8. In Atlanta, US 278 merges further with other highways including SR 10 and US 23 before splitting off at Ponce de Leon Ave. and East Lake Road near Decatur. In Avondale Estates, SR 12 is paired with US 278, all the way into Thomson. There, US 278 merges with US 78/SR 10 to the South Carolina line. South Carolina After crossing the Savannah River, US 278 bypasses North Augusta, South Carolina, en route to Beech Island and Johnson Crossroads. It then winds through a corner of the Savannah River Site. The route then continues onward through the towns of Allendale, Fairfax, Hampton, Varnville, Ridgeland, and Hardeeville where it meets I-95. US 278 shares the route between Ridgeland and Hardeeville with US 17. Upon reaching Hardeeville, the route heads eastward toward the Atlantic with major new developments lining the spine of the road from Hardeeville through Sun City and Bluffton before crossing over the bridge to Hilton Head Island. US 278 ends at US 278 Business on the southern portion of Hilton Head Island, just outside Sea Pines Plantation. History In 1954, US 278 was extended from Guin, Alabama, to Augusta, Georgia. The extension was routed along US 43 from Guin to Hamilton, Alabama, then over SR 74 to the Georgia state line. In Georgia, US 278 was routed over SR 6 to Atlanta and SR 12 to Augusta. A further extension from Augusta to Jacksonboro, South Carolina, in 1955 was denied by AASHO in 1955. In 1989, US 278 was rerouted through Dallas, Georgia; the former route through town was redesignated US 278 Byp. AASHTO approved another relocation through Rockmart, Georgia, in 1990; the former route through town became US 278 Bus. A third relocation the following year in Cedartown, Georgia, was also approved. Alabama rerouted a section of US 278 in Guin over a section of SR 118 in 1995. At the same time, South Carolina rerouted the highway in Ridgeland over US 17 and SC 88. Mississippi and Arkansas extended US 278 westward in 1997 from US 45 in Nettleton, Mississippi, to US 71 in Wickes, Arkansas. The following year, the highway was relocated on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina; the former routing because US 278 Bus. Alabama relocated US 278 in Gadsden in 2000. Until early 2005, US 278 was only signed in Mississippi from the Alabama state line to US 45 west of Amory. US