U.S. Route 278 in Alabama

U.S. Route 278
State Route 74
Route information
Maintained by ALDOT
Length:	199.182 mi (320.552 km)
Major junctions
West end:	US 278 towards Amory, Mississippi
	US 43 in Guin I‑22 / US 78 near Hamilton I‑65 in Cullman US 31 in Cullman US 231 in rural Blount County US 431 west of Attalla US 11 in Attalla I‑59 in Attalla US 411 in Gadsden
East end:	US 278 towards Atlanta, Georgia
Location
Counties:	Marion, Winston, Cullman, Blount, Etowah, Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Replaced Alabama Highways Interstate US State ← SR 277 SR 279 → ← SR 73 SR-74 SR 75 →

U.S. Route 278 Business
Location:	Piedmont

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

For the most part, US 278 and SR 74 are routed parallel to US 78, along the north side of that highway. The only section of SR 74 that is signed as an independent route is along the former route of US 78 between the interchange with Interstate 22 (I-22) and downtown Hamilton, a distance of approximately 5 miles (8.0 km). East of Hamilton, SR 74 is partnered with US 278.

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

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Wikipedia