U.S. Route 72 Alternate
Alternate U.S. Route 72 (US 72 Alt.) exists in Alabama on the south side of the Tennessee River between Muscle Shoals and Decatur, while US 72 follows on the north side of the river between Florence and Athens. US 72A crosses the Tennessee River at Decatur, along with U.S. Highway 31, and follows the entire route of Interstate 565. SR-20 was co-signed with US 72A from Muscle Shoals to Huntsville but has since been truncated to the junction of I-65 just east of Decatur.
U.S. Route 72 Alternate | ||||
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| Route information | ||||
| Auxiliary route of US 72 | ||||
| Maintained by ALDOT | ||||
| Length | 67.526 mi[1] (108.673 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |   US 43 / US 72 at Muscle Shoals | |||
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| East end |  I-565 / US 72 at Huntsville | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Alabama | |||
| Counties | Colbert, Lawrence, Morgan, Limestone, Madison | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Originally, US 72A turned off SR-20 on to SR-53 / Jordan Lane in Huntsville and followed it north one mile (1.6 km) to rejoin with US 72. With the completion of I-565 in the early 1990s, US 72A was routed along with I-565 to the termination of I-565 at US 72 at Chapman Mountain.
Route description
US 72 Alt. begins at an intersection with US 43/US 72 in Muscle Shoals. Here, this road continues west as part of US 72. East of there, it intersects SR 157 at an at-grade intersection, where a concurrency begins.
A couple miles east of there, the roads split. SR 157 heads straight towards Moulton. US 72 Alt. turns due east at the interchange, heading towards Town Creek and Decatur.
US 72 Alt. enters Decatur after passing through Trinity, carrying SR 20. It serves as the northern terminus for The Beltline (SR 67) and continues eastward towards the town center. After traveling by the Old State Bank and the Dancy Polk House in the downtown area, US 72 Alt. intersects US 31. It continues over the "Steamboat Bill" Hudson Memorial Bridge, after which it and SR 20 continue east towards I-65 and I-565, while US 31 continues north towards Athens and Calhoun Community College.
After the interchange at I-65, US 72A becomes concurrent with I-565. The two routes run together for the entire length of I-565, passing through Mooresville, Madison, and Huntsville passing through intersections such as the University Drive and the elevated stretch. East of Downtown Huntsville, the routes ascend Chapman Mountain, where they intersect US 72, which serves as the eastern terminus for both I-565 and US 72A.
Major intersections
| County | Location | mi | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colbert | Muscle Shoals | 0.000 | 0.000 |  US 43 / US 72 (Lee Highway) / SR 20 | Western terminus; western end of SR 20 overlap | |
| | 2.067 | 3.327 |    SR 133 north (Wilson Dam Road) / SR 157 | Western end of SR 157 overlap | ||
| | 4.386 | 7.059 |  SR 157 south (University of North Alabama Highway) | Eastern end of SR 157 overlap | ||
| Lawrence | Town Creek | 15.300 | 24.623 |  SR 101 (Wheeler Dam Highway) – Wheeler Dam | ||
| Courtland | 22.806 | 36.703 |  SR 33 south (Wilderness Parkway) | |||
| Morgan | Decatur | 37.497 | 60.346 | State Docks Road (SR 67) | ||
| 37.977 | 61.118 |  SR 67 (Beltline Road) | ||||
| 41.344 | 66.537 |  US 31 south (6th Avenue) | Western end of US 31 overlap | |||
| Tennessee River | 41.681 | 67.079 | Captain William J. Hudson "Steamboat Bill" Memorial Bridges | |||
| Limestone | Decatur | 43.327 | 69.728 | US 31 north | Eastern end of US 31 overlap | |
| Decatur–Huntsville city line | 52.175 | 83.968 | 1 |    I-65 / I-565 begins / SR 20 ends – Birmingham, Nashville | Western end of I-565 overlap; signed as exits 1A (south) and 1B (north) eastbound; I-65 exit 340 northbound & 340A-B southbound | |
| Huntsville | 2 | Mooresville Road | ||||
| 55.652 | 89.563 | 3 | Greenbrier Road | |||
| Limestone–Madison county line | 7[2] | Madison Boulevard, County Line Road | Former SR-20 east | |||
| Madison | 8[2] | Huntsville International Airport | ||||
| Madison | 9[2][3] | Wall-Triana Highway, Sullivan Street, Madison Boulevard | ||||
| 10 | Town Madison Boulevard, Toyota Field | Eastbound exit and entrance; westbound ramps unbuilt | ||||
| Zierdt Road | ||||||
| Huntsville | 65.234 | 104.984 | 13 | Madison Boulevard | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; former SR-20 west | |
| 14.365 | 23.118 | 14 |  SR 255 north (Research Park Boulevard) – Redstone Arsenal Gate 9 | Signed as exits 14A (Gate 9) and 14B (SR-255) westbound | ||
| 15 | Madison Pike, Sparkman Drive, Bob Wallace Avenue | Entrance to U.S. Space and Rocket Center | ||||
| 69.190 | 111.351 | 17A |   SR 53 north (Jordan Lane) to US 72 | Signed as exit 17 westbound | ||
| 69.556 | 111.940 | 17B | SR 53 south (Governors Drive) | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | ||
| 71.232 | 114.637 | 19 |   US 231 / US 431 (Memorial Parkway, SR-1) / Pratt Avenue west, Washington Street north | Signed as exits 19A (south) and 19B (north) | ||
| 19C | Washington Street, Jefferson Street – Downtown | Signed as exit 19A westbound | ||||
| 20 | Oakwood Avenue, Andrew Jackson Way | |||||
| 73.863 | 118.871 | 21 |  I-565 ends (SR-2) / US 72 | Eastern end of I-565 overlap; eastern terminus | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
References
- Alabama Department of Transportation, County Milepost Maps Archived 2008-06-25 at the Wayback Machine, accessed September 2007
- Clines, Keith (April 27, 2012). "I-565 exit numbers changed for County Line Road, airport, Wall Triana Highway". The Huntsville Times. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
- Clines, Keith (September 18, 2011). "Speed limit sign mix-up on Chapman Mountain to be corrected". The Huntsville Times. Retrieved September 18, 2011.