Оңтүстік-Шығыс АҚШ-тағы Көлік магистралі I-59

Interstate Highway in the southeastern US

Interstate 59 (I 59) is an Interstate Highway located in the southeastern United States. It is a north–south route that spans 445.23 mile (717 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; Birmingham, Alabama; 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 mile (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 from Tuscaloosa, Alabama to the southern terminus of I 459 and in Birmingham, where it widens to six lanes or more. Aside from the metropolitan areas it passes through, the I 59 corridor is mainly rural in nature, especially in Georgia.

In Mississippi, I 59 continues to run parallel with US 11, traversing mainly rural areas but going through or bypassing the towns of Picayune, Poplarville, Hattiesburg, Moselle, Ellisville, Laurel, and Meridian. For its length in Mississippi, I 59 either runs concurrently with, or runs close to, US 11. Between the towns of Pearl River and Picayune, US 11 travels concurrent with I 59. The highway also has concurrencies with US 98 in Hattiesburg; Mississippi Highway 42 (MS 42) just north of Hattiesburg; US 84 and MS 15 in Laurel; and US 80, US 11, and MS 19 in the Meridian area. A notoriously sharp S curve, at milepost 96 in Laurel, was the subject of a large reconstruction project that began in 2006. Those sharp curves were the legacy of an overpass over the Southern Railway on a town bypass with design dating from before the Interstate Highways, and they featured a speed limit, one of the lowest anywhere on the Interstate Highway System. This work was completed in 2009. Just west of Meridian, I 20 joins I 59 and these two highways continue together for 153 mile (246 km), across the border with Alabama to and through Birmingham. The exit numbers are given as those of I 59. At 4:00 pm on August 27, 2005, for the first time in its history, the southbound lanes of I 59 were temporarily redirected northward to accommodate evacuation for Hurricane Katrina. This was a previously agreed to joint plan by the states of Mississippi and Louisiana called contraflow lane reversal. The program began at the Louisiana–Mississippi state line and continued 21 mile (34 km) north to Poplarville.

I 59 and I 20 travel together for about 40 percent of their route through Alabama, passing northeast through Tuscaloosa before finally parting ways in eastern Birmingham. In Birmingham, many wrecks and accidents occur near the crossover interchange of I 20/I 59 and I 65 (commonly called "Malfunction Junction"). On two occasions, 18 wheelers crashed and burned fiercely enough to melt the support beams of overpasses. Beginning in eastern Birmingham, I 59 continues on its own northeast, passing by Gadsden and Fort Payne in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains before entering Georgia. I 59 from Gadsden at milemarker 182 to Stephen's Gap at milemarker 193 had degraded over the decades since it was opened into a rough concrete highway. Between 2010 and 2014, a construction project called "Project 59" took place between Gadsden and Fort Payne. This project consisted of reconstructing the Interstate Highway with unbonded concrete (without any space cracks) as well as modifications to the width and vertical clearance of the bridges and overpasses in the segment.

I 59 has a short trek through Georgia, with only three exits before ending at I 24 several miles west of Chattanooga, Tennessee, in Wildwood, Georgia. The entire route of I 59 in Georgia is named Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway. I 59's southbound location is marked Birmingham instead of Gadsden in Georgia. Gadsden is the next city that I 59 southbound is traveling to right before the route reaches Birmingham. For services, I 59 has no direct access to the Georgia Welcome Center, instead I 59's Georgia Welcome Center is located in Trenton. Drivers must take I 59 Trenton exit 11 to get access to the Georgia Welcome Center. Within Georgia, it carries unsigned designated as State Route 406 (SR 406) for internal Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) purposes.

Interstate 59 was first designated in 1960. Within Louisiana, Interstate 59 was first constructed across the Pearl River as the replacement route for US 11 at St. Rose starting in 1958. The stretch southward into Slidell along with I 10 south to the Twin Bridges opened in 1965 66. Interstate 59 in Mississippi opened initially from the Louisiana state line toward Picayune and from Hattiesburg to Laurel in 1963. All of the route south of the overlap with I 20 was completed by 1969. The stretch of I 59/I 20 running through downtown Birmingham was completed in 1973. This stretch was reconstructed starting in January 2019 and ending in early 2020.

I 59 will be widened on the north side of Birmingham, Alabama between I 459 (exit 137) and Chalkville Mountain Road (exit 141) as announced by Governor Kay Ivey on August 31, 2023. The project is expected to cost $80 million.