Graysville bottleneck

The Graysville bottleneck refers to the transition from the four-lane stretch of U.S. Highway 78 in Jefferson County to two lanes at Graysville that existed prior to its widening in the early 1960s.

Attention was brought to the need for the project in the Committee of Ways and Means of the Alabama Legislature on July 17, 1957 by Jefferson County's "adopted representative", Emmett Oden of Franklin County. When he asked about whether the bottleneck would be addressed in the upcoming round of highway improvements, Director Herman Nelson responded that acquisition of right-of-way had already begun.

Along with projects to widen the highway in Walker County that were already underway, the result of the 11-mile project was a four-lane United States Route connecting Birmingham to Jasper.

References

• Sparrow, Hugh W. (July 18, 1957) "U. S. 78 stretch to be four-laned." Birmingham News.