Wikipedia

U.S. Route 82

U.S. Route 82(US 82) is an east–westUnited States highwayin theSouthern United States.Created on July 1, 1931 across centralMississippiand southernArkansas,US 82 eventually became a 1,625-mile-long (2,615 km) route extending from theWhite SandsofNew MexicotoGeorgia'sAtlantic coast.

U.S. Route 82 marker
U.S. Route 82
Map
US 82 highlighted in red
Route information
Length1,625 mi[1](2,615 km)
ExistedJuly 1, 1931[1]–present
Major junctions
West endUS 54/US 70atAlamogordo, NM
Major intersections
East endI-95/US 17/SR 25/SR 520atBrunswick, GA
Location
CountryUnited States
StatesNew Mexico,Texas,Arkansas,Mississippi,Alabama,Georgia
Highway system
←US 81→US 83
US Highway 82 crossing the high plains of theLlano EstacadoofWest Texas

The highway's eastern terminus is inBrunswick, Georgia,at an interchange withInterstate 95.It is co-signed for its last1⁄2mile (800 m) withU.S. Route 17.Its western terminus is inAlamogordo, New Mexicoat an intersection withU.S. Route 54andU.S. Route 70.

Route description

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New Mexico

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Main article:U.S. Route 82 in New Mexico

US 82 begins at an intersection with US highways54and70north ofAlamogordo,and south ofLa Luz, New Mexico.Heading east out of Alamogordo the road ascends into theSacramento Mountains,traveling through theLincoln National Forest.While climbing steep Mexican Canyon, the highway passes the abandoned railroad trestles of theEl Paso and Northeastern Railway,and passes through the only road tunnel in New Mexico. The road then traverses the New Mexico villages ofHigh Rolls,Cloudcroft,andMayhillAfter descending the mountains into the rugged, flat plains of eastern New Mexico, it generally follows a north-northeasterly bearing untilArtesia,where it takes a more due-easterly bearing on through toLovington,veering back slightly to the north before crossing into Texas.

Texas

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Main article:U.S. Route 82 in Texas

US 82 crosses into Texas from New Mexico at Texas Farm to Market Road 769, turning northeastward towardPlains,where it merges withUS 380.US 82 is co-signed with US 380 from Plains toBrownfield,where it joinsUS 62,and US 380 leaves the route. US 82/62 continues northeastward towardLubbock.

In Lubbock, US 82 and US 62 split, where US 82 is a limited access freeway west ofUS Route 87.FromWolfforthto downtown Lubbock, US 82 is named Marsha Sharp Freeway afterMarsha Sharp,formerhead basketball coachof theTexas Tech Lady RaidersandWomen's Basketball Hall of Fameinductee. It once again merges with US 62 (along withState Highway 114) east of the campus ofTexas Tech University,where it continues eastward throughRalls,where US 62 makes a sharp turn to the north and leaves the route. US 82 continues eastward across the level plains of theLlano EstacadotoCrosbytonand then dips downward as it crosses theWhite RiverofBlanco Canyon,where theTexas Department of Transportationmaintains the Silver Falls Rest Area with facilities and hiking trails. After climbing out ofBlanco Canyon,US 82 eventually exits theLlano Estacadoand enters the rolling plains nearDickens, Texas.

US 82/SH 114 continues eastward as a co-signed route untilSeymour,where it merges with U.S. Highways183,277and283,with US 183 and 283 leaving the route atMabelle.US 82/277 continues eastward toWichita Falls,merging withUS 287just south of downtown. US 82 leaves US 287 atHenriettaand continues east, signed independently (apart from various state highway routes) across the remainder of Texas, crossing into Arkansas in downtownTexarkana.[2]

Arkansas

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TheGreenville Bridgeover theMississippi Riverbetween Arkansas and Mississippi
Main article:U.S. Route 82 in Arkansas

US 82 enters Arkansas in downtownTexarkana,then proceeds almost due east across the flat plains of the Red River. It crosses the Red River at Garland City on a new bridge, then passes through the towns of Lewisville andMagnolia.At Magnolia the route joins US 79 for approximately two miles before continuing eastward. U.S. Route 82 is proposed to crossInterstate 69in the future. Next, US 82 passes through the cities ofEl Doradoand Strong before crossing the Ouachita River just north of Lake Jack Lee, then continues throughCrossettandHamburgtoLake Village.The route continues from there across the Mississippi River toGreenville, MS.US 82 closely follows the historical alignment ofArkansas Highway 2.

Mississippi

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Main article:U.S. Route 82 in Mississippi

Through the entire state, the highway is four-laned with interchanges at major junctions. After crossing theMississippi RiverfromArkansasvia a four-laned, cable-stayedMississippi River bridge,the road briefly travels northeast toward central Greenville, then turns east toColumbus,passing throughIndianola,Greenwood,Winona,andStarkville,while bypassingItta Bena.

