The
proposed I-22 along the completed-in-Mississippi Corridor X
freeway, currently signed as US 78.The below list includes a description and a rough corridor outline for fantasy freeway routes within the state of Mississippi. These routes are part of an idea of mine to compile cancelled freeways, the existing system, future proposals, plus some of my own ideas into the Ultimate Fantasy Freeway/Expressway System. This is a "working list" that I will draw upon for future "fantasy freeway" pages on this site.
The Mississippi shields at the bottom are of my own design, rather than the "circle shield" that Mississippi uses in real life.
The
proposed I-22 along the completed-in-Mississippi Corridor X
freeway, currently signed as US 78.
My take
on the proposed Memphis-Huntsville-Atlanta Interstate, following the general
alignment of US 72 through Mississippi.
I-69 is
a real-life proposal through northwestern Mississippi. The proposed
routing crosses the Mississippi River west of Benoit, passes south of Benoit
then west of Cleveland, then follows the general US 61 corridor from Merigold to
near Robinsonville. Some of the segment between Merigold and Rich would
utilize the existing US 61 right-of-way. East of Robinsonville, Future
I-69 will utilize the MS 304 freeway now under construction, then duplex with
I-55 north into Memphis.
This is
proposed in some circles as a connector route between I-69 and Greenville, MS.
From Future I-69 near Scott, it would run south generally along or parallel to
MS 1 to near Winterville, where it would loop around the east side of Greenville
and end at the US 82 Greenville Bypass.
Instead
of the existing quarter-loop around Jackson, MS, my I-220 would form a full
360-degree beltway around the Jackson area. It would utilize existing
I-220 between US 49 North and I-55, cut east through southern Ridgeland, cross
the Pearl River floodplain just south of Spillway Rd, cut through the Old Fannin
area, then loop around Brandon to the east. It would also pass north of
Florence, south of Byram, and cross I-20 east of Springridge Rd.
I-259 is
my take on a southern bypass of Meridian, utilizing in part a routing that has
been proposed in the past as a southern bypass route. Starting at I-20 at
the Lost Gap interchange (US 80 West/Exit 129), it would cut southeast, cross US
11 just north of Arundel, meet the US 45 bypass at the big curve/median area
between MS 145 and Causeyville Rd, and utilize the US 45 bypass between that
point and I-20/59. A more detailed page and exit list can be found
here.
This is
the number proposed for the Memphis Outer Loop. Within Mississippi, it
would follow the proposed MS 304 freeway from I-55/Future I-69 east through
DeSoto and northwestern Marshall Counties.
This is
my idea for a route that would form the southwest leg of a Memphis Outer Loop.
It would run from I-69 in western DeSoto County west across MS 3 and US 61 and
then curve to cross the Mississippi River north of Penton.
My
idea for a freeway along the US 45 corridor throughout Mississippi.
Between Brooksville and Shannon, it would utilize the ALT US 45 corridor rather
than the existing US 45 corridor, bypassing West Point to the west.
My
fantasy system includes three freeway corridors along US 49:
#1: The first corridor runs from Gulfport to Hattiesburg. It begins at the Port of Gulfport, utilizing the Future MS 601 "Port of Gulfport Connector", which will run on new alignment between the port and I-10 just east of Canal Rd. This fictional US 49 freeway would continue north of I-10, eventually returning to the existing US 49 alignment in the Wortham vicinity. It would then continue up existing US 49 to US 98 near Hattiesburg. This corridor is also being considered in real-life.
#2: The second corridor runs from Hattiesburg to Jackson. Around Hattiesburg, US 49 would first duplex with US 98 (existing US 49 through Hattiesburg would become MS 149), then follow I-59 north to Exit 69. At Exit 69, US 49 would then follow a new-alignment freeway back to existing US 49 at MS 42 West. The existing US 49 corridor would then be upgraded to freeway from MS 42 north to a point south of Florence, where Fictional US 49 would then be routed on a new-alignment parallel to and about a mile east of existing US 49 up to just south of I-20, then meet I-20 at the Stack as it does in real life.
