U.S. Route 72 Alternate

; U.S. Route 72 Alternate
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Route information
	Alternate route of US 72
	Maintained by ALDOT
Length:	67.526 mi (108.673 km)
Major junctions
West end:	US 43 / US 72 at Muscle Shoals
	I‑65 / I‑565 at Decatur
East end:	I‑565 / US 72 at Huntsville
Highway system

Alternate US-72 exists in Alabama on the mostly south side of the Tennessee River between Muscle Shoals and Decatur, while US-72 follows on the north side of the river between Florence and Athens. Alternate 72 crosses the Tennessee River at Decatur, Alabama along with U.S. Highway 31 and follows the entire route of Interstate 565. SR-20 was co-signed with Alt US-72 from Muscle Shoals to Huntsville. SR-20 has since been truncated to the junction of I-65 just east of Decatur.

Originally, Alt US-72 turned off SR-20 on to SR-53 / Jordan Lane in Huntsville and followed it north 1-mile (1.6 km) to rejoin with US-72. With the completion of I-565 in the early 1990s, Alt US-72 was routed along with I-565 to the termination of I-565 at US-72.

Route description

ALT 72 enters Decatur, Alabama after leaving Trinity, carrying Alabama 20, and serves as the northern terminus for The Beltline(Alabama 67) and continues eastward towards the town center. After traveling by the Old State Bank, and the Dancy Polk House in the downtown area, ALT 72 intersects with US-31 and continues over the "Steamboat Bill" Hudson Memorial Bridge as it and Alabama 20 continue east towards the interchange with I-65 and I-565, while US-31 continues north towards Athens, Alabama and Calhoun Community College.

Major intersections

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County	Location	Destinations	Notes
Colbert	Muscle Shoals	US 43 / US 72 (Lee Highway)
		SR 113 (Wilson Dam Road)
		SR 157 (University of North Alabama Highway)
Lawrence	Leighton	SR 48 (County Line Road)
	Town Creek	SR 101 (Wheeler Dam Highway) – Wheeler Dam
	Courtland	SR 33 (Wilderness Parkway)
Morgan	Decatur	SR 67 (Beltline Road)
Morgan		US 31 (6th Avenue)
Limestone		US 31
		I‑65 / I‑565 / SR 20	I-65 north exit 340, south exits 340A-B; I-565 west exit 1, east exits 1A-B
	Mooresville	SR 71 (Mooresville Road)
		SR 115 (Greenbriar Road)
	Madison	Madison Boulevard/County Line Road
Madison		Glenn Hearn Boulevard – Huntsville International Airport
		Wall-Triana Highway
	Huntsville	Madison Boulevard
		SR 255 (Research Park Boulevard)
		Sparkman Drive, Tranquility Base
		SR 53 (Jordan Lane)
		US 231 (Memorial Parkway)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi