Texas in
Milam County, Texas. US 79 begins at
Interstate 35's Exit #253 north of
Austin in
Round Rock. The route travels eastward through
Hutto and
Taylor to
Rockdale, where it intersects
US 77. In
Milano, US 79 turns to the northeast and begins a concurrency with
US 190 until
Hearne. The route continues through
Franklin and
Jewett before reaching
Buffalo, where it intersects
Interstate 45 at its Exit #178. US 79 has a brief duplex with
US 84 that begins near
Oakwood and continues through
Palestine before separating; here US 79 also intersects
US 287. The route continues to the northeast through
Jacksonville, where it has a junction with
US 69, and
Henderson, where it crosses
US 259. The highway then travels due east to
Carthage, where it meets
US 59 (Future
I-369), before resuming a northeasterly direction and crossing into
Louisiana near
Panola. US 79 is also entwined with two tragedies of country music.
Johnny Horton was killed by a drunk driver on the highway near Milano in 1960 and
Jim Reeves, killed in a plane crash in 1964, is buried and memorialized on US 79 in his hometown of
Carthage.
Louisiana US 79 joins
US 80 near
Greenwood, and the two routes are cosigned through
Shreveport. US 79/80 cross the
Red River over the
Texas Street Bridge and continue into
Bossier City. The routes parallel
Interstate 20 through the old Bossier City Entertainment District until
Minden, where the two routes separate: US 80 continues eastward, while US 79 turns to the northeast toward
Homer. In Homer, the route resumes a more northerly direction, traveling through
Haynesville before crossing the Arkansas border about south of
Emerson.
Arkansas . This segment is also an
Arkansas Heritage Trail Trail of Tears route. US 79 continues northward from Louisiana into
Emerson and then
Magnolia, where it has a brief concurrency with
US 82 through the city. From here, the route turns to the northeast, through
Camden, where it intersects
US 278, and
Fordyce, in which it has a brief concurrency with
US 167. East of
Kingsland, the highway travels in a more northerly direction as it prepares to enter the
Pine Bluff metropolitan area. In Pine Bluff, U.S. 79 joins the
Interstate 530 freeway, while a business route continues through downtown. After the freeway ends, US 79 and
US 63, with which it is cosigned, leave the city toward the north. The two routes stay joined until
Stuttgart. US 79 continues to the east and northeast, through
Marianna and
Hughes, before turning due north to an intersection with
Interstate 40 near
Jennette. US 79 joins I-40 and the two routes stay cosigned through the concurrency with
Interstate 55 in
West Memphis, before US 79 joins I-55 to cross the
Mississippi River at the
Memphis & Arkansas Bridge into
Memphis.
Tennessee US 79 enters
Memphis with US 70, US 64 and Tennessee State Route 1, travelling east along E.H. Crump Boulevard, turns north on Third Street and travels through Downtown Memphis along both Second and Third Streets (3rd St is three lanes of northbound traffic and 2nd St is three lanes southbound). It continues east on Union Avenue, north along East Parkway, and east along Summer Avenue. At Stage Road in
Bartlett, it continues along Summer Avenue with
US 70, while US 64 turns east along Stage Rd. From here, US 79 continues north from Bartlett, passing through the rest of Shelby County as a four-lane undivided highway. In
Arlington, the road narrows to two lanes and passes through
Fayette,
Tipton and
Haywood counties until
Brownsville. In Brownsville, US 79, along with US 70 and SR 1, goes to the south along a bypass (named Dupree Avenue). On the east side of the city, US 70 and SR 1 turn east while US 79 and 70A continue to the northeast, passing through Crockett and Gibson Counties. The section from
Milan to the Carroll County line was widened to four lanes. US 70A splits off from US 79 near
Atwood and US 79 continues to the northeast into
Henry County, passing through the city of
Paris, then crosses the
Tennessee River. The portion from
McKenzie to the Tennessee River is four lanes, and plans are in the works to widen the portion in between this section and the Milan section. The section from Brownsville to the Tennessee River is part of the "Austin Peay Memorial Highway" (the other portions being TN 14 from I-240 to TN 54, and the part of TN 54 from TN 14 to US 79). Once US 79 enters
Stewart County, it passes to the south of the
Land Between the Lakes recreation area and crosses the
Cumberland River. The portion between the rivers is known as Donelson Parkway. Then it enters Montgomery County and the city of
Clarksville. This portion between
Dover and Clarksville is known as Dover Road. Once through Clarksville, US 79 continues northeast and enters Kentucky. '''''' is the name given to the portion of US 79 in Clarksville between the
Interstate 24 (exit 4) in Clarksville to the Red River (Lynnwood-Tarpley) bridge near the Kraft Street intersection. This section of US 79 in Clarksville was previously called the Guthrie Highway, for nearby
Guthrie, Kentucky, but in 1994, the name was changed to honor
Wilma Rudolph, an Olympic runner from Clarksville, who won three gold medals in the 1960 Rome Summer Olympic Games. Between Clarksville and
Dover, the road is known as "Dover Road".
Kentucky US 79 enters
Kentucky from
Tennessee in
Todd County west of
Guthrie and runs northeast into
Logan County, now terminating at the junction of
US 68 on the east side of
Russellville on its bypass around the south side, from the Tennessee state line, after formerly terminating at a junction with
US 431 in Russellville. It currently does not touch
KY 79, whose southern terminus is at Russellville. That highway extends northward to the
Ohio River, into
Indiana. It is unknown if KY 79 was meant to be a northern extension of US 79. ==History==