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 Alabamapolitician John 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.
Route description
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.
District of Columbia
The route began in Washington, D.C., following US 1 into Virginia.
The route entered North Carolina on US 15 and followed it into Durham before taking the route of US 70 to Greensboro. At Greensboro, the Bankhead Highway took the current route of US 29 through Charlotte.
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. While US 29 now follows the route of State Route 316 for much of the distance between Athens and Lawrenceville, the Bankhead route followed Atlanta Highway to the present US 29 Business 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 veered onto Church Street and following it until it intersected Ponce De Leon Avenue. 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 carried the highway over Georgia Southern Railroad tracks to the present Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway. 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 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. The same was done in the adjacent section west of the Chattahoochee River by the Cobbcounty commission, which named it Veterans Memorial Parkway through Mableton and Austell.
Alabama
From Atlanta, the highway took the route of US-78 westward through Birmingham, and into Mississippi.
Mississippi
North branch from Guin Tremont, Clay, Fulton, Mooreville, Tupelo. South branch from Guin Splunge, Hatley, Amory, Bigbee, Nettleton, Maring, Plantersville, Tupelo. North branch from Tupelo Sherman, Blue Springs, Wallerville, New Albany, Myrtle, Hickory Flat, Winborn, Waits, Holly Springs, Red Banks, Victoria, Byhalia, Miller, Olive Branch. South branch from Tupelo Bissell, Furrs, Pontotoc, Springville, Toccopola, Oxford, Tyro, Independence, Lewisburg, Cedarview, Olive Branch.
Bankhead's route entered Tennessee at Memphis. In Memphis, the route left US-78 and followed US-70 into Arkansas.
Arkansas
The route passed through Little Rock on US 70. At Hot Springs, travelers were given two options. Main Route The main route followed Arkansas Highway 7 to US 67 at Arkadelphia, and followed US 67 to Texarkana and into Texas. Branch Route The branch route followed US 70 from Hot Springs to Oklahoma.
Oklahoma
Branch Route In Oklahoma, the branch route followed US 70 to US 81 to Oklahoma State Highway 7 in rural parts of the state. State Highway 7 connects to US 62 at Lawton, and the route followed US 62 to Texas.
Texas
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. Main Route The primary route through Texas was originally Texas Highway No.1, which became part of U.S. Route 67 and U.S. Route 80. The main route passed through Texarkana and Garland before arriving at Fort Worth where it turned onto former U.S. Route 80. The route, like the former US 80, went through the smaller cities of Midland and Odessa before rejoining the branch route at El Paso. The route from Fort Worth to El Paso is now followed by I-20 and I-10. Branch Route The branch route entered Texas on US 62, then turned onto US 70 at Paducah. The route went through eastern New Mexico, first at Clovis then through Roswell before turning onto US 54 at Alamogordo and reentering 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 84 to Post, where it turned westward on the current US 380 to Roswell, New Mexico.
New Mexico
. In New Mexico, the Bankhead route followed the former US 80 (now I-10 through Las Cruces and into Arizona.
The route followed the former US 80 in California through El Centro, El Cajon, La Mesa, and into San Diego, the highway's western terminus. This section of the Bankhead Highway is now a California state historic highway.
Signage
The Bankhead Highway was marked by a pole marker that was white with yellow stripes on the top and bottom and the letters "BH" in black.