According to theMississippi Department of Transportation,construction is now underway on a U.S. 82 bypass around Greenville.[3]The new road will commence at the recently opened Mississippi River Bridge and terminate at the current U.S. 82 near Leland, creating a half-loop freeway around South Greenville. Cloverleaf interchanges are presently being built at the freeway's junctions with MS 454 and MS 1.

From Starkville east throughColumbusand on to the Alabama state line, US 82 is built to freeway standards.

Alabama

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Main article:U.S. Route 82 in Alabama
McFarland Boulevard (US 82 West) inTuscaloosa, Alabamain 2018

Throughout Alabama, US 82 is paired with unsignedState Route 6(SR 6). The highway enters the state east ofColumbus, Mississippi,and bears southeast towardsNorthportandTuscaloosa,where it crosses overI-20andI-59south of town. It is known in West Alabama as McFarland Boulevard, in memory of Ward Wharton McFarland, a political, business, and civic leader who died in 1979.[4]After leaving Tuscaloosa, the route continues southeast, passing through the cities ofBrent,Centreville,andMaplesvilleen route toPrattville,on the northern edge of theMontgomery metropolitan area.This approximately 92-mile (148 km) drive goes through some of the most rural areas of the state, much of it two lanes with the exception of the section from Tuscaloosa to Centreville. Upon arriving in Prattville, it runs concurrently withI-65,with which it goes through downtownMontgomerywith (also junctioning with the current southern terminus ofI-85), and splits off to the east south of downtown. After leaving Montgomery, the route continues southeast throughUnion SpringsandMidwayen route toEufaula,on the Alabama–Georgia state line, where it junctions withUS 431.The route then crosses over theChattahoochee RiverintoGeorgetown, Georgia,overLake Eufaula.

Currently in Pickens County, Alabama, a widening project of US 82 is underway to make the highway four lanes. New bridges are being constructed using Federal Highway Administration monies, as well as matching Alabama Department of Transportation funds. Four-laning the highway in Tuscaloosa County, west of Northport to the Pickens County line, was completed in the fall of 2010. The highway is now four lanes from the Mississippi state line to just southeast of Centreville at mile marker 88, with the exception of a short two lane stretch from Gordo to the Tuscaloosa County line.[5]

Georgia

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Main article:U.S. Route 82 in Georgia
US 82 at the intersection with US 27 Bus. at Main Square in Cuthbert

US 82is a 232-mile-long (373 km)U.S. Highwayin the U.S. state ofGeorgia.

Throughout much of southern Georgia, US 82 is paired withState Route 520and designated as "Corridor Z" and "South Georgia Parkway." West of Dawson, US 82 is paired withState Route 50,the historic State Route number for US 82 in Georgia. From Dawson onwards, US 82 becomes a four-lane highway as it moves through Albany and then ontoTiftonwhere US 82 intersects withI-75.After this the highway moves east through southern plains andWaycross,near the Okefenokee Swamp. US 82 then proceeds toBrunswick,where it terminates at the intersection withI-95.

History

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During the initial creation of the US Highway System, the US 82 designation was unassigned.[1]TheMississippi Highway Departmentrequested the creation of a route betweenGreenvilleandColumbus,additionally proposing that it should be extended eastward toBirmingham, Alabama,and into Arkansas. TheAmerican Association of State Highway Officials(AASHO) initially balked at the request because it was not accompanied by concurrent requests from Arkansas or Alabama, and because the proposed route utilized several private toll bridges. Following concurrence from Arkansas, the route was approved on July 1, 1931.[1]In Arkansas, US 82 completely replacedState Road 2,running from the Mississippi River toUS 71inTexarkana.US 82 was extended east into Alabama and west into Texas in 1934; making US 82 a 946-mile (1,522 km) route from US 385 in Lubbock to US 11 in Tuscaloosa. Over the next eight years, construction and other routing improvements reduced the total length to 904-mile (1,455 km). In 1948, the route was extended east toWaycross, Georgia,with an extension east to US 17 inMidway, Georgiaeight years later.[1]

On November 26, 1960, an extension toLas Cruces, New Mexicowas denied due to substandard roadway conditions in New Mexico, but was later approved on June 18, 1963. The route was extended east to I-95 inChester, Georgiaon June 25, 1979. The east ends of US 82 andU.S. Route 84were swapped in 1989 after the roads aroundWaycross, Georgia,were reconfigured. This change made US 82's eastern terminus I-95 inBrunswick, Georgia,which is the current terminus today. New Mexico decided to delete an overlap with US 70 between Alamogordo and Las Cruces, resulting in the current western terminus atUS 54/US 70.[1]

