Draft:Interstate 59 in Mississippi

Interstate 59
I-59 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MDOT
Length	171.72 mi (276.36 km)
Existed	1963–present
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
South end	I-59 / US 11 at the Louisiana state line south of Nicholson
Major intersections	US 11 (multiple times) US 98 in Hattiesburg US 49 in Hattiesburg US 84 in Laurel I-20 / US 80 in Meridian
North end	I-20 / I-59 at the Alabama state line near Kewanee
Location
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
Counties	Pearl River, Lamar, Forrest, Jones, Jasper, Clarke, Lauderdale
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future Mississippi State Highway System Interstate US State

Interstate 59 (I-59) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs 445.23 miles (716.53 km) from Slidell, Louisiana, to just outside of Wildwood, Georgia. In the U.S. state of Mississippi, I-59 travels 171.72 miles (276.36 km) from the Louisiana state line south of Nicholson northward to the Alabama state line northeast of the city of Meridian. Other cities it connects to include Picayune, Hattiesburg, and Laurel. Outside of these cities, however, I-59 is a largely rural road, providing access to other civilized areas via U.S. and state highways. Continuing from Louisiana, I-59 parallels and even shares a few concurrencies with the older U.S. Route 11 (US 11) corridor for its entire route, and it has largely supplanted that route as a major highway for long-haul traffic. At Meridian, I-59 meets I-20, and the two routes are cosigned for the remainder of their length through the state.

Of the four states which I-59 passes through, the segment in Mississippi is the second-longest. I-59 was signed into the Interstate Highway System in 1960, with the first segment of it being a small section from the Louisiana state line to Picayune, then from Hattiesburg to Laurel, built in 1963. Unfinished segments of the highway were later completed through increments, and the highway was completely finished by 1969.

Route description

Louisiana to Laurel

I-59, along with US 11, enters Pearl River County, Mississippi from St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana southeast of Nicholson across the Pearl River. As the highway proceeds north, US 11 immediately splits from I-59 at the northern terminus of MS 607 to head northwest through the central portion of town while I-59 continues northeast and passes a truck weigh station. Approximately 1.25 miles (2.01 km) after the weigh station, I-59 reaches a rest area accessible from northbound, and shortly after, enters Picayune where it has an interchange with MS 43, which serves the downtown area. MS 43 shares a brief concurrency with I-59, about two miles (3.2 km) as the route crosses Hobolochitto Creek, before splitting off at the next interchange for North Picayune. I-59 continues on its own through wooded areas and skirts around the commmunity of Hide-A-Way Lake as well as the shoreline of Lake Hide-A-Way as it encounters a set of unknown ramps accessible via the northbound side. The Interstate then comes within close proximity of Anchor Lake as the southbound lanes also have a set of unknown ramps. I-59 then continues on for another 10 miles (16 km) as it intersects MS 53 for Poplarville but bypasses the city to the east and then has an interchange with MS 26, also serving Poplarville, 2 miles (3.2 km) later. As I-59 continues through rural areas, it approaches a wildlife area to the east and crosses the Wolf River. It proceeds for another 6 miles (9.7 km) before passing nearby a lake and crossing the Red Creek. Reaching Lumberton, I-59 has an interchange with MS 13 for the city's main district, bypassing it to the east. Curving slightly northward, the Interstate next crosses two small creeks before entering Lamar County and reaching an interchange with MS 589 for Purvis.

