Interstate 59

Interstate 59 marker

Interstate 59
Route information
Length: 445.23 mi[1] (716.53 km)
Existed: 1960 – present
Major junctions
South end: I‑10 / I‑12 near Slidell, LA
 

US 98 in Hattiesburg, MS
US 84 in Laurel, MS
I-20 in Meridian, MS
US 82 in Tuscaloosa, AL
I‑65 in Birmingham, AL
I‑20 in Birmingham, AL

US 278 / US 431 in Gadsden, AL
North end: I‑24 in Wildwood, GA
Highway system
← SR 405SR 407 →

Interstate 59 (I-59) is an Interstate Highway in the southern United States. Its southern terminus is near Slidell, Louisiana, a northeastern suburb of New Orleans, at its interchange with I-10 and I-12, and its northern terminus is at Wildwood, Georgia, at its interchange with I-24. The highway's major purpose is to connect Chattanooga, Tennessee, and points north, with New Orleans via Birmingham, Alabama. Along its entire route, I-59 is parallel to U.S. Route 11 (US 11). I-59 is a four-lane freeway along its entire route except for some portions north of Tuscaloosa, Alabama and in the Birmingham, Alabama, metropolitan area, where it is several lanes wider.

About a third of the entire route overlaps with Interstate 20 between Birmingham, Alabama and Meridian, Mississippi.

Route description

Lengths
  mikm
LA 11 18
MS 171.716 276.350
AL 241 388
GA 20.57 33.27
Total 444 715

Louisiana

At the bottom of I-12's eastbound ramp to LA 59, travelers also find a shield for the unrelated I-59, some 20 miles (32 km) farther east

In the U.S. state of Louisiana, I-59 is shorter than it is in any other state: Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. From south-to-north, I-59 begins at its junction with I-10 and I-12 near Slidell. Then it bypasses Pearl River before crossing the West Pearl River and then the East Pearl River. At the East Pearl River, I-59 leaves St. Tammany Parish and it enters Pearl River County, Mississippi.

Mississippi

In Mississippi, I-59 continues to run parallel with US 11, traversing mainly rural areas, but going through or bypassing the towns of Picayune, Poplarville, Hattiesburg, Ellisville, Moselle, Laurel, and Meridian.

For its length in Mississippi, I-59 either travels concurrent with, or runs close to, US 11. Between the towns of Pearl River and Picayune, US 11 travels concurrent with I-59. The highway also has concurrencies with US 98 in Hattiesburg; US 84 and Mississippi Highway 15 (MS 15) in Laurel, and US 80, US 11, and MS 19 in the Meridian area.

A notoriously sharp S-curve, at milepost 96 in Laurel, was the subject of a large reconstruction project. Those sharp curves were the legacy of an overpass over the Southern Railway on a town bypass with design dating from before the Interstate Highways, and they featured a 40 mph (64 km/h) speed limit, one of the lowest anywhere on the Interstate Highway System. This work was completed in 2009.

A stretch of I-59 in Mississippi

Just west of Meridian, I-20 joins I-59 and these two highways continue together for 145 miles (233 km), across the border with Alabama to and through Birmingham. The exit numbers are given as those of I-59.

At 4:00 p.m. on August 27, 2005, for the first time in its history, the southbound lanes of I-59 were temporarily redirected northward to accommodate evacuation for Hurricane Katrina. This was a previously agreed to joint plan by the states of Mississippi and Louisiana called contraflow lane reversal. The program began at the Louisiana–Mississippi state line and continued 21 miles (34 km) north to Poplarville.

Alabama

I-59 (co-signed with I-20) approaching I-65 in downtown Birmingham.

I-59 and I-20 travel together for about 40 percent of their route through Alabama, passing northeast through Tuscaloosa before finally parting ways in eastern Birmingham.

In Birmingham, many wrecks and accidents occur near the cross-over interchange of I-20/I-59 and I-65. On two occasions, 18-wheelers crashed and burned fiercely enough to melt the support beams of overpasses. Beginning in eastern Birmingham, I-59 continues on its own northeast, passing by Gadsden and Fort Payne in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, before entering Georgia.

I-59 from Gadsden at mile marker 182 to Stephen's Gap at mile marker 193 had degraded over the decades since it was opened into a rough concrete highway. Between 2010 and 2014, a construction project called "Project 59" took place between Gadsden and Fort Payne. This project consisted of reconstructing the Interstate Highway with unbonded concrete (without any space cracks) as well as modifications to the width and vertical clearance of the bridges and overpasses in the segment.

Georgia

I-59 has a short trek through Georgia, with only three exits before ending at I-24 several miles west of Chattanooga, Tennessee, in Wildwood, Georgia. During this stretch, the highway is also designated as Georgia State Route 406 for internal Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) purposes.[2]

Exit list

CountyLocationmikmExitDestinationsNotes
St. TammanySlidell1A I‑12 west – HammondSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
1B I‑10 east – Bay St. LouisSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
2 I‑10 west – New OrleansSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
3 US 11 south / LA 1090 south – Pearl RiverSouth end of US 11 concurrency
Pearl River5A
LA 41 Spur – Pearl River
 5BHoney Island Swamp
 11Pearl River Turnaround
Pearl RiverLouisiana–Mississippi state line
Pearl River 1 US 11 north / MS 607 south – Nicholson, Stennis Space CenterNorth end of US 11 concurrency
Picayune4 MS 43 south – Picayune, KilnSouth end of MS 43 concurrency
6 MS 43 north – North PicayuneNorth end of MS 43 concurrency
 10Carriere
 15McNeill
 19Millard
 27 MS 53 – Necaise, Poplarville
 29 MS 26 – Poplarville, Wiggins
 35Hillsdale Road
Lumberton41 MS 13 – Lumberton
LamarPurvis51 MS 589 – Purvis
Forrest 59 US 98 east – Lucedale, MobileSouth end of US 98 concurrency
 619860 US 11 – South Hattiesburg
LamarHattiesburg6510565 US 98 west (MS 198 east) / Hardy Street – ColumbiaNorth end of US 98 concurrency; signed as exits 65A (MS 198) and 65B (US 98) northbound
Forrest67 US 49 / MS 42 west – Hattiesburg, JacksonSouth end of MS 42 concurrency; signed as exits 67A (south) and 67B (north)
69 MS 42 east (Evelyn Gandy Parkway) – PetalNorth end of MS 42 concurrency
 73Monroe Road
Jones 76Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport
 78Sanford Road
 80Moselle
 85 MS 590 – Ellisville
Ellisville88 MS 29 / MS 588 – Ellisville
 90 US 11 (Ellisville Boulevard)
Laurel93 US 11 – South Laurel
95 US 84 west / MS 15 north (16th Avenue)South end of US 84/MS 15 concurrency; signed as exits 95A (south) and 95B (north)
95CBeacon StreetLaurel S-curve southbound
96A4th Avenue, Masonite Road
96B MS 15 south (Cook Avenue)North end of MS 15 concurrency
97 US 84 east (Chantilly Street) – WaynesboroNorth end of US 84 concurrency
99 US 11 (Ellisville Boulevard)
 104Sandersville
Jasper 113 MS 528 – Heidelberg, Bay Springs
 118Vossburg, Paulding
Clarke 126 MS 18 – Rose Hill, Pachuta
 134 MS 513 – South Enterprise
 137North Enterprise
Lauderdale 142Savoy
 149 I-20 west (US 80 west) – JacksonSouth end of I-20/US 80 concurrency
Meridian150 US 11 south / MS 19 north – Philadelphia, AirportSouth end of US 11/MS 19 concurrency
151Valley Road, 49th Avenue
15229th Avenue
153 MS 145 south (22nd Avenue) – Quitman
154 MS 19 south / MS 39 north (US 11 north/US 80 east) – De Kalb, ButlerNorth end of US 11/US 80/MS 19 concurrency; signed as exits 154A (south) and 154B (north) northbound
156Jimmie Rodgers Pkwy
157 US 45 – Quitman, MaconSigned as exits 157A (south) and 157B (north)
 160Russell
 165Toomsuba
 169 US 11 / US 80 – Kewanee
 Mississippi–Alabama state line
Sumter 1 To US 80 east – Cuba, Demopolis
 8 SR 17 – York
 17 SR 28 – Livingston, Boyd
 23 CR 20 – Gainesville, Epes
Greene 32Boligee
 40 SR 14 – Aliceville, Eutaw
 45Union
 52 US 11 / US 43 – Knoxville
Tuscaloosa 62Fosters
Tuscaloosa68Northport Tuscaloosa Western Bypass
71 I‑359 north / SR 69 – Tuscaloosa, MoundvilleSigned as exts 71A (south) and 71B (north)
73 US 82 (McFarland Boulevard)
76 US 11 – Cottondale, East Tuscaloosa
77Cottondale
 79 US 11 / SR 7 – Coaling, Cottondale
 86Brookwood, Vance
 89Mercedes Drive
 97 US 11 south / SR 5 south – West Blocton, CentrevilleSouth end of US 11/SR 5 concurrency
 100Abernant, BucksvilleUnsigned eastern terminus for AL-216
Jefferson 104Rock Mountain LakeMcAshan Drive
 106 I‑459 north – Gadsden, Montgomery, AtlantaSouthern terminus of I-459
Bessemer108 US 11 north / SR 5 north (Academy Drive)North end of US 11/SR 5 concurrency
110Alabama Adventure Parkway
11218th Street, 19th Street
11318th Avenue
115Allison–Bonnet Memorial Drive, Jaybird Road
Fairfield118Valley Road – Fairfield
Birmingham119Lloyd Nolan ParkwaySigned as exit 119A southbound
119BAvenue ISouthbound exit and northbound entrance
120 SR 269 (20th Street) / Ensley Avenue
121Bush BoulevardSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
123 US 78 (Arkadelphia Road) – Jasper
124 I‑65 – Montgomery, HuntsvilleSigned as exits 124A (south) and 124B (north)
125A17th Street – Downtown BirminghamNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
125B22nd Street – Downtown BirminghamSigned as exit 125 southbound
126A US 31 (11th Avenue North) / US 280 east / Carraway Boulevard – Civic CenterWestern terminus of US 280
126B31st Street North
128 SR 79 (Tallapoosa Street)
129Airport Boulevard
130 I‑20 east – AtlantaNorth end of I-20 concurrency
131Oporto–Madrid BoulevardNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
132 US 11 (1st Avenue North)
1334th Avenue SouthNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
134 To SR 75 (Roebuck Parkway)
Trussville137 I‑459 south – Montgomery, Tuscaloosa, AtlantaNorthern terminus of I-459
141Trussville, Pinson
 143Deerfoot Parkway, Mount Olive Church Road
 148 I‑422 southProposed interchange
 149 To US 11 – Argo
Saint Clair 154 SR 174 – Odenville, Springville
 156 SR 23 – Ashville, St Clair Springs
 166 US 231 – Ashville, Oneonta
 174Steele
EtowahAttalla181 SR 77 – Attalla, Rainbow City
Attalla182 I‑759 east – GadsdenWestern terminus of I-759
183 US 278 / US 431 – Attalla, Gadsden
Gadsden188 SR 211 to US 11 – Noccalula Falls Park
DeKalb 205 SR 68 – Collinsville, Crossville
 218 SR 35 – Fort Payne, Rainsville
 222 US 11 – Fort Payne
 22449th Street
 231 SR 40 / SR 117 – Valley Head, Hammondville
 239 To US 11 / Sulphur Springs Road
 Alabama–Georgia state line
Dade 4Rising Fawn
Trenton11 SR 136 – Trenton
 17Slygo Road – New England
 — I‑24 – Nashville, ChattanoogaNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Auxiliary routes

See also

References

  1. ↑ USDOT — Federal Highway Administration (October 31, 2002). "Table 1: Main Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System Of Interstate & Defense Highways". FHWA Route Log and Finder List. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration.
  2. ↑ Office of Transportation Data (2003). "Interstate Mileage Report (438 Report)" (PDF). Georgia Department of Transportation.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

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