US 82 begins at an intersection with US highways 54 and 70 north of Alamogordo, and south of La Luz, New Mexico. Heading east out of Alamogordo the road ascends into the Sacramento Mountains, traveling through the Lincoln National Forest. While climbing steep Mexican Canyon, the highway passes the abandoned railroad trestles of the El Paso and Northeastern Railway, and passes through the only road tunnel in New Mexico. The road then traverses the New Mexico villages of High Rolls, Cloudcroft, and Mayhill After descending the mountains into the rugged, flat plains of eastern New Mexico, it generally follows a north-northeasterly bearing until Artesia, where it takes a more due-easterly bearing on through to Lovington, veering back slightly to the north before crossing into Texas.
US 82 crosses into Texas from New Mexico at Texas Farm to Market Road 769, turning northeastward toward Plains, where it merges with US 380. US 82 is co-signed with US 380 from Plains to Brownfield, where it joins US 62, and US 380 leaves the route. US 82/62 continues northeastward toward Lubbock.
US 82/SH 114 continues eastward as a co-signed route until Seymour, where it merges with U.S. Highways 183, 277 and 283, with US 183 and 283 leaving the route at Mabelle. US 82/277 continues eastward to Wichita Falls, merging with US 287 just south of downtown. US 82 leaves US 287 at Henrietta and continues east, signed independently (apart from various state highway routes) across the remainder of Texas, crossing into Arkansas in downtown Texarkana.[2]
US 82 enters Arkansas in downtown Texarkana, 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 and Magnolia. At Magnolia the route joins US 79 for approximately two miles before continuing eastward. U.S. Route 82 is proposed to cross Interstate 69 in the future. Next, US 82 passes through the cities of El Dorado and Strong before crossing the Ouachita River just north of Lake Jack Lee, then continues through Crossett and Hamburg to Lake Village. The route continues from there across the Mississippi River to Greenville, MS. US 82 closely follows the historical alignment of Arkansas Highway 2.
According to the Mississippi 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 through Columbus and on to the Alabama state line, US 82 is built to freeway standards.
Throughout Alabama, US 82 is paired with unsigned State Route 6 (SR 6). The highway enters the state east of Columbus, Mississippi, and bears southeast towards Northport and Tuscaloosa, where it crosses over I-20 and I-59 south 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 of Brent, Centreville, and Maplesville en route to Prattville, on the northern edge of the Montgomery 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 with I-65, with which it goes through downtown Montgomery with (also junctioning with the current southern terminus of I-85), and splits off to the east south of downtown. After leaving Montgomery, the route continues southeast through Union Springs and Midway en route to Eufaula, on the Alabama–Georgia state line, where it junctions with US 431. The route then crosses over the Chattahoochee River into Georgetown, Georgia, over Lake 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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US 82 at the intersection with US 27 Bus. at Main Square in Cuthbert
US 82 is a 232-mile-long (373 km) U.S. Highway in the U.S. state of Georgia.
Throughout much of southern Georgia, US 82 is paired with State Route 520 and designated as "Corridor Z" and "South Georgia Parkway." West of Dawson, US 82 is paired with State 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 onto Tifton where US 82 intersects with I-75. After this the highway moves east through southern plains and Waycross, near the Okefenokee Swamp. US 82 then proceeds to Brunswick, where it terminates at the intersection with I-95.
History
During the initial creation of the US Highway System, the US 82 designation was unassigned.[1] The Mississippi Highway Department requested the creation of a route between Greenville and Columbus, additionally proposing that it should be extended eastward to Birmingham, Alabama, and into Arkansas. The American 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 replaced State Road 2, running from the Mississippi River to US 71 in Texarkana. 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 to Waycross, Georgia, with an extension east to US 17 in Midway, Georgia eight years later.[1]
On November 26, 1960, an extension to Las Cruces, New Mexico was 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 in Chester, Georgia on June 25, 1979. The east ends of US 82 and U.S. Route 84 were swapped in 1989 after the roads around Waycross, Georgia, were reconfigured. This change made US 82's eastern terminus I-95 in Brunswick, 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 at US 54/US 70.[1]
US 277 / US 281 / US 287 in Wichita Falls. US 82/US 281 travels concurrently through Wichita Falls. US 82/US 287 travels concurrently to west of Henrietta.
US 54 / US 70 at Alamogordo, NM
I-95 / US 17 / SR 25 / SR 520 at Brunswick, GA
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