Interstate 59

Interstate 59
Route of I-59 highlighted in red
Route information
Length:	445.23 mi[1] (716.53 km)
Existed:	1960 – present
Major junctions
South end:	I-10 / I-12 in Slidell, LA
	US 49 / 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 west of Wildwood, GA
Location
States:	Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia
Counties:	LA: St. Tammany Parish MS: Pearl River, Lamar, Forrest, Jones, Jasper, Clarke, Lauderdale AL: Sumter, Greene, Tuscaloosa, Jefferson, St. Clair, Etowah, DeKalb GA: Dade
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future ← SR 405 GA SR 406 SR 407 →

Interstate 59 (I-59) is an Interstate Highway located in the southeastern United States. It is a north–south route that spans 445.23 miles (716.53 km) from a junction with I-10 and I-12 at Slidell, Louisiana to a junction with I-24 near Wildwood, Georgia.

The highway connects the metropolitan areas of New Orleans, Louisiana and Chattanooga, Tennessee, running closely parallel to the older U.S. Route 11 (US 11) corridor for the entire distance. Approximately one-third of the route, spanning 153 miles (246 km) from Meridian, Mississippi to Birmingham, Alabama, overlaps that of the east–west I-20.

I-59 is a four-lane freeway along its entire route, other than a short stretch extending from north of Tuscaloosa, Alabama through Birmingham, where it widens to six lanes or more.

Route description

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

I-59 spans 11.48 miles (18.48 km) in Louisiana, the shortest distance in the four states through which it travels. The route begins at a partial cloverleaf interchange with I-10 (exit 267) and I-12 (exit 85) at the northeast corner of Slidell, a city in St. Tammany Parish. From this interchange, connections are made to New Orleans and Hammond, as well as Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Heading north, I-59 has two exits serving the town of Pearl River, where it begins a concurrency with US 11. Immediately afterward, the highway crosses the West Pearl River and passes through an interchange with Old US 11, a portion of the pre-interstate alignment serving the Pearl River Wildlife Management Area. I-59 then travels through the Honey Island Swamp for 6 miles (9.7 km) before crossing the main branch of the Pearl River into Mississippi.^[2][3][4]

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 (65 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(commonly called "Malfunction Junction"). 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. Within Georgia it carries unsigned designated as State Route 406 (SR 406) for internal Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) purposes.^[5]

