# U.S. Route 78 in Mississippi

U.S. Highway 78 (US 78) is a 117.4 miles (188.9 km) east-west controlled-access highway in northern Mississippi. The section from its intersection with Interstate 269 (I-269) in Byhalia to the Alabama state line runs concurrently with I-22. The highway runs across the northeastern rural part of the state, connecting several population centers.
Mississippi's portion of US 78 is defined in Mississippi Code Annotated § 65-3-3.

## Route description

US 78 enters Olive Branch in DeSoto County, Mississippi from Capleville in Shelby County, Tennessee. In DeSoto County; it then has an interchanges with Craft Road, MS 302, MS 305, Bethel Road, and Red Banks Road before meeting the western terminus of I-22 at the DeSoto-Marshall line at Byhalia. I-22/US 78 bypasses the city to the southwest; exits 26 (Landfill Road) and 30 (MS 4/MS 7) provide access to the city. Continuing southeastward, the freeway than passes through the Holly Springs National Forest and into Benton County passing near several small towns that are accessible through interchanges with or connecting to MS 178. Upon exiting the forest into Union County, I-22/US 78 approaches the county seat of New Albany before passing just southwest of it with four exits (60, 61, 63, and 64) providing direct access to the city. MS 30 shares a brief concurrency with I-22/US 78 between exits 61 and 64 with the latter exit being at MS 15. To the southeast of the city near the town of Sherman in Pontotoc County, I-22/US 78 has a second brief concurrency with MS 9 starting between the exits 73 and 76. Exit 73 is a six-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange, the first non-diamond interchange on the freeway since I-22's starting point at I-269, a distance of about 61.2 miles (98.5 km). I-22/US 78 then enters Lee County and passes north of Tupelo, its county seat, with five exits (81, 82, 85, 86, and 87) connecting to the city, including an interchange with MS 178 (exit 81) northwest of Tupelo along with interchanges with the Natchez Trace Parkway (exit 85) and US 45/Corridor V (exit 86) north of the city with Corridor V becoming concurrent with I-22/US 78. The freeway then turns eastward and has an interchange with MS 371 north of Mooreville before crossing into Itawamba County. I-22/US 78/Corridor V then has an interchange with MS 178 (to MS 363) in Peppertown before crossing the Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway to its next interchange with South Adams Street (exit 104), which provides access to the community of Fulton, the county seat. MS 25 becomes concurrent with I-22/US 78/Corridor V and heads eastward along the route at the exit as well. A weigh station is also just beyond the exit. One exit later (108), MS 25 and Corridor V branch off and head northward. I-22/US 78 then turns east-southeastward with one final interchange (exit 113) with MS 23 south of Tremont before crossing into Alabama.

## History
### Pre-1940s

In 1916, the Bankhead Highway was established along modern-day MS 178 from Olive Branch in DeSoto County to Itawamba County.
Across the country, the numerous named auto trails began creating problems for motorists. Many auto trails had confusing alternate routes and were not always the most direct routes; also, multiple different auto trails often overlapped on the same roadway. During the annual meeting of the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) in San Francisco, California, in 1924, Minnesota state maintenance engineer A.H. Hinkle lobbied the organization to reorganize the nation's transcontinental highway system, suggesting a nationwide numbering system of well-located and direct interstate highways be implemented. AASHO agreed to Hinkle's ideas, passing a resolution on November 20, 1924, to develop a better organized interstate highway system. AASHO then sent a recommendation to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Howard M. Gore, to create a joint board between the Bureau of Public Roads and state highway officials from across the nation to develop a new organized system of numbered interstate highways. Gore acted on the recommendation in 1925, establishing the Joint Board on Interstate Highways.
The road that would become US 78 was established in 1926 along Bankhead Highway from Olive Branch to the Alabama state line.

