Миссисипи және Алабама штаттарындағы I-22 тас жолы

Interstate Highway in Mississippi and Alabama

Interstate 22 (I 22) is a 202.22 mile (325 km) Interstate Highway in the US states of Mississippi and Alabama, connecting I 269 near Byhalia, Mississippi, to I 65 near Birmingham, Alabama. I 22 is also Corridor X of the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS). Designated in 2012, I 22 follows the route of older U. S. Route 78 (US 78) and is concurrent with the route for all but its eastern most 11 mile (18 km). The freeway mainly spans rural areas and passes numerous small towns along its route, including Fulton, Tupelo, New Albany, and Holly Springs in Mississippi and Jasper, Winfield, and Hamilton in Alabama. I 22 was upgraded to Interstate Highway standards to close a gap in the Interstate Highway System, allowing for more direct connections between cities in the southeast with cities in the central part of the country. I 22 indirectly connects I 240, I 40, I 55, and I 69 in the Memphis metropolitan area via US 78 and I 269, and indirectly connects with I 459, I 20, and I 59 in the Birmingham metropolitan area via I 65.

lengths table|length ref= It begins at an interchange with I 269 at Byhalia, Mississippi, approximately 25 mile (40 km) from downtown Memphis and travels southeast across northern Mississippi and Alabama, before ending at an interchange with I 65 approximately 5 mile (8 km) north of downtown Birmingham, Alabama.

I 22 begins at a cloverleaf interchange with I 269 just west of Byhalia in DeSoto County in northwestern Mississippi in the far southeastern suburbs of Memphis. It is concurrent with US 78, which is a four lane freeway through its entire length in Mississippi and the exit numbers for its overlap with I 22 remain based on its mileage. I 22/US 78 then continues southeastward into Marshall County parallel to Mississippi Highway 178 (MS 178; the former alignment of US 78) with latter route providing local access to small towns along the route. The first major community the freeway passes is Holly Springs, the county seat of Marshall County. I 22/US 78 bypasses the city to the southwest; exits 26 (Landfill Road) and 30 (MS 4/MS 7) provide access to the city. Continuing southeastward, the freeway than passes through the Holly Springs National Forest and into Benton County passing near several small towns that are accessible through interchanges with or connecting to MS 178. Upon exiting the forest into Union County, I 22/US 78 approaches the county seat of New Albany before passing just southwest of it with four exits (60, 61, 63, and 64) providing direct access to the city. MS 30 shares a brief concurrency with I 22/US 78 between exits 61 and 64 with the latter exit being at MS 15. To the southeast of the city near the town of Sherman in Pontotoc County, I 22/US 78 has a second brief concurrency with MS 9 starting between the exits 73 and 76. Exit 73 is a six ramp partial cloverleaf interchange, the first non diamond interchange on the freeway since its starting point at I 269, a distance of about 61.2 mile (98 km). I 22/US 78 then enters Lee County and passes north of Tupelo, its county seat, with five exits (81, 82, 85, 86, and 87) connecting to the city, including an interchange with MS 178 (exit 81) northwest of Tupelo along with interchanges with the Natchez Trace Parkway (exit 85) and US 45/Corridor V (exit 86) north of the city with Corridor V becoming concurrent with I 22/US 78. The freeway then turns eastward and has an interchange with MS 371 north of Mooreville before crossing into Itawamba County. I 22/US 78/Corridor V then has an interchange with MS 178 (to MS 363) in Peppertown before crossing the Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway to its next interchange with South Adams Street (exit 104), which provides access to the community of Fulton, the county seat. MS 25 becomes concurrent with I 22/US 78/Corridor V and heads eastward along the route at the exit as well. A weigh station is also just beyond the exit. One exit later (108), MS 25 and Corridor V branch off and head northward. I 22/US 78 then turns east southeastward with one final interchange (exit 113) with MS 23 south of Tremont before crossing into Alabama.

