Mississippi Highway 7

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

US 49W / MS 12 in Belzoni
Major intersections
North end SR 18 at the Tennessee state line in Michigan City
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMississippi
CountiesHumphreys, Leflore, Carroll, Grenada, Yalobusha, Lafayette, Marshall, Benton
Highway system
MS 6 MS 8

Mississippi Highway 7 (MS 7) runs generally north–south from the

Mississippi Central Railroad
.

Route description

Highway 7 north of Oxford

MS 7 begins in the

oxbow lakes and bayous, both of which represent former alignments of the Yazoo River. MS 7 now enters Leflore County
.

MS 7 now travels through the community of

Florewood River Plantation State Park. US 49E joins the concurrency and they cross a floodway (which dumps water from the Tallahatchie River into the Yazoo) to enter a business district. US 49E/US 82/MS 7 turn southward to bypass downtown, and cross a bridge over the Yazoo River, before curving back eastward to come to a large interchange with Main Street (unsigned MS 743) at the south side of downtown, where US 49E splits off. US 82/MS 7 continue east to pass through neighborhoods, where it has a partial interchange with MS 744 and an intersection with MS 430, before MS 7 splits off as a two-lane at the eastern edge of town and heads north to leave Greenwood. MS 7 crosses over Big Sand Creek as it begins paralleling the Yalobusha River, passing through farmland to cross into the northwestern most corner of Carroll County, where it passes through Avalon, before entering Grenada County
.

MS 7 passes through Malmaison State Wildlife Management Area and Leflore to enter Holcomb, where it bypasses town along its north side, has an extremely short concurrency with MS 35, and becomes concurrent with MS 8. MS 7/MS 8 head east to climb into the North Central Hills region and enter Grenada. The highway widens to a four-lane undivided boulevard as it passes through an industrial area for a few miles to an interchange with I-55 (Exit 206) just west of downtown, where MS 7 splits from MS 8 and heads north along I-55. I-55/MS 7 head north as a four-lane freeway to cross the Yalobusha River and have an interchange with Papermill Road (Exit 208). They now pass through the Geeslin Corner neighborhood to leave Grenada and come to Exit 211 (unsigned MS 729), where MS 7 splits off and heads northeast as a two-lane. The highway has an intersection with MS 333 Scenic before crossing into Yalobusha County.

MS 7 passes along the northern banks of Grenada Lake for several miles to enter the town of Coffeeville, which it bypasses along its western side while also having an intersection with MS 330. It heads through mostly wooded areas for several miles, where it passes through the community of Velma, to enter the town of Water Valley. It widens to a four-lane divided highway as it bypasses downtown along its western side and has intersections with MS 32 and MS 315. The highway now narrows back to two-lanes as it enters wooded areas and crosses into Lafayette County.

MS 7 heads northeast to pass through

US 278/MS 6, which provides access to the main campus of the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). The highway now widens to a four-lane divided freeway to bypass downtown along its eastern side and have interchanges with MS 314 (University Avenue), Sisk Avenue, and MS 30 (Molly Barr Road), where the freeway ends and MS 7 narrows back to two-lanes to leave Oxford. MS 7 heads north through wooded areas to pass through Abbeville, which it bypasses along its western side, before entering Marshall County at a bridge over the Tallahatchie River (which lies at the northern most reaches of Sardis Lake inside the Graham Wildlife Management Area
).

Mississippi Central Railroad bridges over the Tallahatchie River at the Lafayette-Marshall county line. This sweeping bottomland, located approximately halfway between Holly Springs and Oxford, was the inspiration for fictional settings in several works by William Faulkner. This bridge was replaced and removed in 2015.[2]
The new Tallahatchie River bridge that was built in 2015

MS 7 continues north through wooded areas for several miles as it has an intersection with

US 78 (Exit 30) and pass through a business district. The highway narrows to two-lanes and passes through neighborhoods for several blocks to make a right turn onto W Van Dorn Avenue and enter downtown. MS 4/MS 7 come to an intersection with Memphis Street, where MS 7 splits off and heads north along MS 178 (Memphis Street). They now leave downtown and pass by Rust College before MS 178 splits off along Old Highway 78. MS 7 now passes through an industrial area as it has intersections with MS 311 (Mount Pleasant Road) and Eddy Lee Smith Drive (a new Northern bypass of the city). The highway now leaves Holly Springs and pass through a mix of farmland and woodlands to pass almost exactly halfway between Atway and Hudsonville, where it has an intersection with MS 313, before crossing into Benton County
.

MS 7 now enters farmland as it passes through the community of

MS 702. MS 7 comes to the Tennessee state line shortly thereafter, where it continues into Grand Junction, Tennessee as Tennessee State Route 18
(SR 18).

