State Route 277 is a 9.35 miles (15 km) state highway

State highway

State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...

 in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

, running along part of former U.S. Highway 72 in Jackson County. Upon completion of the present US-72 expressway

Limited-access road

A limited-access road known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway and expressway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which has many or most characteristics of a controlled-access highway , including limited or no access to adjacent...

 in the 1990s, the old road was given to the county and cities of Stevenson and Bridgeport to maintain as County Road 74, but the local governments convinced the state to take back the road, which was redesignated SR-277 in March 2003.

County leaders and city leaders in Bridgeport

Bridgeport, Alabama

Bridgeport is a small city in Jackson County, Alabama, United States. At the time of 2000 census the population was 2,728. Bridgeport is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area.-History:...

 and Stevenson

Stevenson, Alabama

Stevenson is a city in Jackson County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 1,770.-Geography:Stevenson is located at ....

 were not happy about the road being their responsibility and turned down requests to take the road back several times. The roadway has many bridges and is designed in such a way that maintenance of the road was deemed too expensive for Jackson County

Jackson County, Alabama

Jackson County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of Andrew Jackson, general in the United States Army and President of the United States of America. As of 2010, the population was 53,227. The county seat is Scottsboro. Jackson County is a prohibition or dry county,...

. After a large effort by the county and local state legislators to get the route back under state control, ALDOT

Alabama Department of Transportation

The Alabama Department of Transportation is the government agency responsible for transportation infrastructure in Alabama. The department is divided into nine geographical divisions, with a central office located in Montgomery.-External links:...

 reluctantly took back the highway as SR-277, insisting that they would swap mileage with State Route 35 west of Scottsboro

Scottsboro, Alabama

Scottsboro is a city in Jackson County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 14,770. Named for its founder Robert Scott, the city is the county seat of Jackson County....

. However, that mileage swap never occurred and SR-35 west of Scottsboro remains a state-controlled highway.

SR-277 does not include all of former US-72. The route is nine miles (14 km) long and only includes the portions between the interchange of old US-72 and US-72 east of Stevenson to US-72 just east of Bridgeport.

SR-277 runs on the original Memphis and Charlston RR bed and the ride-a-way is narrow being from the edge to edge of the payment.

Major intersections