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Interstate 59

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Interstate Highway in the southeastern US "I-59" redirects here. For the Japanese submarine I-59, see Japanese submarine I-159.
Interstate 59 markerInterstate 59
I-59 highlighted in red
Route information
Length445.23 mi (716.53 km)
Existed1960–present
NHSEntire route
Major junctions
South end I-10 / I-12 in Slidell, LA
Major intersections
North end I-24 near Wildwood, GA
Location
CountryUnited States
StatesLouisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia
Highway system

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; Birmingham, Alabama; 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 from Tuscaloosa, Alabama to the southern terminus of I-459 and in Birmingham, where it widens to six lanes or more. Aside from the metropolitan areas it passes through, the I-59 corridor is mainly rural in nature, especially in Georgia.

Route description

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Lengths
  mi km
LA 11.48 18.48
MS 171.72 276.36
AL 241.36 388.43
GA 20.67 33.27
Total 445.23 716.53

Louisiana

Main article: Interstate 59 in Louisiana

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 northeastern 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 six miles (9.7 km) before crossing the main branch of the Pearl River into Mississippi.

Mississippi

Main article: Interstate 59 in Mississippi See also: Interstate 20 in Mississippi
I-59 cosigned with I-20 in Mississippi; other cosigned routes are listed on the shields of the next sign

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, Moselle, Ellisville, Laurel, and Meridian.

For its length in Mississippi, I-59 either runs concurrently 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; Mississippi Highway 42 (MS 42) just north of Hattiesburg; US 84 and 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 that began in 2006. 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-mile-per-hour (64 km/h) speed limit, one of the lowest anywhere on the Interstate Highway System. This work was completed in 2009.

Just west of Meridian, I-20 joins I-59 and these two highways continue together for 153 miles (246 km), across the border with Alabama to and through Birmingham. The exit numbers are given as those of I-59.

At 4:00 pm 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

See also: Interstate 20 in AlabamaMain article: Interstate 59 in Alabama
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I-59/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 crossover 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 milemarker 182 to Stephen's Gap at milemarker 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

Main article: Interstate 59 in 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. The entire route of I-59 in Georgia is named Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway. I-59's southbound location is marked Birmingham instead of Gadsden in Georgia. Gadsden is the next city that I-59 southbound is traveling to right before the route reaches Birmingham. For services, I-59 has no direct access to the Georgia Welcome Center, instead I-59's Georgia Welcome Center is located in Trenton. Drivers must take I-59 Trenton exit 11 to get access to the Georgia Welcome Center. Within Georgia, it carries unsigned designated as State Route 406 (SR 406) for internal Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) purposes.

History

Interstate 59 was first designated in 1960. Within Louisiana, Interstate 59 was first constructed across the Pearl River as the replacement route for US 11 at St. Rose starting in 1958. The stretch southward into Slidell along with I-10 south to the Twin Bridges opened in 1965-66. Interstate 59 in Mississippi opened initially from the Louisiana state line toward Picayune and from Hattiesburg to Laurel in 1963. All of the route south of the overlap with I-20 was completed by 1969. The stretch of I-59/I-20 running through downtown Birmingham was completed in 1973. This stretch was reconstructed starting in January 2019 and ending in early-2020.

Future

I-59 will be widened on the north side of Birmingham, Alabama between I-459 (exit 137) and Chalkville Mountain Road (exit 141) as announced by Governor Kay Ivey on August 31, 2023. The project is expected to cost $80 million.

Junction list

Louisiana
I-10 / I-12 in Slidell
US 11 in Pearl River. The highways travel concurrently to Nicholson, Mississippi.
Mississippi
US 98 in Hattiesburg. The highways travel concurrently through the city.
US 11 in Hattiesburg
US 49 in Hattiesburg
US 11 three times in Laurel
US 84 in Laurel. The highways travel concurrently through the city.
I-20 / US 80 in Meridian. I-20/I-59 travels concurrently to Birmingham, Alabama. I-59/US 80 travels concurrently through Meridian.
US 11 in Meridian. The highways travel concurrently through the city.
US 45 in Meridian
US 11 / US 80 near Kewanee
Alabama
US 11 / US 43 in Knoxville
I-359 / SR 69 in Tuscaloosa
US 82 in Tuscaloosa
US 11 twice in Tuscaloosa
US 11 near Tuscaloosa. The highways travel concurrently to Bessemer.
I-459 near Bessemer
US 78 in Birmingham
I-65 in Birmingham
US 31 / US 280 in Birmingham
US 11 in Birmingham
I-459 in Trussville
US 231 in Ashville
I-759 in Gadsden
US 278 / US 431 in Attalla
US 11 in Fort Payne
Georgia
I-24 near Wildwood

Auxiliary routes

Auxiliary routes of Interstate 59

See also

References

  1. ^ "Table 1: Main Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways as of December 31, 2016". Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. February 22, 2017. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  2. "Overview Map of I-59 in Louisiana" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  3. Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Office of Multimodal Planning (February 2012). St. Tammany Parish (East Section) (PDF) (Map). Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  4. Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Office of Multimodal Planning (February 2012). District 62: Official Control Section Map / Construction and Maintenance (PDF) (Map). Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  5. Richardson, Ontario (September 11, 2009). "Laurel S-Curve renamed, reopened". WDAM-TV. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  6. Office of Transportation Data (2003). Interstate Mileage Report (438 Report) (PDF). Georgia Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 18, 2006.
  7. "Interstate 59 - Interstate-Guide.com". Interstate-Guide. September 28, 2018. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  8. Pillion, Dennis (January 9, 2019). "Why did I-20/59 become I-59/20 after 40 years?". al. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  9. Turner, Alyssa (August 31, 2023). "Governor Ivey Announces Widening of I-65, Hoover Interchange Project and Widening of I-59". Office of the Governor of Alabama.

External links

KML file (edit • help) Template:Attached KML/Interstate 59KML is from Wikidata
Blank Interstate shield Primary Interstate Highways
Signed
Unsigned
Lists
Other
Routes in italics are no longer a part of the system. Major Interstates are highlighted.
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