State Route 77 (SR 77) is a north–south

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. The southern terminus of the highway is at an intersection with U.S. Route 431 (US 431) near

LaFayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

. The northern terminus of the highway is at an intersection with US 431 just north of Attalla. North of Talladega, the highway passes the entrance to

Talladega Superspeedway Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base ...

, home of the

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

Sprint Cup,

Infinity Series Infinity is that which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is often denoted by the infinity symbol . Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the philosophical nature of infinity was the subject of many discussions amo ...

, and

Camping World Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...

races that are held annually.

Route description

SR 77 begins in Ridgeville at

US 431 U.S. Route 431 (US 431) is a spur of U.S. Route 31. It currently travels for approximately from US 231/Alabama State Route 210 and US 231 Business (US 231 Bus.) and US 431 Bus. in Dothan, Alabama, to Owensboro, ...

. It immediately crosses a railroad track and turns south, passing through a ridge cut, before junctioning with

US 278 U.S. Route 278 (US 278) is a parallel route of U.S. Route 78, US 78. It currently runs for from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, to Wickes, Arkansas at U.S. Route 71, US 71/U.S. Route 59, US 59, passing through five states in the ...

. It enters Attalla and junctions with

US 11 {{Infobox road , country=USA , type=US , route=11 , map={{maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-align=center, frame-width=290, frame-height=330, type=line, from=U.S. Route 11.map , map_custom=yes , map_notes=US 11 in red, US 11E in blue, US 11W in ...

. It turns east-to-west again and junctions with

I-59 Interstate 59 (I-59) is an Interstate Highway located in the southeastern United States. It is a north–south route that spans from a junction with I-10 and I-12 at Slidell, Louisiana, to a junction with I-24 near Wildwood, Georgia. ...

in Rainbow City. This junction is almost immediately below I-59's junction with I-759. It enters the main part of Rainbow City and junctions with US 411 and crosses the

Coosa River The Coosa River is a tributary of the Alabama River in the U.S. states of Alabama and Georgia. The river is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 27, 2011 ...

. It crosses over multiple forks of the Coosa River as it enters

Calhoun County Calhoun County is the name of several counties in the United States of America named after U.S. Vice President John C. Calhoun: * Calhoun County, Alabama * Calhoun County, Arkansas * Calhoun County, Florida * Calhoun County, Georgia * Calhoun Cou ...

. It crosses more forks of the Coosa River as it nears Ohatchee. It junctions with SR 144 and leaves Ohatchee. It crosses into Talladega County. It enters

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

, where it junctions with

US 78 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It continues south and junctions with

I-20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. Between ...

. It passes by the world-famous

as it enters Talladega. It junctions with SR 34 and enters the city. Within the city, it junctions with SR 275 and SR 21. It turns northwest-southeast and enters the

Talledega National Forest ''Talledega'' is a genus of moths in the family Geometridae The geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek '' ...

. It eventually enters

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Fl ...

. It eventually leaves the National Forest and junctions with SR 130. It maintains an east-to-west path throughout this area. it enters Ashland and junctions with SR 9. There is a highly complex string of intersections in this city, including a point where SR 9 continues on SR 77's

right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

and another point where the two routes parallel each other as they leave the city to the south. After a journey southeast to Meadow Valley, it junctions with SR 49. It maintains a concurrency with it as it enters the main part of Meadow Valley (the city). It continues on SR 49's right-of-way. It leaves the county near Sikesville. It enters

Randolph County Randolph County is the name of eight counties in the United States: *Randolph County, Alabama *Randolph County, Arkansas *Randolph County, Georgia *Randolph County, Illinois *Randolph County, Indiana *Randolph County, Missouri *Randolph County, Nort ...

. It maintains a short east-to-west path to SR 22 in Wadley. It maintains a concurrency with it until they reach Louina. SR 22 continues on SR 77's right-of-way. SR 77 turns south and enters Chambers County. The route has no junctions with other routes of its kind as it makes the long journey south to La Fayette. It junctions with US 431 once again in the northern part of the city. This is SR 77's southern terminus. This route is a minor route for travel between Gadsden and

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

as a replacement for US 431.

History

The original route of SR 77 was established in 1940, traveling from LaFayette to Ashland. By 1961, the highway was extended to its current northern terminus in northwestern

Etowah County Etowah County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census the population was 103,436. Its county seat is Gadsden. Its name is from a Cherokee word meaning "edible tree". In total area, it i ...

. Until 1985, the segment of the highway between Talladega and

was

concurrent Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

with US 231 Alt. The earlier routes that predated SR 77 in Talladega and Calhoun counties include the Gilbert's Ferry road and the Jackson Trace, which was used and named after General

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

, who, with militia used this part of the route the defeat the Creek people at the Battle Of Horseshoe Bend.

Major intersections

References

{{Reflist 077 Transportation in Chambers County, Alabama Transportation in Randolph County, Alabama Transportation in Clay County, Alabama Transportation in Talladega County, Alabama Transportation in Calhoun County, Alabama Transportation in Etowah County, Alabama

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References