US 78 in Memphis

[Tom958]

Here is my suggestion: Retract US 78 to Birmingham!

Or to Atlanta.

Seriously, it's entirely redundant in Mississippi. Why not remove it in both Mississippi and Tennessee?

[Bobby5280]

It also turns out the last 2 miles of US 78 to I-240 isn't on the project list.

I thought I had already said Getwell Road was the end barrier for the intersection improvement projects along US-78/Lamar Ave.

There will still be the occasional driveway and cross road, I believe.

Yeah the Winchester, Shelby and Holmes intersection projects with US-78 is only a partial step toward bringing that stretch of US-78 up to Interstate standards. Those are the most difficult intersections however.

Old Highway 78, Tuggle Road, Pleasant Run Road, Pleasant Hill Road, Concorde Road, Clearpool Circle Road X 2 are all intersections that must be hurdled or cut off (along with lots of driveways). It may be possible to deal with that using frontage roads and elevating the main lanes at least some of the way.

[CoolAngrybirdsrio4]

I thought I had already said Getwell Road was the end barrier for the intersection improvement projects along US-78/Lamar Ave.

It looks like you have mentioned about how it's heavy in traffic. So it looks like I-22 will stay at I-269 for it's western terminus for at least a while.

[Georgia]

The Winchester Road widening/re-do, with all its residential and business impacts on that route, would be a non-starter for any politician wishing to remain in a job.

[MikieTimT]

I thought I had already said Getwell Road was the end barrier for the intersection improvement projects along US-78/Lamar Ave.

It looks like you have mentioned about how it's heavy in traffic. So it looks like I-22 will stay at I-269 for it's western terminus for at least a while.

Or forever.  Memphis has much bigger transportation issues (and issues in general) than to poke I-22 further northwest into Memphis.  This will be a situation like KC with US-71 and I-49.  The status quo will remain until there is a local push to change it.  As much as we'd like I-22 to run up the US-63 corridor and connect Memphis to KC, if it ever actually happened, also unlikely in our lifetimes, it would just be routed along I-240 and across one of the existing bridges, which is pretty much how it functionally is currently with I-55 and I-555 serving almost half of Arkansas' freeway mileage.  Missouri doesn't have much interest in freeways right now other than I-70 and I-57, and that's halfhearted at best.

[sprjus4]

^ And it's important to mention, while it doesn't directly affect the US-78 portion in question, the completion of I-269 between I-22 and I-55 in Mississippi allows through traffic to bypass the corridor entirely, on entirely 70 mph interstate highway.

[MikieTimT]

^ And it's important to mention, while it doesn't directly affect the US-78 portion in question, the completion of I-269 between I-22 and I-55 in Mississippi allows through traffic to bypass the corridor entirely, on entirely 70 mph interstate highway.

I don't know why I said I-240 before.  It was I-269 I was thinking of since that's the current end of I-22. 

[Avalanchez71]

I don't see an upgrade of US 78 happening.  Not in the political climate.  Shelby County just lost representation in the State House after the redistricting due to the immense population growth in Middle Tennessee.

[MikieTimT]

I don't see an upgrade of US 78 happening.  Not in the political climate.  Shelby County just lost representation in the State House after the redistricting due to the immense population growth in Middle Tennessee.

Memphis is the red-headed stepchild of Tennessee.  There's times I wonder if they'd just rather give it away to Arkansas or Mississippi.

[Wayward Memphian]

I don't see an upgrade of US 78 happening.  Not in the political climate.  Shelby County just lost representation in the State House after the redistricting due to the immense population growth in Middle Tennessee.

Memphis is the red-headed stepchild of Tennessee.  There's times I wonder if they'd just rather give it away to Arkansas or Mississippi.

If it includes all of Shelby County and the Tenn land now on the western side of the main channel of the MS. Arkansas should take Memphis in a heartbeat with Fed Ex and the Logistics still well within the county. It would much more representative in in Gov, so that will not happen.

The Red Headed step child controlled TN until just a few decades ago. If it ever did catch fire like other Southern metroa, it will again gain clout.

[Bobby5280]

I think the situation along US-78/Lamar Ave and the I-55 corridor crossing the Mississippi River is a serious safety issue. Just about everyone in this forum knows that stretch carries a high volume of heavy truck traffic. The Tennessee state government may treat Memphis like the red headed step child city of cities in the state. Nevertheless, Memphis sits at an important crossroads in the nation's highway network. If the state government is going to continue dragging its feet on improvements the federal government ought to intervene. And really the feds should be doing so anyway since new bridges and highways in the Memphis area are of national interest.

[usends]

As of late 2023, US 78 no longer terminates in Memphis.  But I was looking through Street View to see how it was signposted prior to the reroute/extension, and it seems like anyone trying to follow US 78 east out of downtown would have had a hard time, and not just because of the dismal signage: drivers heading south on MLK are prohibited from turning left (east) onto Lamar.  It looks like the alignments of the I-240 southbound offramp and MLK-Lamar-Crump were reconfigured in the '90s.  Is that when it became impossible to follow US 78 eastbound?  Did TDOT (or the City) ever attempt to address that issue?

[Mapmikey]

As of late 2023, US 78 no longer terminates in Memphis.  But I was looking through Street View to see how it was signposted prior to the reroute/extension, and it seems like anyone trying to follow US 78 east out of downtown would have had a hard time, and not just because of the dismal signage: drivers heading south on MLK are prohibited from turning left (east) onto Lamar.  It looks like the alignments of the I-240 southbound offramp and MLK-Lamar-Crump were reconfigured in the '90s.  Is that when it became impossible to follow US 78 eastbound?  Did TDOT (or the City) ever attempt to address that issue?

Yes...see https://maps.app.goo.gl/JvevfjZhNnBaB5q19 and https://maps.app.goo.gl/rrskyJs3ZkmchNTXA

Historicaerials seem to show it marked to prohibit that movement in the 1971 aerial, though unlike today it was still physically possible.

[Road Hog]

The 2024 Arkansas state map has US 78 indicated, but didn't have time evidently to mark it in red as they customarily do US routes.

[ericlipford]

As of late 2023, US 78 no longer terminates in Memphis.  But I was looking through Street View to see how it was signposted prior to the reroute/extension, and it seems like anyone trying to follow US 78 east out of downtown would have had a hard time, and not just because of the dismal signage: drivers heading south on MLK are prohibited from turning left (east) onto Lamar.  It looks like the alignments of the I-240 southbound offramp and MLK-Lamar-Crump were reconfigured in the '90s.  Is that when it became impossible to follow US 78 eastbound?  Did TDOT (or the City) ever attempt to address that issue?

Yes...see https://maps.app.goo.gl/JvevfjZhNnBaB5q19 and https://maps.app.goo.gl/rrskyJs3ZkmchNTXA

Historicaerials seem to show it marked to prohibit that movement in the 1971 aerial, though unlike today it was still physically possible.

TDOT installed a sign at MLK and East St. for eastbound traffic to turn on East St. which meets up with Crump Blvd. just a few blocks south. The 78 shield was still in place at that point on MLK just a few days ago - even though 78 shields have been added on the new alignment over Crump Blvd.
You can see the shield on the January 2023 imagery in Google Street View.

[RoadWarrior56]

Replying to the remark that the new routing of US 78 in Arkansas is still not shown in red on their new highway map, it is such a stupid and unneeded alignment it doesn't deserve to be shown in red.