State Route 277 (SR 277) is a
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
northern part of the U.S. state of
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
, traveling along part of former
U.S. Route 72 (US 72) in
Jackson County.
History
Upon completion of the present US 72
expressway
Expressway may refer to:
* Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic.
* Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road.
*Expressway, the fictional s ...
in the 1990s, the old road was given to the county and cities of
Stevenson and
Bridgeport
Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnoc ...
to maintain as County Road 74 (CR 74), but the local governments convinced the state to take back the road, which was redesignated SR 277 in March 2003.
County leaders and city leaders in
Bridgeport
Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnoc ...
and
Stevenson were not happy about the road being their responsibility and turned down requests to take the road back several times. The roadway has many bridges and is designed in such a way that maintenance of the road was deemed too expensive for
Jackson County. After a large effort by the county and local state legislators to get the route back under state control,
ALDOT reluctantly took back the highway as SR 277, insisting that they would swap mileage with
SR 35 west of
Scottsboro. However, that mileage swap never occurred and SR 35 west of Scottsboro remains a state-controlled highway.
SR 277 does not include all of former US 72. The route is long and only includes the portions between the interchange of old US 72 and US 72 east of Stevenson to US 72 just east of Bridgeport.
SR 277 travels on the original
Memphis and Charleston Railroad
The Memphis and Charleston Railroad, completed in 1857, was the first railroad in the United States to link the Atlantic Ocean with the Mississippi River. Chartered in 1846, the gauge railroad ran from Memphis, Tennessee to Stevenson, Alabama t ...
bed.
Major intersections
References
{{reflist
277
__NOTOC__
Year 277 ( CCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Probus and Paulinus (or, less frequently, year 1030 ''A ...
Transportation in Jackson County, Alabama
U.S. Route 72