I-59 northbound after its split with MS 43

Crossing the Black Creek and into Forrest County some distance later, I-59 makes a slight turn northeast and approaches another rest area yet again accessible northbound, while a parking area is accessible southbound. I-59 reaches Hattiesburg as it makes a turn to the north and meets US 98. The two highways curve northwest and meet US 11 at another interchange, and then the highway enters Lamar County once again. I-59/US 98 begins entering the commercial developments of Hattiesburg, and at milepost 65, the Interstate splits from US 98 at a partial cloverleaf interchange (parclo), which heads west along Hardy Street for Columbia. I-59 heads in a relatively straight northward direction for a short distance before entering Forrest County again and turning northeast to meet US 49 and MS 42 at a cloverleaf interchange. MS 42 begins a concurrency with I-59, and the highway proceeds northeast and crosses the Bouie River. It enters rural areas once more and splits from MS 42 at milepost 69. I-59 turns back north and enters Jones County, where it continues through forest and has an exit for the Hattiesburg–Laurel Regional Airport at milepost 76. Shortly thereafter, it turns northeast and crosses the Leaf River, then turns a bit north and parallels US 11 again. The Interstate has its next interchange with MS 590 near Ellisville and very briefly parallels it before MS 590 turns eastward. I-59 bypasses Ellisville to the northwest and has an interchange with MS 29 and MS 588 (Hill Street) for the town's main district. Turning in a nearly eastward direction, I-59 then bridges the Tallahoma Creek and reaches its next interchange with US 11 at milepost 90. The Interstate curves northward and meets US 11 shortly after once more, immediately turning completely east after entering Laurel and meeting US 84 and MS 15 at a parclo interchange. These two routes form another concurrency with I-59 and the three highways proceed through the city center.

Laurel to Alabama

The highway continues in a perfectly eastward direction south of Laurel, meeting US 11 shortly after the concurrency. The highway begins to turn northeast slightly as MS 15 leaves I-59/US 84 via Cook Avenue. The highway turns entirely north and cuts around the shoreline of a nearby lake as US 84 also exits off of I-59 at the east side of town on Chantilly Street in a parclo interchange. I-59 turns northeast again and crosses over the Tallahala Creek before meeting US 11 at a single-point urban interchange. The surroundings return to wilderness as the freeway slants north and bypasses Sandersville to the west. The Interstate has a parking area on the northbound lanes and then one on the southbound lanes as it continues to head north. It then enters Jasper County and slants northeast yet again at an interchange with MS 528 before proceeding through more rural areas and bridging the Castaffa Creek. Next, it passes over the Shubuta Creek before gently making a curve northward and crossing the Pachuta Creek, then enters Clarke County. Its first interchange within the county is with MS 18 serving Pachuta to the southeast as it slides northeast, then north before making another cross over the Chicwillasaw Creek. It turns northeast to bridge the Souenlovie Creek and begins paralleling a smaller road to the west of it. At milepost 134, MS 513 branches off to the east for Enterprise. I-59 turns northward and the surroundings remain forested as it enters its final county in the state, Lauderdale County.

I-59 southbound leaving the concurrency with I-20

I-20 eastbound/I-59 northbound and three other concurrent routes in downtown Meridian

Immediately upon entering the county, I-59 crosses the Chunky River. It proceeds northeast through more wooded areas for the next 8 miles (13 km) before reaching the large interchange with I-20 and US 80 right outside of Meridian. From here, the exit numbers continue to follow I-59 as it merges with I-20 and US 80 for a concurrency. Eastward, the highway crosses the Okatibbee Creek and has an interchange with US 11 and MS 19 for the Meridian Regional Airport as it approaches the city. US 11 and MS 19 both converge with I-20/I-59/US 80 as the highway proceeds underneath the Meridian Southern Railway. Through the city center, the highway turns slightly northeast and intersects with MS 145 and MS 493 (22nd Avenue) at a parclo interchange for Quitman. From this interchange, the highway parallels a nearby frontage road on both the southbound and northbound directions before the next interchange, where US 11/US 80/MS 19 all split off while I-20 remains connected with I-59. The highway continues on fully eastward and encounters a cloverleaf interchange with US 45, heading south of Russell before proceeding into rural areas yet again with the southbound lanes having a welcome center for travelers coming into the state. I-20/I-59 crosses the Toomsuba Creek south of Toomsuba before curving northeast. The last major interchange I-20/I-59 has is a parclo interchange with US 80 before reaching a truck weigh station on both sides of the highway and crossing the state line into Sumter County, Alabama.

