Mississippi Highway 6

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Mississippi Highway 6 marker

Mississippi Highway 6

Map
Route information
Maintained by MDOT
Length138.8 mi[1] (223.4 km)
(25.295 mi excluding concurrencies)
Existed1932–present
Major junctions
West end MS 161 in Clarksdale
Major intersections
East end MS 25 in Amory
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMississippi
CountiesCoahoma, Quitman, Panola, Lafayette, Pontotoc, Lee, Monroe
Highway system
← MS 5→ MS 7

Mississippi Highway 6 (MS 6) runs east–west from

US 278. Points of interest along the route include the University of Mississippi, Trace State Park, Natchez Trace Parkway, the Elvis Presley Birthplace, and Tombigbee State Park
.

Route description

A stretch of Mississippi Highway 6/U.S. Highway 278 in the Mississippi Delta
US 49/US 61 northbound at their interchange with MS 6/US 278 in Clarksdale

MS 6 begins in the

US 278. MS 6/US 278 now leave the Clarksdale area and pass through farmland for several miles, where it crosses the same bayou three times, before entering Quitman County
.

MS 6/US 278 at their intersection with MS 3 in Marks

MS 6/US 278 pass through Barksdale before having an intersection with MS 316 at West Marks and entering the town of Marks shortly thereafter. It mostly bypasses the town along its northern outskirts, where it has an intersection with MS 3 and crosses the Coldwater River. The highway now enters Panola County, after passing through Bobo and crossing the Peach Creek.

MS 6/US 278's former bridge over bridge over the Tallahatchie River. It has since been replaced with a new span.

MS 6/US 278 pass through

US 51, where MS 35 splits off, before passing through a major business district to come to an interchange with I-55 (Exit 243). MS 6/US 278 now widen to a divided highway as it leaves Batesville and enters the North Central Hills region. The highway now has an interchange and concurrency with MS 315, which splits off unsigned onto Black Jack Road, providing access to Sardis Lake and John W. Kyle State Park. MS 6/US 278 now cross into Lafayette County
.

MS 6/US 278 eastbound near Oxford
MS 6/US 278 westbound in Oxford

MS 6/US 278 now enter Oxford and bypass that city along a southern freeway bypass, where it passes by the main campus of the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), as well as having interchanges with MS 7 and MS 334. It has an at-grade intersection with University Avenue (unsigned MS 738) before leaving Oxford. The highway now passes through Lafayette Springs, where it has an intersection with a county road connecting to MS 336 (Lafayette Springs Road/CR 251), before crossing into Pontotoc County.

MS 334 represents the former alignment of MS 6 between Oxford and Pontotoc.

MS 6/US 278 now pass through Thaxton before having an intersection with MS 338, and a short concurrency with MS 336, to enter Pontotoc. It bypasses the city along its northern edge as an expressway, with an interchange at MS 15, at-grade intersection at MS 345, and interchanges with MS 9 and MS 338. MS 6/US 278 pass by Trace State Park before crossing into Lee County.

MS 338 represents the former alignment of MS 6 through downtown Pontotoc.

MS 6/US 278 continue through farmland as an expressway to have an interchange with the

US 45 along the city line with Verona. At this interchange, MS 6 splits off from US 278 and heads north along the US 45 freeway through the eastern side of the city of Tupelo for several miles. They come to the eastern edge of downtown, where MS 6 splits from US 45 at an interchange and heads east along MS 178 (E Main Street). They immediately cross Town Creek before entering some neighborhoods as a four-lane undivided highway, where MS 6 splits off and heads south along its own path near the Elvis Presley Birthplace. MS 6 now leaves Tupelo as a two-lane (Briar Ridge Road) and heads south through Plantersville, where MS 6 has an intersection with State Park Road, which leads to Tombigbee State Park. The highway winds its way southeast to Nettleton, where MS 6 crosses into Monroe County at the center of downtown at an intersection with Main Street (unsigned MS 774
).

MS 6/US 278 at their interchange with US 45 in Tupelo

MS 6 turns left along Main Street to leave Nettleton and head southeast through wooded areas (as it enters the

Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway (Tombigbee River) into Amory, with MS 6 coming to an end at the northern edge of downtown at an intersection with MS 25 (Main Street).[2]

History

The entire route, from 1997 and prior, was signed solely as MS 6. In early 1998, US 278 was extended from Tupelo, across northern Mississippi, to Arkansas, with the majority of the route being placed along MS 6. US 278 went unsigned for many years, well into the 2000s, and when it finally was signed, MS 6 signs were never removed.

The entire route of MS 6/US 278 between

Corridor V of the Appalachian Development Highway System
.

MS 6 previously continued east of Amory, through the town of Hatley, the communities of Wise Gap (where it had an intersection with MS 8) and Greenwood Springs, to the Alabama state line at the village of Gattman. This section of MS 6 was decommissioned when US 278 was originally commissioned through the area in 1951 (signed 1952).

