Interstate Highway 55

National Southern Terminus:	At I-10 near LaPlace, LA
National Northern Terminus:	At US 41 in Chicago, IL
National Distance:	941 miles
States Served:	Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois
Mississippi Southern Terminus:	LA/MS State Line near Osyka, Pike County
Mississippi Northern Terminus:	MS/TN State Line at Memphis, TN, DeSoto County
Mississippi Distance:	290.5 miles
Counties Served:	Pike, Lincoln, Copiah, Hinds, Madison, Yazoo, Holmes, Carroll, Montgomery, Grenada, Yalobusha, Panola, Tate, DeSoto
Cities/Towns Over 5,000 Population:	McComb, Brookhaven, Jackson, Ridgeland, Madison, Canton, Winona, Grenada, Batesville, Southaven, Horn Lake
Highway Duplexes:	US 98, US 51, I-20, US 49, MS 7
6+ lane segments:	Along I-20 duplex From I-20 East to I-220 (excluding within I-220 interchange) From I-220 to Old Agency Rd
MDOT's Vision 21 System:	Low Priority from Terry to Byram High Priority from Byram to High St/Proposed Airport Pkwy Low Priority from High St/Proposed Airport Pkwy to MS 25/Lakeland Dr Medium Priority from I-220 to MS 22 at Canton Low Priority from MS 4 at Senatobia to Hernando High Priority from Hernando to the TN Line

Average Annual Daily Traffic Ranges (2004)

Current/Upcoming Projects Listed in the STIP

Froggie's Notes:

- I-55 is the longest Interstate and second-longest highway (behind MS 15) in Mississippi.   Roughly paralleling the Mississippi River, I-55 serves the heart of the Mississippi valley, connecting New Orleans with Memphis, St Louis, and Chicago.
- Significant sections of I-55 were already open by 1963, including near McComb, Crystal Springs to Jackson, and from Batesville north.  Construction continued through the 1960s, and by 1969 the only sections missing were through Jackson and between Canton and Vaiden.  The Jackson segment was finished in 1971, but the Canton to Vaiden segment wasn't opened until 1973.
- In recent years, Mississippi's first Single-Point Urban Interchange (SPUI) was built at MS 463 in Madison.  Not too far to the north, a new cloverleaf interchange was built to serve the new Nissan plant facility just south of Canton.
- Still not showing up on some maps is Exit 199, which was built about 5 years ago to connect to an extended Camp McCain Rd, which travels east from I-55 to Elliott and Camp McCain.
- Another new interchange is being built a little south of Senatobia, presumably for a future MS 4 Senatobia bypass.
- A cloverleaf is under construction just north of Green T Rd in DeSoto County.  Once completed, this interchange will connect with a new alignment MS 304, which to the west of I-55 is designated as Future I-69.  I-69 will follow I-55 north of this interchange into Memphis, while a proposed extension of the new-alignment MS 304 to the east is proposed as I-269 and will connect to the Future I-22 along the Corridor X/US 78 corridor.

Froggie Suggests:

- Add auxiliary lanes between interchanges in McComb and Brookhaven.
- Widen to 6 lanes between MS 27 and I-20 West.  Include auxiliary lanes between interchanges north of Daniel Lake Blvd.
- Widen the I-20/55 duplex to 10 lanes.
- Widen to 8 through lanes plus auxiliary lanes from I-20 East/US 49 South to MS 25, including smoothing out the "Waterworks Curve"
- Construct a full freeway-to-freeway connection at the proposed Airport Parkway (near High St).
- Widen to 6 through lanes through the I-220 interchange, including auxiliary lanes between County Line Rd and I-220.
- Widen to 8 through lanes from I-220 to MS 463.
- Widen to 6 lanes from MS 463 to MS 22.
- Widen to 6 lanes from MS 4 to New MS 304/Future I-69.
- Widen to 8 through lanes plus auxiliary lanes from New MS 304/Future I-69 to the Tennessee line.
- Add a flyover from EB New MS 304 to NB I-55.
- Interchange improvements and ramp additions as needed.

Terminus/Other Photographs:

No photographs available

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Last Updated:  May 23, 2005

(C) 2005, Adam Froehlig