Exit list

State	Parish/County	Location	mi[6][7][8]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Louisiana	St. Tammany	Slidell	0.000– 0.842	0.000– 1.355	1	I-10 – New Orleans, Bay St. Louis I-12 west – Hammond	Southern terminus of I-59; eastern terminus of I-12; signed as exits 1A (I-12 west), 1B (I-10 east), and 1C (I-10 west)
		​	3.424– 4.156	5.510– 6.688	3	US 11 south / LA 1090 south – Pearl River	Southern end of US 11 concurrency; northern terminus of LA 1090
		Pearl River	5.170– 5.636	8.320– 9.070	5A	LA 3081 – Pearl River	Northern terminus of LA 3081
		​	6.264– 6.765	10.081– 10.887	5B	Honey Island Swamp	To Old US 11
		​	11.638– 11.957	18.730– 19.243	11	Pearl River Turnaround
Pearl River			12.058 0.0	19.405 0.0	Louisiana–Mississippi state line
Mississippi	Pearl River	​	0.5	0.80	1	US 11 north / MS 607 south – Nicholson, NASA John C. Stennis Space Center	North end of US 11 concurrency
		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	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)
			95.0	152.9	95C	Beacon Street	Laurel S-curve southbound
			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	Valley Road, 49th Avenue
			151.4	243.7	152	29th Avenue
			152.8	245.9	153	MS 145 south (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
			155.4	250.1	156	Jimmie Rodgers Pkwy
			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
			171.7 0.0	276.3 0.0	Mississippi–Alabama state line
Alabama	Sumter	​	0.804	1.294	1	To US 80 east – Cuba, Demopolis
		​	8.041	12.941	8	SR 17 – York
		​	17.059	27.454	17	SR 28 – Livingston, Boyd
		​	23.141	37.242	23	CR 20 – Gainesville, Epes
	Greene	​	32.229	51.868	32	Boligee
		​	40.766	65.607	40	SR 14 – Aliceville, Eutaw
		​	45.334	72.958	45	Union
		​	52.244	84.079	52	US 11 / US 43 – Knoxville
	Tuscaloosa	​	62.466	100.529	62	SR 300 – Fosters	SR 300 is an unsigned route
		Tuscaloosa	68.083	109.569	68	Northport Tuscaloosa Western Bypass
			71.367	114.854	71	I‑359 north / SR 69 – Tuscaloosa, Moundville	Signed as exts 71A (south) and 71B (north); unsigned US 11
			73.003	117.487	73	US 82 (McFarland Boulevard)
			75.961	122.247	76	US 11 – Cottondale, East Tuscaloosa
			77.102	124.084	77	Cottondale
		​	79.895	128.579	79	US 11 – Coaling, Cottondale
		​	86.295	138.878	86	Brookwood, Vance
		​	89.253	143.639	89	Mercedes Drive
		​	97.138	156.328	97	US 11 south / SR 5 south – West Blocton, Centreville	South end of US 11/SR 5 concurrency
		​	100.292	161.404	100	Abernant, Bucksville	Unsigned eastern terminus for SR 216
	Jefferson	​	104.159	167.628	104	Rock Mountain Lake	McAshan Drive
		​	106.201	170.914	106	I‑459 north – Gadsden, Montgomery, Atlanta	Southern terminus of I-459
		Bessemer	108.396	174.446	108	US 11 north / SR 5 north (Academy Drive)	North end of US 11/SR 5 concurrency
			110.021	177.062	110	Splash Adventure Parkway
			112.341	180.795	112	18th Street, 19th Street
			113.280	182.306	113	18th Avenue
			115.520	185.911	115	Allison–Bonnet Memorial Drive, Jaybird Road
		Fairfield	118.304	190.392	118	Valley Road – Fairfield
		Birmingham	119.025	191.552	119	Lloyd Nolan Parkway	Signed as exit 119A southbound
			119.727	192.682	119B	Avenue I	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
			120.934	194.624	120	SR 269 (20th Street) / Ensley Avenue	Southern terminus of SR 269
			121.238	195.114	121	Bush Boulevard	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
			123.374	198.551	123	US 78 (Arkadelphia Road) – Jasper	Unsigned SR 5
			124.740	200.750	124	I‑65 – Montgomery, Huntsville	Signed as exits 124A (south) and 124B (north)
			125.221	201.524	125A	17th Street – Downtown Birmingham	Exit ramp closed May 31, 2017 through 2018 for reconstruction; southbound entrance
			125.639	202.196	125B	22nd Street – Downtown Birmingham	Signed as exit 125 southbound
			126.239	203.162	126A	US 31 (11th Avenue North) / US 280 east / Carraway Boulevard – Civic Center	Western terminus of US 280
			126.825	204.105	126B	31st Street North
			128.257	206.410	128	SR 79 (Tallapoosa Street)
					129	Airport Boulevard
			130.301	209.699	130	I‑20 east – Atlanta	North end of I-20 concurrency
					131	Oporto–Madrid Boulevard	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			132.214	212.778	132	US 11 (1st Avenue North)	No access from I-59 north to US 11 south, from US 11 south to I-59 north, or from US 11 north to I-59 south
					133	4th Avenue South	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			134.383	216.268	134	To SR 75 (Roebuck Parkway) – Center Point
		Trussville	137.202	220.805	137	I‑459 south – Montgomery, Tuscaloosa, Atlanta	Northern terminus of I-459
					141	Trussville, Pinson
		​	143.647	231.177	143	Deerfoot Parkway, Mount Olive Church Road
		​			147	I‑422 south	Proposed interchange
		​			148	To US 11 – Argo
	Saint Clair	​	153.911	247.696	154	SR 174 – Odenville, Springville
		​	156.178	251.344	156	SR 23 – Springville, Ashville, St Clair Springs
		​	166.322	267.669	166	US 231 – Ashville, Oneonta
		​	173.650	279.463	174	Steele
	Etowah	Attalla	181.294	291.764	181	SR 77 – Attalla, Rainbow City
		Attalla	182.058	292.994	182	I‑759 east – Gadsden	Western terminus of I-759
			183.030	294.558	183	US 278 (SR-74) / US 431 (SR-1/5th Avenue) – Attalla, Gadsden
		Gadsden	188.082	302.689	188	SR 211 to US 11 – Noccalula Falls Park
	DeKalb	​	205.148	330.154	205	SR 68 – Collinsville, Crossville
		​	218.654	351.890	218	SR 35 – Fort Payne, Rainsville
		​	222.152	357.519	222	US 11 – Fort Payne
		​			224	49th Street
		​	231.419	372.433	231	SR 40 / SR 117 – Valley Head, Hammondville
		​	239.642	385.666	239	To US 11 / Sulphur Springs Road
			241.179 0.0	388.140 0.0	Alabama–Georgia state line
Georgia	Dade	​	4.1	6.6	4	Rising Fawn	Old exit 1
		Trenton	11.5	18.5	11	SR 136 – Trenton	Old exit 2
		​	17.3	27.8	17	Slygo Road – New England	Old exit 3
		​	19.5	31.4	—	I‑24 – Nashville, Chattanooga	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Closed/former       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access       Unopened

Auxiliary routes

• I-359 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
• I-459 in Birmingham, Alabama
• I-759 in Gadsden, Alabama

See also

• U.S. Roads portal

References

External links

Route map: Google

• Media related to Interstate 59 at Wikimedia Commons