Interstate 59 (Louisiana)

Interstate 59
I-59 highlighted in red
Route information
Length	445.23 mi (716.53 km)
Existed	1960 – present
Major junctions
South end	I-10 / I-12 in Slidell, LA
	US 49 / US 98 in Hattiesburg, MS US 84 in Laurel, MS I-20 from Meridian, MS to Birmingham, AL US 82 in Tuscaloosa, AL I-65 in Birmingham, AL US 278 / US 431 in Gadsden, AL
North end	I‑24 in Wildwood, GA
Location
States	Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia
Counties	LA: St. Tammany Parish MS: Pearl River, Lamar, Forrest, Jones, Jasper, Clarke, Lauderdale AL: Sumter, Greene, Tuscaloosa, Jefferson, St. Clair, Etowah, DeKalb GA: Dade
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future ← LA 58 LA LA 59 → ← SR 59 AL SR 60 → ← SR 405 GA SR 406 SR 407 →

Interstate 59 (I-59) is an Interstate Highway located in the southeastern United States. It is a north–south route that spans 445.23 miles (716.53 km) from a junction with I-10 and I-12 at Slidell, Louisiana to a junction with I-24 near Wildwood, Georgia.

The highway connects the metropolitan areas of New Orleans, Louisiana and Chattanooga, Tennessee, running closely parallel to the older U.S. Route 11 (US 11) corridor for the entire distance. Approximately one-third of the route, spanning 153 miles (246 km) from Meridian, Mississippi to Birmingham, Alabama, overlaps that of the east–west I-20.

I-59 is a four-lane freeway along its entire route, other than a short stretch extending from north of Tuscaloosa, Alabama through Birmingham, where it widens to six lanes or more.

I-59 spans 11.48 miles (18.48 km) in Louisiana, the shortest distance in the four states through which it travels. The route begins at a partial cloverleaf interchange with I-10 (exit 267) and I-12 (exit 85) at the northeast corner of Slidell, a city in St. Tammany Parish. From this interchange, connections are made to New Orleans and Hammond, as well as Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Heading north, I-59 has two exits serving the town of Pearl River, where it begins a concurrency with US 11. Immediately afterward, the highway crosses the West Pearl River and passes through an interchange with Old US 11, a portion of the pre-interstate alignment serving the Pearl River Wildlife Management Area. I-59 then travels through the Honey Island Swamp for 6 miles (9.7 km) before crossing the main branch of the Pearl River into Mississippi.