The concept of a Memphis to Birmingham expressway was discussed as early as the 1950s but did not move beyond talk for more than 20 years. When studies for I 22 began, the highway was proposed to continue west to downtown Memphis, Tennessee, and end at I 240 and I 69. Several other proposals were also considered. One took I 22 along I 269 to I 55/I 69 and another took it along Crump Boulevard to end at I 55, but those plans never materialized. The part of I 22 just east of Fulton, Mississippi, was approved by Congress as "Corridor X" in 1978, as a part of the ADHS, and parts of I 22 have been under construction ever since. Corridor X was also designated as "High Priority Corridor 10" in the federal National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 and as "High Priority Corridor 45" in later legislation. Over the many years of development, the project changed multiple times. In 2004, Corridor X was designated as Future I 22 by Public Law Number 108 199, and the designation was made official on April 18, 2005. In Alabama and Mississippi, blue signs reading "FUTURE/I 22/CORRIDOR" at left and an I 22 shield with "FUTURE" instead of "INTERSTATE" at the right were unveiled on April 18, 2005. Exits on the Jasper Bypass portion of I 22 were originally numbered using a kilometer based sequence because, at the time this stretch was opened, it appeared that all highways in the US were going to be measured using the metric system. The final decision was made to remain using miles, and they have been renumbered according to the highway's mileposts. A 6 mile (10 km) segment between Graysville and Brookside was opened in June 2007, and another 20 mile (32 km) section of Future I 22 between Jasper and Graysville was opened in November 2007. A 1.8 mile (3 km) segment between Cherry Avenue in Forestdale to a point about 2.5 mile (4 km) short of I 65 near Fultondale, including an interchange with Coalburg Road, was opened in December 2009. Next came the connection of I 22 with I 65 and US 31. Signs are now in place on Daniel Payne Drive (westbound) informing truckers that access to I 22 is not allowed from Daniel Payne Drive. ALDOT was to award contracts in August 2009 for the construction of the final segment of I 22, including its large interchange with I 65 and US 31, with the construction to begin shortly afterward. Funding delays postponed these into 2010, however. On March 19, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (HIRE Act) into law, which included an extension of federal highway funding through the end of 2010. This extension gave the ALDOT the opportunity to proceed with its plans for the construction of final segment of I 22 in Alabama. The opening of the bids for this project began on May 21, 2010. ALDOT announced on June 16, 2010, that the project has been awarded to the company Archer Western Contractors for $168.6 million (equivalent to $ in ). The project is the most expensive highway project ever undertaken in Jefferson County, and it is the highest priced contract awarded by the ALDOT as of 2010. On November 12, 2012, ALDOT's application for establishing I 22 was conditionally approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) at a special committee, pending for the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) to submit their own application for I 22 and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approval. This therefore officially established the existence of I 22. In April 2013, the first actual I 22 shields were deployed in Marion County, Alabama, immediately east of the Mississippi state line. Such signs will extend east at least through Walker County into the outskirts of Birmingham. On August 21, 2014, ALDOT reported that I 22's interchange with I 65 would not be completed until October 2015. The interchange's connections via exit 95 to I 65 and the continuation under I 65 as exit 95C at US 31 remained under construction. In March 2016, the interchange with I 65 and continuation to US 31 was still under construction. New lanes north and southbound were opened on I 65 passing through the interchange and construction and painting operations were carried out on the I 22 entrance and exit ramps. The interchange to I 65 opened to traffic on June 20, 2016, while the connector to US 31 remained under construction. Mississippi officials announced May 5, 2015, that the state officially began the process to designate its portion as I 22. The two requirements to be able to apply for this designation were to upgrade the route to Interstate standards and to connect to an existing Interstate within 25 years; this was completed when I 269 was opened in December 2017. The I 65 interchange was opened in October 2015. The route was officially signed in Mississippi in a ceremony on October 23, 2015.

A possible spur route of I 22 in the Tupelo, Mississippi area is currently listed as High Priority Corridor 95. The route would begin in Shannon and generally follow US 45 northward, passing east of Tupelo before terminating at I 22/US 78. US 45 is currently a freeway along this entire corridor, but is not up to interstate standards. Additionally, congestion and safety issues along US 45 in this area need to be improved.

Another I 22 spur route has been proposed to connect I 22 with communities in Northwest Alabama. This spur would begin at I 22 near Eldridge and head northward mostly paralleling SR 13. It would pass near Natural Bridge, Haleyville, Phil Campbell, and Bear Creek before terminating at SR 13 at the south end of the Spruce Pine bypass. The proposal was made by State Representative Tracy Estes as a way to complete the Haleyville bypass, a project that was first conceived in 1955. Funding was first secured in the 1990s, but construction was halted in 2014 when the funding ran out.

Interstate 222 (I 222) is a future auxiliary Interstate Highway that will be a connector between I 22 and the proposed I 422 near Birmingham, Alabama. There will be no exits other than its terminuses. The highway has been proposed because an interchange directly between I 22 and I 422 cannot be built because of environmental issues. AASHTO approved the designation on May 18, 2012. Construction on this new route has not been scheduled at this time.

I 422 is a future proposed northwestern bypass of Birmingham, connecting between I 20/I 59 from the southwest and I 59 in the northeast. It will also be connected with I 22 via I 222 in Brookside, located northwest of Birmingham. It was first proposed in May 2009 by US Representative Spencer Bachus; on May 18, 2012, it was approved by AASHTO. Construction on a short 1.34 mile (2 km) section of the route between SR 79 and 75 was started shortly afterwards, but issues with funding and local opposition held up the project. More funding for the interstate was provided in Spring 2023. It covered the construction of I 422 between SR 79 to US 31 for a total of 10 mile (16 km). The construction of this part of the interstate, which will be four lanes, was expected to begin later in the Spring and be completed by 2028, but the start date was delayed again. A complaint has been filed over construction resuming, and although ALDOT expected to break ground on the resumption of the project in November 2023, no new information has been made public as of December 2023.