#3: The third US 49 corridor would be a freeway upgrade of existing US 49 (and a small bit of existing US 49W) between I-220 and MS 3 at Yazoo City.
My fantasy
system includes three short freeway segments along US 61:
#1: The first one would be a freeway upgrade through Natchez, basically along the duplex with US 84.
#2: The second segment would comprise of the proposed Port Gibson bypass.
#3: The third segment would be a freeway upgrade of existing US 61 from near the Vicksburg Airport north to I-20.
There
are four different freeway segments along US 82 under my fantasy system.
All are part of an overall 4-lane corridor for US 82 across Mississippi:
#1: This first one comprises of the under-construction Mississippi River bridge at Greenville and the proposed Greenville Bypass. Though the bypass does not quite reach US 61 as proposed, my fantasy freeway would extend to US 61.
#2: My idea for a northern bypass of Indianola, which would be a freeway.
#3: My idea for a freeway-grade south bypass of Greenwood, starting at the existing US 49E North junction west of the city, crossing the Yazoo River on a new-alignment bridge, and utilizing the existing alignment across the south side of the city.
#4: This segment is the existing US 82 freeway running from Starkville east to the Alabama line.
Under my
fantasy system, short freeway segments would exist along US 84 as part of the
bypasses of Brookhaven, Monticello, Prentiss, Collins, Laurel, and Waynesboro.
There
are two different US 90 segments under my fantasy system:
#1: The first one isn't a freeway per-se, but is a proposal that several have offered in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and is one that I was offering even before the hurricane. This proposal is for an expressway- (but not freeway) grade facility along the existing CSX rail corridor through Harrison County. Relocating the CSX tracks away from the Coast is something that was first considered several years ago, and the relocation would open up the existing corridor right-of-way for a new east-west transportation facility across Harrison County. Several have called for this new facility to become a relocated US 90. My idea for such a facility would be a limited-access facility, with 4 lanes west of Fictional US 49 (the real-life-proposed "Port of Gulfport Connector") and 6 lanes east of there. The facility would tie into the soon-to-be-rebuilt Bay St. Louis bridge, and would utilize a new 6-lane crossing of the Biloxi Back Bay along the existing CSX corridor, tying into existing US 90 in Ocean Springs. More information on my ideas for the Gulf Coast area can be found here.
#2: The second US 90 segment is already a de-facto freeway segment, from Oak St in Gautier to Pascagoula St in Pascagoula.
My
idea for a freeway along the US 98 corridor from west of Hattiesburg to the
Alabama line. The freeway would start west of MS 589, looping south then
east to meet existing US 98 at the I-59 interchange. It then would consist
of a freeway upgrade to existing US 98 between I-59 and the Alabama line.
Under
my fantasy system, US 278 duplexes with US 78 between Hamilton, AL and near
Tupelo, and replaces MS 6 west of Tupelo. There would be two freeway
segments along such a US 278:
#1: A freeway upgrade from Batesville to Oxford, including the proposed Batesville bypass.
#2: A short freeway segment along the Pontotoc Bypass, from MS 15 to existing MS 6 east of Pontotoc.
The short MS 7 freeway in Oxford would be upgraded under my fantasy system to
modern standards, plus extended south to MS 9W.
This short fantasy freeway segment runs along existing MS 12
from Rogers St in Starkville north to US 82.
A few freeway segments along MS 15 under my fantasy system:
#1: The segment bypassing Philadelphia would be upgraded to freeway, from south of MS 16 to Fictional MS 19 (described below).
#2: The duplex with MS 25 on the Louisville Bypass would be upgraded to freeway.
#3: The third segment would be a bypass of Pontotoc to the west.
#4: The fourth freeway segment would be a bypass of New Albany to the east.