Major intersections

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New Mexico
US 54/US 70inAlamogordo
US 285inArtesia
Texas
US 380inPlains.The highways travel concurrently toBrownfield.
US 62/US 385in Brownfield. US 62/US 81 travels concurrently toLubbock.US 82/US 385 travels concurrently through Brownfield.
US 84in Lubbock
I-27/US 87in Lubbock
US 62in Lubbock. The highways travel concurrently to southwest ofRalls.
US 83south ofGuthrie
US 183/US 277/US 283north-northeast ofSeymour.US 82/US 183/US 283 travels concurrently toMabelle.US 82/US 277 travels concurrently toWichita Falls.
US 277/US 281/US 287in Wichita Falls. US 82/US 281 travels concurrently through Wichita Falls. US 82/US 287 travels concurrently to west ofHenrietta.
US 81inRinggold
I-35/US 77inGainesville
US 377inWhitesboro
US 75inSherman
US 69inBells
US 271inParis.The highways travel concurrently through Paris.
US 259northwest ofDe Kalb
I-30west ofNew Boston
I-369/US 59inTexarkana
US 67in Texarkana. The highways travel concurrently toTexarkana, Arkansas.
US 71on theTexas–Arkansasstate line on the Texarkana–Texarkana, Arkansas city line. The highways travel concurrently to Texarkana, Arkansas.
Arkansas
I-49in Texarkana
US 371inMagnolia
US 79in Magnolia. The highways travel concurrently through Magnolia.
US 63/US 167inEl Dorado
US 425east ofCrossett.The highways travel concurrently toHamburg.
US 165south ofMontrose
US 65/US 278inLake Village.US 65/US 82 travels concurrently toFairview.US 82/US 278 travels concurrently to east ofLeland, Mississippi.
Mississippi
US 61/US 278east ofLeland.
US 49WinIndianola
US 49EinGreenwood.The highways travel concurrently through Greenwood.
I-55inWinona
US 51in Winona
US 45west-southwest ofColumbus.The highways travel concurrently to Columbus.
Alabama
US 43inNorthport.The highways travel concurrently through Northport.
I-20/I-59inTuscaloosa
US 11in Tuscaloosa
US 31inPrattville
I-65in Prattville. The highways travel concurrently toMontgomery.
I-85/Future I-685in Montgomery
I-65/US 80in Montgomery. US 80/US 82 travels concurrently through Montgomery.
US 331in Montgomery
US 80/US 231in Montgomery. US 82/US 231 travels concurrently to south-southeast ofPike Road.
US 29inUnion Springs.The highways travel concurrently through Union Springs.
US 431inEufaula.The highways travel concurrently through Eufaula.
Georgia
US 27east ofCuthbert
US 19inAlbany.The highways travel concurrently through Albany.
I-75inTifton
US 319in Tifton. The highways travel concurrently to east-southeast of Tifton.
US 41in Tifton
US 129northwest ofAlapaha.The highways travel concurrently to Alapaha.
US 221/US 441inPearson
US 1/US 23west ofDeenwood.The highways travel concurrently toWaycross.
US 84in Waycross. The highways travel concurrently through Waycross.
US 301inNahunta
US 17west ofBrunswick.The highways travel concurrently for approximately 0.7 miles (1.1 km).
I-95/US 17west of Brunswick

[6]

Special routes

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US 82B running as Main Street through theMagnolia Commercial Historic DistrictinMagnolia, Arkansas
Main article:Special routes of U.S. Route 82

Twelvespecial routesof US 82 currently exist: four in Arkansas, four in Texas, two in New Mexico, one in Mississippi, and one in Georgia.

See also

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References

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  1. ^abcdef"U.S. 82".Highway History.Federal Highway Administration.November 18, 2015.RetrievedDecember 11,2016.
  2. ^"overview map of US 82"(Map).Google Maps.RetrievedMarch 5,2008.
  3. ^"MDOT projects underway in western Mississippi".mdot.ms.gov.RetrievedNovember 30,2023.
  4. ^"Tribute to Ward Wharton McFarland".June 2004.
  5. ^"EDITORIAL: Highway 82 project took too much time".TuscaloosaNews.com.RetrievedJanuary 26,2013.
  6. ^Rand McNally (2014).The Road Atlas(Walmart ed.). Chicago: Rand McNally. pp. 4–5, 10–11, 29, 56, 68, 98, 100.ISBN978-0-528-00771-2.
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KML file(edit•help)
Template:Attached KML/U.S. Route 82
KML is not from Wikidata
Browse numbered routes
←NM 81NM→NM 83
←SH 81TX→SH 82
←AR 81AR→AR 83
←US 80MS→MS 83
←SR 81AL→SR 83
←SR 81GA→SR 82
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