Future

MS 7 between Grenada to Holly Springs has been designated as High Priority Corridor 98.[3] MDOT has been working on improving this route by widening it to four lanes since at least 2003. Most recently in April 2023, $15 million has been allocated to start the processing of widening MS 7 south of Oxford. The project as a whole is expected to cost $150 million with the bidding process starting next year.[4][5]

Major intersections

CountyLocationmikmDestinationsNotes
Southern terminus
Leflore29.247.0
US 82 west – Indianola, Mississippi Valley State University
South end of US 82 overlap
US 49E north – Clarksdale
South end of US 49E overlap
38.0–
38.3
61.2–
61.6

Greenwood
Business District
Interchange; north end of US 49E overlap; southern terminus of unsigned MS 743
39.3–
39.4
63.2–
63.4

MS 744 west
Eastern terminus of MS 744; no left turn northbound
39.663.7
Blackhawk
Western terminus of MS 430
39.964.2
US 82 east – Winona
North end of US 82 overlap
Carroll
No major junctions
GrenadaHolcomb61.298.5

MS 8 west / MS 35 north – Minter City, Cleveland, Delta State University
South end of MS 8 / MS 35 overlap
61.498.8
MS 35 south – Carrollton
North end of MS 35 overlap
Grenada69.2111.4

I-55 south / MS 8 east – Grenada, Jackson, Grenada Lake
North end of MS 8 overlap; south end of I-55 overlap; MS 7 south follows exit 206
70.9–
71.5
114.1–
115.1
Papermill Road - North
Grenada
I-55 exit 208
74.4119.7
I-55 north – Memphis

To
US 51 (MS 729
south)
North end of I-55 overlap; south end of MS 333 Scenic overlap; MS 7 north follows exit 211; northern terminus of unsigned MS 729
78.7126.7

Grenada Dam
North end of MS 333 Scenic overlap; northern terminus of unsigned MS 333
YalobushaCoffeeville87.0140.0 MS 330 – Tillatoba, Coffeeville
97.9157.6
Water Valley
South end of MS 315 overlap
Water Valley100.8162.2
MS 315 north – Batesville, Water Valley
North end of MS 315 overlap
Lafayette111.0178.6
MS 9W south – Bruce
Northern terminus of MS 9W
112.0180.2
MS 328 west – Taylor
Eastern terminus of MS 328
Interchange; south end of freeway
117.7–
118.0
189.4–
189.9

Downtown Oxford
Interchange; eastern terminus of MS 314; western terminus of MS 334
118.5–
118.9
190.7–
191.4
Sisk AvenueInterchange
119.3–
119.7
192.0–
192.6

MS 30 east / Molly Barr Road – New Albany
Interchange; western terminus of MS 30; north end of freeway
Abbeville127.7205.5 CR 108 / CR 215 (West Long Street) – Abbeville, Sardis Reservoir
Marshall133.5214.8
MS 310 west – Wyatt Crossing, Teckville, Sardis Reservoir
Eastern terminus of MS 310
139.9225.1Wall Doxey State ParkAccess road into park
144.4232.4
MS 4 west – Senatobia
South end of MS 4 overlap
Memphis, Tupelo
I-22/US 78 exit 30
147.4237.2

MS 4 east / MS 178 east (Van Dorn Avenue) – Ashland
North end of MS 4 overlap; south end of MS 178 overlap
148.1238.3

US 78
North end of MS 178 overlap
148.9239.6
MS 311 north – Mount Pleasant
Southern terminus of MS 311
149.4240.4
To
US 78 / Eddie Lee Smith Drive – Oxford, Ashland
Northern bypass of Holly Springs
155.0249.4
MS 313 south – Hudsonville
Northern terminus of MS 313
Lamar ( MS 704
east)
Western terminus of MS 704
163.1262.5
US 72 – Memphis (Tennessee), Corinth
165.7266.7Harris Chapel RoadProposed MS 5 south
166.7268.3
MS 702
east)
Western terminus of MS 702
168.1270.5
SR 18 north – Grand Junction
Northern terminus; Tennessee state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

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. ^ "Generation of Ole Miss Students, Oxford Citizens Mourn Demise of Hwy. 7 Bridge Across Tallahatchie River". HottyToddy.com. February 25, 2015. Archived from the original on February 7, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  3. ^ "Statutory Listing of Corridor Descriptions - High Priority Corridors - National Highway System - Planning - FHWA". www.fhwa.dot.gov. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  4. ^ Schnugg, Alyssa (5 April 2023). "Widening of Hwy 7 South Takes a Small Step Closer to Becoming a Reality". HottyToddy. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  5. ^ Zendejas, Kelby (6 April 2023). "Mississippi Legislature approves bill to widen Highway 7 South". The Oxford Eagle. Retrieved 17 July 2023.

External links

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