U.S. Highway 78 Business in Athens is a Bannered U.S. Highway in
Athens, GeorgiaAthens-Clarke County is a unified city-county in Georgia, U.S., in the northeastern part of the state. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial creation of Athens and its subsequent growth...
, concurrent with S.R. 10, with its western terminus beginning at S.R. 316 in
Oconee County, GeorgiaOconee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on February 25, 1875. As of the 2000 census, the population was 26,225. Census estimates for 2007 show a population of 31,367...
, and its eastern terminus at S.R. 10 Loop.
Prior to the completion of the
Paul Broun Parkway/Athens PerimeterState Route 10 Loop is a beltway around Athens, Georgia, United States. Except for a single at-grade intersection, it is built to freeway standards. Much of the road is concurrent with other routes - U.S. Route 29, U.S. Route 78, U.S. Route 129, U.S...
and Georgia 316, the Broad Street and Atlanta Highway portions of Highway 78 Business carried U.S. Highways 78 and 29 through Athens' downtown and commercial west side.
U.S. Highway 78 Business in Athens is a Bannered U.S. Highway in
Athens, GeorgiaAthens-Clarke County is a unified city-county in Georgia, U.S., in the northeastern part of the state. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial creation of Athens and its subsequent growth...
, concurrent with S.R. 10, with its western terminus beginning at S.R. 316 in
Oconee County, GeorgiaOconee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on February 25, 1875. As of the 2000 census, the population was 26,225. Census estimates for 2007 show a population of 31,367...
, and its eastern terminus at S.R. 10 Loop.
Prior to the completion of the
Paul Broun Parkway/Athens PerimeterState Route 10 Loop is a beltway around Athens, Georgia, United States. Except for a single at-grade intersection, it is built to freeway standards. Much of the road is concurrent with other routes - U.S. Route 29, U.S. Route 78, U.S. Route 129, U.S...
and Georgia 316, the Broad Street and Atlanta Highway portions of Highway 78 Business carried U.S. Highways 78 and 29 through Athens' downtown and commercial west side. US 29 entered Athens via North Avenue and Thomas Street, joining US 78 at the Broad Street-Thomas Street-Oconee Street intersection downtown. The combined highways continue to the
PepsiPepsi is a carbonated soft drink produced and manufactured by PepsiCo. It is sold in many places such as retail stores, restaurants, schools, cinemas and from vending machines. The drink was first made in the 1890s by pharmacist Caleb Bradham in New Bern, North Carolina. The brand was trademarked...
bottling plant in
BogartBogart is a town in Clarke and Oconee counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. The town is mostly in Oconee County, with a portion extending into Clarke County...
, where US 78 turned left onto the Moina Michael Highway and US 29 continued straight into Bogart.
Moina Michael Highway
Business 78 retains the Moina Michael Highway designation between
Georgia State Route 316State Route 316 links Metro Atlanta with Athens, Georgia, home of the University of Georgia. The state route is in length. Georgia 316 begins at I-85 exit 106, near Lawrenceville, passing through Bethlehem, Georgia and Statham, Georgia and ending at SR 10 Loop near Athens...
and Atlanta Highway.
Atlanta Highway
Business 78 has become known worldwide as part of the route to the
Love Shack"Love Shack" is a single by rock band The B-52's. Originally released in 1989 from their album Cosmic Thing, the single was the band's biggest hit song and first million-copy seller...
by
The B-52'sThe B-52s originated is a New Wave rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, United States, in 1976. The B-52s' sound is marked by the vocals — the female harmonies of Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson, and the generally spoken-word or sprechgesang male vocal counterpoint of Fred Schneider, Ricky Wilson's...
. Atlanta Highway is the main suburban commercial strip in Athens, with
Georgia Square MallGeorgia Square Mall, located in Athens, Georgia, is a super-regional shopping mall in northeastern Georgia whose clientele includes students attending University of Georgia, the major university in the state and the nation's oldest public university .-History:Opened in 1981, this two-level mall was...
and a multitude of big box stores and car dealerships. Epps Bridge Parkway, an extension of
Georgia State Route 316State Route 316 links Metro Atlanta with Athens, Georgia, home of the University of Georgia. The state route is in length. Georgia 316 begins at I-85 exit 106, near Lawrenceville, passing through Bethlehem, Georgia and Statham, Georgia and ending at SR 10 Loop near Athens...
, forms an interchange with Atlanta Highway just west of the Middle
Oconee RiverThe Oconee River is a river which has its origin in Hall County, Georgia, and terminates 170 miles later where it joins the Ocmulgee River to form the Altamaha River near Lumber City at the borders of Montgomery County, Wheeler County, and Jeff Davis County...
.
Broad Street
The highway changes its name to Broad Street as it approaches the city center. Landmarks include
The VarsityThe Varsity is a restaurant chain, iconic in the modern culture of Atlanta, Georgia. The main branch of the chain is the largest drive-in fast food restaurant in the world...
restaurant, and the
University of GeorgiaThe University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning. Founded in 1785, UGA claims to be the oldest public university in the United States....
. Monuments to
ConfederateThe Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America during its brief existence from 1861 to 1865. It was established in two phases with provisional and permanent organizations, which existed concurrently....
soldiers and
Elijah ClarkeElijah Clarke , born in Anson County, North Carolina, was a Georgian hero of the American Revolutionary War.Clarke moved from North Carolina to Wilkes County, Georgia, in 1774 where he joined the patriot militia...
line the median strip opposite the University. At Thomas Street, Broad Street continues east, while Business 78 follows Oconee Street southeast.
Oconee Street and Oak Street
Oconee Street is signed as Business 78 for only several blocks, as Oconee Street goes up Carr's Hill just east of the North Oconee River. Business 78 follows Oak Street to go around the hill.
When Business 78 rejoins the primary route of 78 (which follows the S.R. 10 Loop to the south of the city), the road changes name again, to Lexington Road.