Mississippi Highway 42
Route information | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Maintained by MDOT | ||||
Length | 116.0 mi[1] (186.7 km) (106.220 mi excluding concurrencies) | |||
Existed | 1932–present | |||
Major junctions | ||||
West end | Rockport-New Hebron Road near New Hebron | |||
| ||||
East end | SR 56 at the Alabama state line in State Line | |||
Location | ||||
Country | Wayne | |||
Highway system | ||||
|
Mississippi Highway 42 (MS 42) is a
Route description
MS 42 begins in Lawrence County at the border with Simpson County along Rockport-New Hebron Road. State maintenance begins here and MS 42 heads southeast as a two-lane highway through a mix of farmland and wooded areas for a couple miles to enter the town of New Hebron, entering town along Jones Street before making a left onto Indiana Avenue (at an intersection with unsigned MS 915). The highway passes through a neighborhood along the very northern edge of downtown, where it has an intersection with MS 43 (Franklin Street). MS 42 now leaves New Hebron and immediately enters Jefferson Davis County.
The highway immediately crosses a bridge over
MS 42 heads eastward to pass just south of the community of Higgins, where it has an intersection with MS 44, before passing straight through the town of Sumrall, bypassing downtown to the north as it has an intersection with MS 589 (Main Street). The highway heads due east to leave Sumrall and cross into Forrest County.
MS 42 becomes
MS 42 crosses a bridge over Tallahala Creek to pass through the community of Runnelstown, where it has an intersection with MS 29, before traveling east through a mix of farmland and wooded areas for several miles (where it crosses a bridge over Bogue Homo) to enter the town of Richton. It passes through neighborhoods along Dogwood Avenue before entering downtown and turning north along MS 15 (Front Street). The two highways head straight up the middle of downtown for several blocks before MS 42 splits off along Redbud Avenue to leave Richton and cross the wooded marshland surrounding Thompson Creek. MS 42 passes through the community of East Side before traveling through farmland for several miles to cross into Greene County.
MS 42 continues eastward through farmland for several miles to pass through the community of
History
Until 2007, MS 42's route through the Hattiesburg metropolitan area was very different than it is today. This resulted from the construction of the Evelyn Gandy Parkway, a new four-lane divided expressway that entirely bypasses the city along its northern side, running from I-59 (Exit 69) to the eastern edge of Petal.
MS 42 entered the city limits from Rawls Springs, concurrent (overlapped) with US 49 as it does today, to the cloverleaf interchange with I-59 (Exits 67 A/B). That's where things change. Instead of splitting off and following the Interstate, it continued along US 49 south for several blocks through a business district before splitting off as a two-lane along what is now known as Old Highway 42. It headed east through an industrial area, where it had an intersection with Main Street (unsigned MS 967), then neighborhoods to an intersection with US 11 (Bouie Street).
The original alignment of MS 42 followed Main Street (now MS 967) directly into downtown, where it then became concurrent with US 11 north (
MS 42 became concurrent with US 11 and they headed north as a four-lane undivided highway to leave Hattiesburg and cross the Leaf River into neighboring Petal (directly beside where the Bouie River forks off). MS 42 splits off as a two-lane shortly thereafter and followed Central Avenue to cross some railroad tracks and pass directly through downtown. Central Avenue/Old Highway 42 rejoins the current alignment (Evelyn Gandy Parkway) at the eastern end of town.
Major intersections
County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Simpson County line) | |||||
New Hebron | 3.4 | 5.5 | Jones Street (MS 915 south) | Northern terminus of unsigned MS 915 | |
3.7 | 6.0 | MS 43 – Pinola, Silver Creek | |||
US 84 – Collins, Monticello | |||||
Prentiss | 17.8 | 28.6 | Columbia Avenue (MS 937 south) | Northern terminus of unsigned MS 937 | |
17.9 | 28.8 | MS 13 / MS 184 – Collins, Monticello | |||
| 20.3 | 32.7 | Ed Parkman Road – Jeff Davis Lake | ||
Bassfield | 27.5 | 44.3 | MS 35 – Mount Olive, Columbia | ||
Lamar | | 40.1 | 64.5 | MS 44 west – Columbia | West end of MS 44 overlap |
Downtown Sumrall | East end of MS 44 overlap | ||||
US 49 north – Jackson | West end of US 49 overlap | ||||
East end of US 49 overlap; west end of I-59 overlap; MS 42 west follows exit 67B | |||||
| 58.0 | 93.3 | I-59 north / Eatonville Road – Laurel, Eatonville | East end of I-59 overlap; MS 42 east follows exit 69 | |
Petal | 61.6 | 99.1 | US 11 – Hattiesburg, Laurel | Interchange | |
64.2 | 103.3 | Central Avenue | Old MS 42 west through downtown Petal and downtown Hattiesburg; former MS 142 | ||
Perry | Runnelstown | 71.8 | 115.6 | MS 29 – Ellisville, New Augusta | |
Richton | 82.6 | 132.9 | MS 15 south – Beaumont | West end of MS 15 overlap | |
83.0 | 133.6 | MS 15 north – Laurel | East end of MS 15 overlap | ||
Greene | Sand Hill | 94.0 | 151.3 | MS 63 south – Leakesville | West end of MS 63 overlap |
| 94.6 | 152.2 | MS 63 north – Waynesboro | East end of MS 63 overlap | |
De Soto National Forest | 95.9 | 154.3 | Turkey Fork Road – Turkey Fork Recreation Area | Access road into park | |
State Line | 113.3 | 182.3 | To MS 57 / Main Street | Former MS 57 | |
Wayne | 113.7– 113.9 | 183.0– 183.3 | MS 57 – Waynesboro, Mississippi Gulf Coast | Interchange | |
| 114.5 | 184.3 | Mobile | West end of US 45 overlap | |
US 45 north – Waynesboro, State Line | East end of US 45 overlap | ||||
| 116.0 | 186.7 | SR 56 east – Chatom | Alabama state line; eastern terminus | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
|
References
- ^ "Mississippi Public Roads Selected Statistics" (PDF). Mississippi Department of Transportation. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-03. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
- ^ Google (May 24, 2021). "Map of Mississippi Highway 42" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
External links
- Media related to Mississippi Highway 42 at Wikimedia Commons
- Magnoolia Meanderings