State highways A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

are maintained by the

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

. The state numbers its highways in a grid-like pattern, much like the

U.S. Route The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...

numbering scheme. One and two-digit routes are primary highways. Odd-numbered routes run north–south and start from MS 1, which runs along the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

, to MS 25, which runs near the

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

border. In addition to routes 1 through 25, routes 27 through 41 repeat this pattern over the first several routes, still increasing in number from west to east, and routes 43 and higher generally run in the southern part of the state. Even-numbered routes run east–west; these start from MS 2, which runs near the

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

state line, and continue to MS 26, which runs in the southern part of the state. With the exception of MS 28, the next several even routes are aligned over routes 2 through 26 in a similar fashion.

Exceptions to the numbering scheme

There are several state highways that are out of place; they do not fit the numbering scheme: * MS 5 runs east of MS 7. * MS 22 runs between MS 16 and MS 18. * MS 23 runs east of MS 25. * MS 27 runs between MS 33 and MS 35. * MS 28 runs between MS 18 and MS 24, but it was MS 20 before I-20 was built. * MS 29 runs between MS 37 and MS 39. * MS 46 runs between MS 32 and MS 42. * MS 50 runs between MS 32 and MS 42, but it was MS 10 before I-10 was built (this fit into the grid, between MS 8 and MS 12). * MS 67 runs between MS 53 and MS 57, but it was MS 55 before I-55 was built. * MS 76 was the number given to the Pontotoc bypass in place of MS 6; this may be the number for the entire Corridor V of the

Appalachian Development Highway System The Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) is a series of highway corridors in the Appalachia region of the eastern United States. The routes are designed as local and regional routes for improving economic development in the historica ...

The bypass was recently renamed MS 6/US 278 after the completion of the corridor portion that reconnects west of Tupelo. It has since been applied to another section of Corridor V in Itawamba County.

Three-digit highways

Three-digit highways are organized by their first digit. Routes beginning with a 1 are aborted alignments of U.S. Routes; these include highways 145, 149, 161, 172, 178, 182, 184, and 198. These highways are scattered over their "parent" routes, and have segments beginning and ending in several cities. The exception is MS 178, which covers almost all of the old road (US 78 was relocated onto a new freeway alignment throughout the entire state). U.S. Routes 11, 51, 65, 80, 90, and 278 do not have corresponding state highways (11, 51, 80 and 90 all largely parallel an Interstate highway, while 65 is extremely short within the state and 278 was only recently extended westward), but most of them have at least one aborted alignment. Highway 245 in Okolona and Crawford is the only three-digit Mississippi Highway to begin with a 2. This is because it is the old alignment of Alternate US 45. Mississippi highways 301 through 614 are secondary highways that are generally shorter than one- and two-digit highways. These routes are organized so that the 300s run in the northern part of the state, the 400s run in the north-central section, the 500s run in the south-central section, and the 600s run in the most southern section. These routes are numbered like other state highways, with odd routes running north–south and even routes running east–west. The numbering generally increases from the east / north to the west / south within their respective areas. The state of Mississippi also maintains a system of mostly unsigned state highways, numbered ranging from 701 to 992. Finally, Mississippi has several scenic highways that run near the state's lakes. These include Scenic Routes 32, 304, 315, and 333. They are signed with a blue shield and run loops connecting to the state's normal highways of the same number. For example, Scenic Route 304 runs from I-55 in Hernando along MS 304 west to MS 301, turning south to loop around Arkabutla Lake and connect to MS 306 and I-55 in Coldwater.

List of numbered Mississippi state highways

Each of the numbered Mississippi state highways are listed below with their termini.

Highways numbered above 700

Highways that are legislatively numbered between 701 and 994 run mostly along main streets and major roads through the state's towns and cities. Many of these routes are unsigned. The 700s run through the northern part of Mississippi, the 800s run through the central part, and the 900s run through the southern part. These roads are generally not arranged in any pattern because they are so short (many run less than a mile).

