U.S. Route 72 Alternate

U.S. Route 72 Alternate
Route information
Auxiliary route of US 72
Maintained by ALDOT
Length	67.526 mi[1] (108.673 km)
Major junctions
West end	US 43 / US 72 / SR 13 / SR 17 / SR 20 at Muscle Shoals
Major intersections	SR 157 in Muscle Shoals SR 101 in Town Creek SR 33 in Courtland US 31 in Decatur I-65 / I-565 / SR 20 near Decatur SR 255 in Huntsville SR 53 in Huntsville US 231 / US 431 in Huntsville
East end	I-565 / US 72 in Huntsville
Location
Country	United States
State	Alabama
Counties	Colbert, Lawrence, Morgan, Limestone, Madison
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Alabama State Highway System Interstate US State
← SR 19 SR 20 → SR 21

Alternate U.S. Route 72 (US 72 Alt.) exists in Alabama on the 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. US 72 Alt. crosses the Tennessee River at Decatur, along with US 31, and follows the entire route of Interstate 565 (I-565). SR-20 was co-signed with US 72 Alt. from Muscle Shoals to Huntsville but has since been truncated to the junction of I-65 just east of Decatur.

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