Exit list

County	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Pearl River	​	0.0	0.0		I-59 south / US 11 south – Slidell, New Orleans	Continuation into Louisiana across the Pearl River
	​	0.5	0.80	1	US 11 north / MS 607 south – Nicholson, John C. Stennis Space Center	North end of US 11 concurrency; north end of MS 607
	Picayune	4.0	6.4	4	MS 43 south – Picayune, Kiln	South end of MS 43 concurrency
		6.0	9.7	6	MS 43 north – North Picayune	North end of MS 43 concurrency
	​	10.5	16.9	10	Carriere
	​	14.9	24.0	15	McNeill
	​	19.5	31.4	19	Millard
	​	26.7	43.0	27	MS 53 – Necaise, Poplarville
	​	29.6	47.6	29	MS 26 – Poplarville, Wiggins
	​	35.4	57.0	35	Hillsdale Road
	Lumberton	41.1	66.1	41	MS 13 – Lumberton
Lamar	Purvis	51.3	82.6	51	MS 589 – Purvis
Forrest	​	58.6	94.3	59	US 98 east – Lucedale, Mobile	South end of US 98 concurrency
	​	60.5	97.4	60	US 11 – South Hattiesburg, Downtown Hattiesburg
Lamar	Hattiesburg	64.8	104.3	65	US 98 west (MS 198 east) / Hardy Street – Columbia	North end of US 98 concurrency; signed as exits 65A (MS 198) and 65B (US 98) northbound
Forrest		67.4	108.5	67	US 49 / MS 42 west – Hattiesburg, Jackson	South end of MS 42 concurrency; signed as exits 67A (south) and 67B (north)
		69.6	112.0	69	MS 42 east (Evelyn Gandy Parkway) – Petal	North end of MS 42 concurrency
	​	73.1	117.6	73	Monroe Road
Jones	​	75.6	121.7	76	Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport
	​	78.0	125.5	78	Sanford Road
	​	80.3	129.2	80	Moselle
	​	85.6	137.8	85	MS 590 – Ellisville
	Ellisville	88.2	141.9	88	MS 29 / MS 588 – Ellisville
	​	90.3	145.3	90	US 11 (Ellisville Boulevard)
	Laurel	92.9	149.5	93	US 11 – South Laurel
		94.5	152.1	95A-B	US 84 west / MS 15 north (16th Avenue)	South end of US 84/MS 15 concurrency; signed as exits 95A (south) and 95B (north)
		95.0	152.9	95C	Leontyne Price Boulevard	Formerly Beacon Street
		95.6	153.9	96A	4th Avenue / Masonite Road
		96.0	154.5	96B	MS 15 south (Cook Avenue) – Richton	North end of MS 15 concurrency
		96.8	155.8	97	US 84 east (Chantilly Street) – Waynesboro	North end of US 84 concurrency
		98.6	158.7	99	US 11
	​	104.1	167.5	104	Sandersville
Jasper	​	113.3	182.3	113	MS 528 – Heidelberg, Bay Springs
	​	118.2	190.2	118	Vossburg, Paulding
Clarke	​	125.9	202.6	126	MS 18 – Rose Hill, Pachuta
	​	133.6	215.0	134	MS 513 – South Enterprise, Rose Hill	Rose Hill not on northbound sign
	​	136.8	220.2	137	North Enterprise
Lauderdale	​	141.6	227.9	142	Savoy
	​	147.9	238.0	149	I-20 west / US 80 west – Jackson	South end of I-20/US 80 concurrency
	Meridian	149.9	241.2	150	US 11 south / MS 19 north – Philadelphia, Meridian Airport	South end of US 11/MS 19 concurrency
		150.5	242.2	151	James Chaney Dr
		151.4	243.7	152	29th Avenue
		152.8	245.9	153	MS 145 south / MS 493 north (22nd Avenue) – Quitman
		153.7	247.4	154	US 11 north / US 80 east / MS 19 south / MS 39 north – De Kalb, Butler	North end of US 11/US 80/MS 19 concurrency; signed as exits 154A (south) and 154B (north) northbound; north end of MS 39
		155.4	250.1	156	Jimmie Rodgers Parkway
		156.5	251.9	157	US 45 – Quitman, Macon	Signed as exits 157A (south) and 157B (north)
	​	160.0	257.5	160	Russell
	​	164.6	264.9	165	Toomsuba
	​	168.2	270.7	169	US 11 / US 80 – Kewanee
	​	171.72	276.36		I-20 east / I-59 north – Tuscaloosa	Continuation into Alabama
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi