State highways in Mississippi are maintained by the Mississippi Department of Transportation. The state numbers its highways in a grid-like pattern, much like the U.S. Route 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, to MS 25, which runs near the Alabama 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 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 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.[1]
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).[1]
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.
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.
