The Bankhead Highway was a United States cross-country automobilehighway connecting Washington, D.C., and San Diego. The Bankhead Highway's beginnings can be traced back to 1916 when the Bankhead Highway Association was organized to promote the highway's development. It was part of the National Auto Trail system. The road was named for AlabamapoliticianJohn H. Bankhead, a leader in the early national road-building movement. In later years, several stretches of U.S. Route 78 in northwest Alabama were renamed for Bankhead's son, former U.S. Representative and Speaker of the House William B. Bankhead.[1]
As was common with early auto trails, the Bankhead Highway had several different routes. The main and branch routes below are considered to be the primary configurations of the highway.
California
The route followed the former US 80 from San Diego and through La Mesa,
El Cajon, and El Centro before crossing into Arizona. This section of the Bankhead Highway is now a California state historic highway.[2]
In June 2009 the Bankhead Highway was designated a Texas Historic Highway as part of the state's Historic Roads and Highways Program. The purpose of this designation is to supplement the Texas Historical Commission's existing "heritage tourism" programs and to increase interest in the Bankhead Highway.
The branch route entered Texas on US 62, then turned onto US 70 at Paducah. The route went through eastern New Mexico, first at Alamogordo on US 54, then through Roswell and then Clovis before entering Texas at El Paso. The branch route rejoined the main one at El Paso.
Third Route
A third route connected the main and branch routes in western Texas and eastern New Mexico. This route followed the current US 380 from Roswell, New Mexico to Post and then followed US 84.
The route followed MS 305 from Olive Branch, Lewisburg, and Independence. Then it went on MS 310 around Sardis Lake and then MS 7 down to Oxford and then followed US 278 to Tupelo.
The Bankhead Highway followed present-day US 29, which traverses the northern half of Georgia on mostly its original alignment until it reaches Athens, where major highway construction in the 1960s re-routed the route of US 29 around the Athens loop highway. Along this stretch there are numerous "Old US 29" segments that pull off the main roadway. The Bankhead Highway then pulled off the current route of US 29 at Danielsville Road, and followed it until it became North Avenue, and followed North Avenue onto West Dougherty Street. It followed West Dougherty Street, turning South onto Pulaski St, and then turning West onto Broad Street, which eventually turns into Atlanta Highway.[3] While US 29 now follows the route of State Route 316 (University Parkway) for much of the distance between Athens and Lawrenceville, the Bankhead route followed Atlanta Highway to the present US 29 Business (Winder Highway out of Lawrenceville) and Atlanta Highway out of Athens) and went through the smaller towns of Bogart and Winder until joining back up with current US 29 outside of Lawrenceville, where it followed the current alignment of US 29 through Lawrenceville and on to Decatur. The Bankhead Highway (older US 29 alignment) veered onto Church Street (Georgia SR 8) and following it until it intersected Ponce De Leon Avenue.[4] The route then headed west and following Ponce De Leon Avenue into Atlanta the intersection with Peachtree Street, where the route turned South one block to North Avenue, then followed North Avenue to Marietta Street. Following Marietta Street, it veered off to the west where a bridge (now closed but still standing) carried the highway over Georgia Southern Railroad tracks to the present Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway.[5] From the intersection of Northside Drive and Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway west, the route roughly followed US 78 to the Villa Rica, GA then followed Highway 61 to Carrollton, Georgia then followed 166[6] to Alabama state line.
Many Georgia cities along the original route have streets named Bankhead which mark the actual route. One notable exception to this rule is the Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway in the Bankhead neighborhood of Atlanta. This section was renamed in an effort to revitalize, or mask the social stigma attached to this high-crime section of the city.[citation needed] The same was done in the adjacent section[citation needed] west of the Chattahoochee River by the Cobbcounty commission, which named it Veterans Memorial Parkway through Mableton and Austell.
^California State Legislature. "ACR 123 Assembly Concurrent Resolution." Official California Legislative Information. Legislative Council of California. August 16, 2006. Retrieved March 23, 2008.
