(NOTE: The west end of US 98 is unclear. I've annoted this in my notes. The rest of this page assumes the ending is at US 84 in Bude.)
National Starting Point: Bude, MS, at US 84
National Ending Point: Palm Beach, FL, at US 1
Total Distance: 902 miles
States: MS, AL, FL
Mississippi Starting Point: Bude, MS, at US 84
Mississippi Ending Point: Alabama border east of
Lucedale, MS
Mississippi Distance (official MDOT): 167.858 miles
Mississippi Counties: Franklin,
Lincoln, Amite, Pike, Walthall, Marion, Lamar, Forrest, Perry,
Greene, George
Cities/towns over 5,000 pop served:
McComb, Columbia, Hattiesburg
Multiplexes:
4.7 miles with I-55 in Summit and McComb
1.1 miles with MS 35 near Foxworth
2.2 miles with MS 13 from Foxworth to south Columbia
6.3 miles with I-59 near Hattiesburg
NHS: Entire length
Freeway Segments:
Along duplex with I-55
Along duplex with I-59
From I-59 to US 49. Exit
list.
Other Multilane Segments:
From I-55 east to the Alabama line (includes freeway segments
near Hattiesburg)
Average Daily Traffic (1998): Ranges from 1,800 in eastern Franklin County to 41,000 near I-59.
Notes:
The Mississippi section of US 98 was not part of the original
1927 US Highways, having been added later. It used to
extend west along US 84 to Natchez, but has officially been cut
back to the US 84 junction near Bude.
Whether that is actually the case or not, I'm not sure, because US 98 is STILL SIGNED along US 84 all the way to the Mississippi River. It also still shows up west of Bude on the 1999 Mississippi highway map, although one main publication from MDOT and an E-mail I received in 1998 from MDOT say it ends at Bude.
Construction Notes:
4-laning continues from the Tylertown bypass east to MS
35, roughly 15 miles.
What I'd Do:
Fix the shoulders between I-55 and I-59. Also build a
West Hattiesburg bypass, and freeway between Hattiesburg and
Alabama.