Future Interstate 22 and downtown Hamilton, a distance of approximately five miles. East of Hamilton, SR-74 is partnered with U.S. Highway 278.

Until the mid-1980s, a Business U.S. 278 existed in the city of Piedmont. U.S. 278 is carried on a four lane segment that bypasses the center of Piedmont. The Business U.S. 278 routing began where the four lane segment begins on the northeast side of Piedmont, then ran southwest into the center of the city and junctioned with Alabama State Route 9 and then ran north co-signed with Alabama 9 until junctioning with the 4 lane U.S 278 on the northern edge of the city.

History

During the 1960s–1980s, there were some different variations of the routing of U.S. 278 through the cities of Gadsden and Attalla, however construction of fourlane segments on the western side of Gadsden and in Attalla allowed the route to be placed on its current route which has been in place since the mid-1980s.

A four-laning project is ongoing east of Gadsden near the town of Hokes Bluff.

Junction list

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Lamar		0.000	0.000	US 278 west / SR-118 begins – Tupelo	Continuation into Mississippi; western end of SR-118 overlap
	Sulligent	5.741	9.239	SR-17 – Vernon, Hamilton
Marion	Guin	17.785	28.622	SR-142 east
		19.408	31.234	SR-107 south – Fayette
		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 overlaps; eastern end of SR-118 overlap
	Hamilton	28.054	45.149	I‑22 / US-78 – Tupelo, Birmingham
		32.811	52.804	SR-17 south / SR-171 ends – Vernon	Southern end of SR-17 overlap; northern end of SR-171 overlap
		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 overlaps; western end of SR-74 overlap
		43.486	69.984	SR-253 – Hackleburg, Winfield
		47.781	76.896	SR-241 north to SR-129 – Phil Campbell
		48.342	77.799	SR-129 – Haleyville, Fayette
Winston	Natural Bridge	56.402	90.770	SR-13 south – Tuscaloosa	Western end of SR-13 overlap
		56.857	91.502	SR-5 south / SR-13 north – Russellville, Jasper	Eastern end of SR-13 overlap
	Double Springs	69.277	111.491	SR-195 north – Haleyville	Western end of SR-195 overlap
		69.742	112.239	SR-33 north / SR-195 south – Double Springs, Moulton	Eastern end of SR-195 overlap
Cullman	Cullman	105.738	170.169	I‑65 – Birmingham, Huntsville
		107.674	173.285	US-31 (2nd Avenue SW) / SR-69 south	Western end of SR-69 overlap
		110.736	178.212	SR-69 north – Arab, Guntersville	Eastern end of SR-69 overlap
		111.173	178.916	SR-157 north
	Holly Pond	120.978	194.695	SR-91 south – Hanceville, Garden City
Blount		126.822	204.100	US-231 – 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
		148.539	239.050	SR-179 north
	Attalla	152.840	245.972	SR-77 – Albertville, Lincoln
		153.338	246.774	US-431 north – Albertville	Western end of US-431 overlap
		155.253	249.855	US-11 south (3rd Street SW)	Western end of US-11 overlap
		155.585	250.390	US-11 north (3rd Street NW)	Eastern end of US-11 overlap
		156.428	251.746	I‑59 – Birmingham, Chattanooga
	Gadsden	159.707	257.024	SR-211 north (Noccalula Road)
		161.182	259.397	US-411 – Centre, Rainbow City, Ashville	Interchange
		161.469	259.859	SR-291 south
		163.243	262.714	US-431 south – Anniston	Eastern end of US-431 overlap
Calhoun	Piedmont	184.081	296.250	SR-200 south – Jacksonville, Anniston
		184.605	297.093	SR-9 south (N. Main Street)	Western end of SR-9 overlap
		184.693	297.235	SR-9 north – Centre	Eastern end of SR-9 overlap
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

References