This report mostly details US 82 between Starkville, MS and Tuscaloosa, AL, from a trip on December 1, 1998.

Took a little trip over to Tuscaloosa by way of Columbus. Took a few notes for my webpage while I was at it.

- US 82 in eastern Mississippi is an interesting case. From the east end of Starkville to the Alabama border, it's an interstate-grade freeway (even with paved shoulders), a shade under 30 miles worth, and is even signed 70 MPH (except for a short segment through Columbus). Two curious things about this...first, it's over 60 miles from the nearest interstate...and second, most of it was completed even before Mississippi began its 1987 Highway Program. It's even got interstate-grade services signage (i.e. gas, food, lodging, etc...),  which I've never seen on a non-interstate Mississippi highway before.

- My US 82 exit list is up and running now at http://www.cybertron.com/~froggie94/roads/us82exits.htm (Editor's Note:  now posted here)

- By comparison, most of US 82 in Alabama from the border to Northport is 2-lane highway, though it appears to be an upgraded 2-lane, because it had paved shoulders and a fair number of left-turn-lanes, and there are occasional 4-lane segments as well.

- There's been some talk somewhere about extending I-359 in Tuscaloosa north to the Black Warrior River bridge on AL 69. It's a good idea, but there's a fair number of businesses and such that would have to be taken out in order to build such an extension. Another thing to point out is that, though the bridge is 3 lanes each direction, there are NO shoulders on the bridge.

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