This fantasy freeway stems from plans to improve traffic flow
around the Silver Star and Golden Moon Casinos at the Choctaw Indian reservation
west of Philadelphia. A freeway-grade MS 16 would begin west of the
casinos, bypassing existing MS 16 to the south, then form the southern and
southeastern legs of a freeway loop around Philadelphia, returning to existing
MS 16 near MS 482.
Two freeway segments along MS 19 under my fantasy system:
#1: The first segment would follow the often-proposed "Meridian North Bypass", running from US 45 at the Marion-Russell interchange westward to existing MS 19 near MS 494.
#2: The second segment comprises the northeast leg of a proposed 3/4 freeway loop around Philadelphia, from MS 16 near MS 482 north and west to existing MS 19 near the Pearl River.
Several freeway segments along MS 25 under my fantasy system, all as part of an
overall 4-lane MS 25 corridor:
#1: The first freeway segment starts out as the proposed Jackson Airport and West Rankin Parkways, running from I-55 at the Pearl/High/Fortification St interchanges eastward, then northeast back to existing MS 25 near the railroad underpass west of Old Fannin Rd. Existing MS 25 would then be upgraded to freeway from this point northeast to MS 43.
#2: The Carthage Bypass, from MS 16 to MS 35, would be upgraded to freeway.
#3: The duplex with MS 15 along the Louisville bypass would be upgraded to freeway.
#4: The Starkville Bypass, from old MS 25 north to US 82, would also be upgraded to freeway.
#5: The proposed Amory Bypass would become a freeway
Under my fantasy system, US 278 would follow US 78 between Hamilton, AL and
Tupelo, then replace MS 6 west of Tupelo, while MS 32 replaces MS 41 and US 278
east of Okolona. The proposed Amory bypass would be a freeway bypass.
This short fictional freeway begins on existing MS 42 about 1.5 miles west of US
49. It then continues through the junction with US 49, along the Fictional
US 49 freeway to I-59, then continues past I-59 as a freeway upgrade of the
recently built MS 42 realignment between I-59 and US 11 near Petal.
This is my idea for a freeway-grade facility along what is real-life proposed as
a 4-lane upgrade for MS 57 north of I-10, including a western bypass of Vancleve.
My freeway would run from I-10 north to existing MS 57 northwest of Vancleve.
Two MS 63 freeway segments under my fantasy system:
#1: Existing MS 63 would be upgraded to freeway between I-10 and US 98.
#2: My fantasy system includes a rerouting of both MS 57 and MS 63, with MS 63 occupying the full 4-lane corridor between Moss Point and State Line. The northernmost end of this corridor around State Line and ending at US 45 would also be freeway.
This is my idea for a freeway-grade facility along the real-life 4-lane MS 67
corridor currently under construction between I-10/I-110 and US 49 north of
Saucier.
In my fantasy system, the "quasi-freeway" along MS 178 in Tupelo would become a
full freeway.
This short fantasy freeway follows the proposed Jackson Airport Parkway from the
West Rankin Parkway (Fictional MS 25) to the Jackson Airport.
This fantasy freeway begins on US 49 near Star Rd, running in a northerly
direction to near Whitfield, then along existing MS 475 to Fictional MS 25
Existing MS 598 would be decommissioned in order to provide
the number for this fictional freeway. It would form the northwest leg of
a 3/4 loop around the Hattiesburg area, running from US 98 west of MS 589
northward to MS 42 west of US 49.
This fantasy freeway is a combination of two ideas. The
first is a real-life proposal for the "East Harrison County Connector", which is
proposed to run from US 90 near Rodenberg Ave in Biloxi northward across the
Biloxi Back Bay to I-10 at the Woolmarket interchange (Exit 41). The
second idea would extend this first idea north of I-10 to the Future MS 67
corridor.
This short freeway spur would follow existing Litton Rd and serve as a connector
to the port/shipbuilding facilities at Singing River (the present-day US Navy
base) and along the west side of the Pascagoula River. The freeway would
connect these facilities to US 90, which itself is a de-facto freeway across the
Pascagoula River floodplain.
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Page last modified 11 February, 2006