Mississippi Highway 178
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| Route information | ||||
| Auxiliary route of US 78 | ||||
| Maintained by MDOT | ||||
| Length: | 114.605 mi[1] (184.439 km) | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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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 |   I-22 / US 78 | I-22/US 78 exit 48; 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 | |||
| 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 | I-22 / US 78 | I-22/US 78 exit 81; 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 | I-22 / US 78 | I-22/US 78 exit 101; diamond interchange. | ||
| | 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 | |||
| 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
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See also
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Mississippi portal -
U.S. Roads portal
References
- ↑ Mississippi Department of Transportation Planning Division (December 31, 2011). Mississippi Public Roads Selected Statistics Extent, Travel, and Designation (PDF) (Report). Mississippi Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 10, 2014.