Controversy over parking on the highway shoulder

On September 4, 2004, a 19-year-old University of Mississippi student named Dustin Dill from Orlando, Florida struck and killed a fellow student, 23-year-old pharmacy major and Oxford native Amie Ewing, on this highway. Dill had a 0.12 percent blood-alcohol level when his Honda Accord struck Ewing and sent her into a parked Oldsmobile Achieva.[3][4] Ewing had parked along the shoulder of Highway 6, then walked to Vaught–Hemingway Stadium to watch the Ole Miss Rebels football team play the University of Memphis Tigers and was killed when she crossed the westbound lane of the highway approximately 1,000 feet (300 m) east of Old Taylor Road while returning to her car.[5]

Mississippi state and Oxford city laws prohibit the use of state highway shoulders as parking lots;[6][7] however, this law went unenforced in Oxford on Saturdays when the Rebels played home games. Since this event, the 'no parking' laws along this highway have been enforced.[8] This highway is now also known as "Amie Ewing Memorial Highway".[9]

Major intersections

CountyLocationmikmDestinationsNotes
CoahomaClarksdale0.00.0 MS 161 – Clarksdale, LyonWestern terminus
0.5–
0.7		0.80–
1.1
Memphis, Greenwood
Interchange; west end of US 278 overlap
Jonestown
Eastern terminus of MS 316
Marks15.925.6 MS 3 – Sledge, Lambert
PanolaBatesville34.455.4
 MS 35 south – Charleston		West end of MS 35 overlap
35.156.5
Downtown Batesville
Southern terminus of MS 725
35.557.1
Sardis Dam
East end of MS 35 overlap
36.7–
37.1		59.1–
59.7
Memphis, Grenada
I-55 exit 243
​44.3–
44.8		71.3–
72.1
 MS 315 south – Water Valley		Interchange; western end of unsigned MS 315 overlap
​47.276.0Black Jack Road (MS 315 north) / Shady Grove Road - Coles Point, Shady Grove, John W. Kyle State ParkEastern end of unsigned MS 315 overlap
West Oxford, Clear Creek Recreation Area
Former MS 6 east; at-grade intersection; west end of freeway
59.0–
59.2		95.0–
95.3		Chucky Mullins DriveFormer Coliseum Drive
59.6–
59.9		95.9–
96.4		Old Taylor Road - University of Mississippi
60.3–
60.6		97.0–
97.5		Lamar Boulevard -
Downtown Oxford
61.0–
61.3		98.2–
98.7		 MS 7 – Holly Springs, Water Valley, Bruce, New Albany
​61.8–
62.1		99.5–
99.9
East Oxford
​62.4100.4University Avenue (MS 738 west)Former MS 6 west; at-grade intersection; eastern terminus of unsigned MS 738; east end of freeway
​75.8122.0 CR 251 / CR 431 – Lafayette SpringsProposed MS 336 east
West Pontotoc
Western terminus of MS 338; former MS 6/US 278 east
​85.1137.0
 MS 336 west – Thaxton		West end of MS 336 overlap
​85.4137.4
 MS 336 east		East end of MS 336 overlap
Pontotoc89.4–
90.0		143.9–
144.8		 MS 15 – Pontotoc, New AlbanyInterchange
​91.5147.3 MS 345 – Ecru, Pontotoc, Town Square Museum
​92.6–
93.3		149.0–
150.2		 MS 9 – Sherman, PontotocInterchange
​95.9–
96.5		154.3–
155.3
East Pontotoc
Interchange; former MS 6/US 278 west
​98.3158.2Trace State ParkInterchange; eastbound exit and westbound entrance; former MS 6/US 278 east
​99.8160.6 MS 342 – Black ZionWestbound entry to Trace State Park
Lee​105.7170.1Bissell RoadInterchange
​106.1170.8 Natchez Trace ParkwayInterchange
​106.9–
107.3		172.0–
172.7		Graham DriveInterchange
Tupelo109.5176.2 MS 145 (South Gloster Street)
110.1–
110.3		177.2–
177.5
US 278 east – Columbus
Interchange; west end of freeway; east end of US 278 overlap; west end of US 45 overlap
111.9–
112.5		180.1–
181.1		Eason Boulevard
113.4182.5
Downtown Tupelo
Interchange; east end of freeway; east end of US 45 overlap; west end of MS 178 overlap; former MS 6/US 278 west
114.3183.9
 To
Elvis Presley Birth Place and Lake
114.5184.3
 MS 178 east (East Main Street) – Fulton		East end of MS 178 overlap
116.2187.0Eason Boulevard - alternate truck route to MS 6 west /
US 45
Plantersville117.6189.3State Park Road - Tombigbee State ParkAccess road into park
Lee–Monroe
county line		Nettleton128.1206.2
 To Main Street (MS 774 west) / MS 145		Eastern terminus of unsigned MS 774
Monroe​132.3212.9Old Highway 6 (MS 776 east)Western terminus of unsigned MS 776
Bigbee136.4219.5
 MS 371 north – Mooreville		Southern terminus of MS 371
Amory138.8223.4 MS 25 – Smithville, Fulton, AmoryEastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ^ "Mississippi Public Roads Selected Statistics" (PDF). Mississippi Department of Transportation. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-03. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
  2. ^ Google (December 16, 2020). "Route of MS 6" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  3. ^ http://www.djournal.com/pages/archive.asp?ID=219173[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ http://www.oxfordeagle.com/archives/2004/0904/0906_0910/090704/news1.html[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ http://www.djournal.com/pages/archive.asp?ID=67864[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "Michie's Legal Resources". Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  7. ^ http://library4.municode.com/default/DocView/14308/1/119/134#TOC.1[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-08-29. Retrieved 2009-01-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ "Senate Highways and Transportation Committee".

External links

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