## Exit list

| County | Location | mi | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
| DeSoto | Olive Branch | 0.0 | 0.0 | | US 78 west (SR 4 west) – Memphis | Continuation into Tennessee |
| DeSoto | Olive Branch | 1.5 | 2.4 | 1 | Craft Road | |
| DeSoto | Olive Branch | 2.7 | 4.3 | 2 | MS 302 (Goodham Road) – Olive Branch, Southaven | |
| DeSoto | Olive Branch | 3.5 | 5.6 | – | Weigh Station | |
| DeSoto | Olive Branch | 4.4 | 7.1 | 4 | MS 305 (Cockrum Road) – Olive Branch, Independence | |
| DeSoto | Olive Branch | 5.3 | 8.5 | – | Parking area | Closed to traffic |
| DeSoto | Olive Branch | 6.6 | 10.6 | 6 | Bethel Road / Hacks Cross Road | |
| DeSoto | ​ | 10.2 | 16.4 | 10 | Red Banks Road – Ingrams Mill, West Byhalia | |
| DeSoto–Marshall county line | Byhalia | 11.4 | 18.3 | 12 | I-269 / MS 304 – Tunica, Collierville I-22 east | Western end of I-22 concurrency; exit 16 on I-269; signed as exits 12A (I-269 south, MS 304 west), 12B (I-269 north, MS 304 east) |
| Marshall | Byhalia | 13.8 | 22.2 | 14 | MS 309 – Byhalia | |
| Marshall | ​ | 18.0 | 29.0 | 18 | Victoria Road – Victoria, East Byhalia | |
| Marshall | ​ | 21.2 | 34.1 | 21 | Red Banks Road – Red Banks | |
| Marshall | Holly Springs | 25.8 | 41.5 | 26 | Landfill Road – West Holly Springs, Ashland | Former MS 4/MS 7 |
| Marshall | Holly Springs | 29.9 | 48.1 | 30 | MS 4 / MS 7 – Holly Springs, Oxford | Access to Senatobia via MS 7 |
| Marshall | ​ | 36.9 | 59.4 | 37 | CCC Road – Lake Center | |
| Marshall | Potts Camp | 41.0 | 66.0 | 41 | To MS 349 – Potts Camp | |
| Benton | Hickory Flat | 47.8 | 76.9 | 48 | MS 178 – Hickory Flat | Access to MS 2 and MS 5 |
| Union | Myrtle | 54.3 | 87.4 | 55 | Willow Drive – Myrtle | |
| Union | New Albany | 60.0 | 96.6 | 60 | Musford Drive – Glenfield | Connector to MS 30 and to a Walmart distribution center |
| Union | New Albany | 61.0 | 98.2 | 61 | MS 30 west – West New Albany, Mississippi, Oxford | Western end of MS 30 concurrency |
| Union | New Albany | 62.4 | 100.4 | 63 | Bratton Road / Carter Avenue / Central Avenue – Downtown New Albany | |
| Union | New Albany | 63.4 | 102.0 | 64 | MS 15 / MS 30 east – Pontotoc, Ripley | Eastern end of MS 30 concurrency |
| Union | New Albany | 72.6 | 116.8 | 73 | MS 9 north – Blue Springs | Western end of MS 9 concurrency; signed as exits 73A and 73B |
| Pontotoc | Sherman | 76.2 | 122.6 | 76 | MS 9 south (MS 178) – Sherman, Pontotoc | Eastern end of MS 9 concurrency |
| Lee | Tupelo | 80.4 | 129.4 | 81 | MS 178 (McCullough Boulevard) – West Tupelo | |
| Lee | Tupelo | 81.7 | 131.5 | 82 | Coley Road / Barnes Crossing Road | |
| Lee | Tupelo | 84.3 | 135.7 | 85 | Natchez Trace Parkway | |
| Lee | Tupelo | 85.7 | 137.9 | 86 | US 45 (Corridor V west) – Tupelo, Corinth | Western end of Corridor V concurrency; signed as exits 86A (south) and 86B (north) |
| Lee | Tupelo | 87.2 | 140.3 | 87 | Veterans Boulevard | Access to Elvis Presley birthplace |
| Lee | ​ | 89.5 | 144.0 | 90 | Auburn Road | |
| Lee | ​ | 93.6 | 150.6 | 94 | MS 371 – Mantachie, Mooreville | |
| Itawamba | ​ | 96.7 | 155.6 | 97 | Fawn Grove Road – Dorsey | |
| Itawamba | ​ | 100.2 | 161.3 | 101 | MS 178 / MS 363 – Peppertown, Mantachie | |
| Itawamba | Fulton | 104.3 | 167.9 | 104 | MS 25 south – Fulton, Amory | Western end of MS 25 concurrency, MS 178 resumes eastbound in downtown Fulton |
| Itawamba | ​ | 108.0 | 173.8 | 108 | MS 25 north (Corridor V east) – Belmont, Iuka Corridor X ends | Eastern end of MS 25/Corridor V concurrency; western end of Corridor X concurrency; access to MS 76 |
| Itawamba | Tremont | 101.4 | 163.2 | 113 | MS 23 – Tremont, Smithville | MS 178 terminates eastbound at intersection with MS 23 just north of Corridor X |
| Itawamba | ​ | 117.4 | 188.9 | | I-22 east / US 78 east (SR 4 east) – Birmingham | Continuation into Alabama |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Closed/former Concurrency terminus |||||||

## Mississippi Highway 178

Mississippi Highway 178 (MS 178), or simply "Old 78", is a 119.1-mile-long (191.7 km) east-west state highway across the northern portion of the state of Mississippi. It is the former alignment of US 78, used from the 1940s until the 1990s. With the exception of a break at the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway in Fulton, MS 178 is a complete route from Memphis, Tennessee, to the Alabama state line.