Interstate 59 (I-59) is an

Interstate Highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...

located in the southeastern United States. It is a north–south route that spans from a junction with

I-10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally p ...

and I-12 at Slidell, Louisiana, to a junction with I-24 near

Wildwood, Georgia Wildwood is a unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located in the northeastern corner of Dade County, Georgia, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 382. Description The commu ...

. The highway connects the metropolitan areas of

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

;

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% f ...

; and

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020 ...

, running closely parallel to the older U.S. Route 11 (US 11) corridor for the entire distance. Approximately one-third of the route, spanning from

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the seventh largest city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 41,148 at the 2010 census and an estimated population in 2018 of 36,347. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County and the principal city of the Merid ...

, to

, overlaps that of the east–west

I-20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. Betwe ...

. I-59 is a four-lane

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

along its entire route, other than a short stretch extending from north of

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population o ...

, through Birmingham, where it widens to six lanes or more.

Route description

, - , LA , , - , MS , , - , AL , , - , GA , , - , Total ,

Louisiana

I-12 eastbound ramp at LA 59 Clarification for I-59

I-59 spans in Louisiana, the shortest distance in the four states through which it travels. The route begins at a partial

cloverleaf interchange A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange in which all turns are handled by slip roads. To go left (in right-hand traffic; reverse directions in left-driving regions), vehicles first continue as one road passes over or under the ...

with

(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 New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

and Hammond, as well as

Bay St. Louis, Mississippi Bay St. Louis is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Mississippi, in the United States. Located on the Gulf Coast on the west side of the Bay of St. Louis, it is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi Metropolitan Statistical Area. As o ...

. 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 Pearl River Wildlife Management Area, also known as Pearl River WMA, is a tract of protected area near Slidell in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, in the United States. The WMA is managed by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (L ...

. I-59 then travels through the Honey Island Swamp for before crossing the main branch of the Pearl River into 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,

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A ...

, 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 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 , across the border with

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

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 Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

. This was a previously agreed to joint plan by the states of

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

and

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

called

contraflow lane reversal Contraflow lane reversal is the altering of the normal flow of traffic, typically on a controlled-access highway (such as a freeway or motorway), to either aid in an emergency evacuation (the most common usage of the term in the United States) o ...

. The program began at the Louisiana–Mississippi state line and continued north to Poplarville.

Alabama

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 Fort Payne is a city in and county seat of DeKalb County, in northeastern Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 14,877. European-American settlers gradually developed the settlement around the former fort. It grew rap ...

in the foothills of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...

before entering

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. 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

I-59 has a short trek through Georgia, with only three exits before ending at I-24 several miles west of

, in

. 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 The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is the organization in charge of developing and maintaining all state and federal roadways in the U.S. state of Georgia. In addition to highways, the department also has a limited role in develop ...

(GDOT) purposes.

National Highway System

The entire length of I-59 is part of the National Highway System, a system of routes determined to be the most important for the nation's economy, mobility, and defense.

Exit list

Auxiliary routes

* I-359 in

* I-459 in

* I-759 in

Gadsden, Alabama Gadsden is a city in and the county seat of Etowah County in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is located on the Coosa River about northeast of Birmingham and southwest of Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is the primary city of the Gadsden Metropolita ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:I059 59 59 59 59 59 Transportation in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana Transportation in Pearl River County, Mississippi Transportation in Lamar County, Mississippi Transportation in Forrest County, Mississippi Transportation in Jones County, Mississippi Transportation in Jasper County, Mississippi Transportation in Clarke County, Mississippi Transportation in Lauderdale County, Mississippi Transportation in Sumter County, Alabama Transportation in Greene County, Alabama Transportation in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama Transportation in Jefferson County, Alabama Transportation in St. Clair County, Alabama Transportation in Etowah County, Alabama Transportation in DeKalb County, Alabama Transportation in Dade County, Georgia