Northern Mississippi (701-795)

Central Mississippi (801-897)

Southern Mississippi (902-992)

Scenic routes

These are specially designated state highways that run around the state's many dams (entirely in the northern part of the state). They are numbered the same as a nearby highway, with most serving as a spur or loop off of said highway. All of them connect to Interstate 55 at least once. * - Enid Dam; runs from

I-55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The ...

/ MS 32 in

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

US 51 U.S. Route 51 or U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) is a major south–north United States highway that extends from the western suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana, to within of the Wisconsin–Michigan state line. As most of the United States Numbered Hi ...

near

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

* - Arkabutla Dam; runs from

/ MS 306 in Coldwater to I-55 in Hernando (until 2006, it connected to its parent, MS 304, with the two running concurrently with each other between Eudora and I-55 in Hernando) * - Sardis Dam; runs from

/ MS 35 in Batesville to

/ MS 315 in

Sardis Sardis ( ) or Sardes ( ; Lydian language, Lydian: , romanized: ; ; ) was an ancient city best known as the capital of the Lydian Empire. After the fall of the Lydian Empire, it became the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Lydia (satrapy) ...

* - Grenada Dam; runs from

/ MS 8 in

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

to I-55/

/ MS 7 north of Grenada (only one that both its parent route, MS 333, is unsigned, as well as entirely overlapping its parent)

Special exception

* Mississippi Highway 5 is labeled, and signed into law since March 2, 1989, as a scenic route for its entirety. This is not a separate scenic route, nor is it signed with the iconic blue shields. It does however have the scenic route markers above the number shield throughout its length except for the intersection with US 72.

Former highways

* - former designation for MS 50 * - former designation for MS 35 south of Columbia * - former designation for MS 28 * - formerly the designation for what is now US 84 west of Waynesboro * - formerly ran from Starkville to south of

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

; this became part of MS 25 and is now Old West Point Road * - became mainline MS 35 * - former designation for MS 37 * - former designation for US 45 Alternate * - former designation for MS 67 * - formerly the designation for what is now MS 15 from MS 26 to

Biloxi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It lies on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast in southern Mississippi, bordering the city of Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport to its west. The adjacent cities ar ...

* - former designation for MS 57 * - former temporary designation for the western section of the Pontotoc Parkway in Pontotoc, now MS 6/

US 278 U.S. Route 278 (US 278) is a parallel route of US 78. It currently runs for from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, to Wickes, Arkansas at US 71/ US 59, passing through five states in the process. Landmarks along its route incl ...

* - was located entirely in Tunica County; ran from

US 61 U.S. Route 61 or U.S. Highway 61 (U.S. 61) is a major United States highway that extends between New Orleans, Louisiana and the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. The highway generally follows the course of the Mississippi River and is designat ...

near Maud through Dubbs to MS 4 near

White Oak ''Quercus'' subgenus ''Quercus'' is one of the two subgenera into which the genus ''Quercus'' was divided in a 2017 classification (the other being subgenus ''Cerris''). It contains about 190 species divided among five sections. It may be calle ...

. * - MS 4 west of Ashland to US 78 east of Lake Center * - MS 32 through Banner to MS 9 east of Banner * - Former designation for what is now MS 1 between Sherard (at intersection with MS 322) to northern end at intersection with US 49 * - Tippo Road; ran from MS 8 in

Philipp Philipp is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: "Philipp" has also been a shortened version of Philippson, a German surname especially prevalent amongst German Jews and Dutch Jews. Surname * Adolf Philipp (18 ...

, north through Macel, Tippo, and Effie to MS 32 in Cowart * - Cascilla Road; ran from MS 35 in Leverett, through Cascilla, to

between Tillatoba and

* - ran from MS 8 near Gore Springs to MS 330 near

Gums The gums or gingiva (: gingivae) consist of the mucosal tissue that lies over the mandible and maxilla inside the mouth. Gum health and disease can have an effect on general health. Structure The gums are part of the soft tissue lining of the ...

