U.S. 43 & U.S. 72 share a 14-mile overlap between the Shoals
area of northwest Alabama to near Killen (pop. 1,119) in Lauderdale County. Before the two routes part from
one another, they cross the Schoal Creek. There is a pair of older truss bridges. Photo taken 09/26/03.
A side profile of the U.S. 43 & 72 truss bridge over the
Schoal Creek. Construction is underway involving the creation of a new concrete span to the south of the
current crossing. Photo taken 09/26/03.
U.S. 43 & 72 are divided with four to six lanes throughout
their Muscle Schoals to Killen routing. Each truss bridge over the Schoal Creek carries two lanes. Less than
one mile ahead, U.S. 43 turns northward to Green Hill and Lawrenceburg, Tennessee (pop. 10,796). U.S. 72 continues eastward
with four lanes to Killen, Center Star, Elgin, Rogersville (pop. 1,199), and ultimately Athens (pop. 18,967).
Photo taken 09/26/03.
East of the city of Huntsville, U.S. 72 becomes part of
Appalachian Regional Development Corridor V. This east-west designation applies to Alabama 24 and Alternate
U.S. 72 through to Huntsville before encompassing U.S. 72. These special blue & white shields are featured
along all three routes throughout northern Alabama. The location of this shield is in the mountainous area
near the village of Paint Rock (pop. 185). Photo taken 09/26/03.
Scenes Related to U.S. 72
A cantilever bridge spans the Tennessee River to the
west of Wilson Dam between the cities of Florence (pop. 32,264) and Muscle Schoals (pop. 11,924). The crossing
carries not only U.S. 43 and 72, but also Alabama state highways 13, 17, 20, and 157. Three of the state
highways depart the U.S. highway tandem at downtown Florence. This partition occurs a short distance to the north
of this bridge. Visible in the background is an abandoned railroad span and what appears to be remnant bridge
supports of some kind. A riverside park affords the views of the bridges depicted here. Photos taken 09/26/03.