* - formerly the designation for what is now Antioch Road from MS 334 in Toccopola to MS 9 * - Algoma Road; ran from MS 341 to MS 15 in Algoma * - from the Alcorn- Tippah county line to MS 2 near Gorforth's Place * - Tippah County Road 500 (CR 500); ran from MS 15 in Ripley to MS 2 * - ran from US 72 in Iuka east to the

state line * - ran from MS 12 north to

Caledonia Caledonia (; ) was the Latin name used by the Roman Empire to refer to the forested region in the central and western Scottish Highlands, particularly stretching through parts of what are now Lochaber, Badenoch, Strathspey, and possibly as ...

at MS 378 * -

US 45 U.S. Route 45 (US 45) is a major north-south United States highway and a border-to-border route, from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. A sign at the highway's northern terminus notes the total distance as . US 45 is notable for incorporati ...

east via

to MS 12 * - from the Itawamba-Monroe county line to MS 371 near

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

* - Fentress-Panhandle Road; ran from MS 12 in Fentress to MS 14 * - Old Gauley Road/ Old Hwy 8; ran from Calhoun City to Grenada Lake * - Hester Road; ran from MS 9 to MS 15 north of Reform * - MS 16 southeast to MS 427 south of Edinburg * - US 49W near Inverness to MS 7 via Inverness Road * - US 49E at Cruger to MS 12 * - MS 16 to MS 43 via Forest Grove Road * - MS 35 south of Kosciusko to MS 25 via Nile Road, County Road 1101, and Rocky Point Road * - Attala? appears only as a floating shield on 1958 map; MS 14/19 southwest to MS 35 * - US 51 south of Canton east to MS 3 via Yandell Road * - US 61 in Vicksburg to MS 462 via Fisher Ferry Road * - northeast from MS 468 at Whitfield * - MS 15 to MS 485 via CR 418 * - CR 20 and CR 31 from MS 503 to MS 18 in Rose Hill * - MS 15 in Larel via Lower Myrick Road and Mill Creek Road * - US 84 in Collins to MS 532 via Salem Church Road * - MS 35 in Raleigh west via current MS 540; then followed Dry Creek Road * - Liberty Road from US 61 (no longer part of it now) in Natchez to MS 33 * - ran from Centreville to MS 569 near

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

* - MS 33 in Gloster northeast via Busy Corner Road to MS 567 * - ran from the

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

state line ( LA 62) to MS 48 near Sandy Hook * - ran from

US 11 U.S. Route 11 or U.S. Highway 11 (US 11) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway extending across the eastern U.S. The southern terminus of the route is at US 90 in Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refu ...

in Carriere to MS 603 in Necaise * - ran from MS 43 near Logtown to

/MS 43

Picayune A picayune was a Spanish coin, worth half a real or one sixteenth of a dollar. Its name derives from the French ''picaillon'', which is itself from the Provençal ''picaioun'', the name of an unrelated small copper coin from Savoy. By extensio ...

MS 615 - formerly the designation for what is now MS 57 from

to MS 594 (which at the time continued west to US 98 via what is now MS 57) * - former spur from US 51 into Tillatoba. No longer on the route log. * - former loop off of MS 178 through Red Banks. No longer on the route log. * - former spur from US 49E into Yazoo City. No longer on the route log. *MS 923 - formerly the designation for what is now MS 571 * - former designation for what is now MS 605 south of I-10 * - former designation for what is now the proposed MS 601 * - former designation for what is now the proposed MS 615 south of I-10 * - former designation for what is now MS 605 north of I-10 * - former designation for what is now MS 619 * - former designation for what is now MS 617 * - former designation for what is now MS 618

References

External links

Mississippi Department of Transportation

Mississippi Public Roads Statistics - Extent, Travel, and Designation
(

PDF Portable document format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe Inc., Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, computer hardware, ...

) (includes a route log)
Magnolia Meanderings
by Adam Froehlig
Mississippi State Highway Endpoint Photos
by Adam Froehlig
Mississippi Highway Ends
by Robert Lee
General Highway Map of Mississippi

Official Highway Map of Mississippi
{{US numbered highways

State State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...