Page last modified 25 January, 2004
Notable Streets and County Highways in Lauderdale County, Mississippi
This page is a works-in-progress, giving info and opinions on the more important secondary roads within the county.
As a general rule, streets and secondary roads in Lauderdale County (as with most of Mississippi) are rather narrow with pavement in fair to poor condition. Virtually all secondary highways and most local roads in the county are paved, the county's paving program having began in 1951. And almost without exception, lane widths on county roads are 10 feet vice the federal standard (and preferred) 12 feet. Speed limits are generally 45 MPH, although there are some road segments with lower speed limits. No county-maintained roads have a speed limit higher than 45 MPH.
There is no numbering system for county roads, to the best of my knowledge. All streets and roads in the county are named, primarily due to Lauderdale County having an E-911 system, but also because of a state law requirement that all road within a county must be named or numbered. Major (non-state-highway) thoroughfares outside of Meridian tend to have the names of the hamlets they connect as the street name (i.e. Lauderdale-Toomsuba Rd, Marion-Russel Rd, etc...).
8th Street
Location: Meridian, MS. From 22nd Ave in Downtown
west to MS 19 near College Park.
Federal-Aid Number: 9450 (continues south on 22nd/23rd
Aves)
Functional Classification: Principal Arterial
2000 ADT: 16,000 near 40th Ave
Speed Limit: 35 MPH
Notes: This is the main drag from downtown west towards
the Meridian Community College and the branch Mississippi State
campuses. It's the original route for US 11, US 80, and MS
19, before the two US highways were re-routed south to Tom Bailey
Drive in the early '50s. When Tom Bailey Drive was upgraded
to interstate standards, MS 19 was rerouted south to it, and 8th
Street was turned back to the city.
8th Street is a very busy, very congested, rather narrow street. Due to the narrowness of the street, it's striped for two narrow lanes in each direction, with no turn lanes and no parking. There are numerous stoplights and driveways along it as well, so not only are left turns a dicey and dangerous prospect, but so are turns just to get ONTO 8th Street. I don't see any easy solution to the problem either, as the street ROW itself is narrow, and there's too much traffic to allow restriping for a 3-lane cross section.
North Hills Street
Location: North side of Meridian, MS. Generally
considered to run from State Blvd east to MS 39, though it ties
in directly with Bounds Rd. Ext on the west and Lindley Rd. and
Marion-Russell Rd on the east, making for a continuous road
running from MS 19 on the western fringe of Meridian, north and
then east through the northern part of Meridian, east through
Marion and near the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery Industrial Park, and
then southeast to the hamlet of Russell. The section I
discuss here runs from MS 19 to US 45.
Federal-Aid Number: 7242 (MS 19 to MS 493), 9455
(MS 493 to east of MS 39), 9440 (east of MS 39 to Meridian East
Urban Boundary)
Functional Classification: Minor Arterial
2000 ADT: Ranges from 4,100 near MS 19 to a low of 3,100
just west of State Blvd, 9,100 east of Kings Rd, hitting a peak
of 19,000 between 29th Ave and MS 493, 15,000 between MS 493 and
MS 39, and dropping to 6,500 between MS 39 and Old US 45.
Speed Limit: 35 MPH, though there are a
couple of 40 MPH sections and one 45 MPH section.
Notes: This road generally serves as a connector/minor-arterial
through the northern sections of Meridian. Much of it is
two lanes. There are a few three-lane sections, and the
section between 35th Ave and MS 493, the most recent section, is
striped for five lanes (two each way plus center turn lane).
The section between MS 493 and MS 39 cries out for improvements. This is the busiest part of North Hills Street, averaging 15,000 vehicles a day on only a 2 lane road. There ARE a few left turn lanes, at MS 493, MS 39, and Country Club Blvd, but overall the road is very inadequate for the amount of traffic on it. Rebuilding the road will be difficult as well, as it is very hilly with numerous trees and driveways. A lot of new ROW would also have to be taken. Another thing compounding the problem is a lack of alternate routes, so even if they DID manage to get the ROW and funding to upgrade this section, there's really nowhere else for the traffic to go.
One possible solution, which has presented itself on the MDOT Functional Classification map, is for a bypass, which would be an extension of Federal-Aid Route 9440, from near State Blvd to east of MS 39, and about 1/4 to 1/2 mile north of existing North Hills St. Given that much of that area is residential development, this rerouting does not look likely.
An extension to the southwest, from MS 19 to the I-20/59 junction, is proposed as Federal-Aid Route 9439.
Location: Northern part of the county, from MS 39 east
to the front gate at Naval Air Station Meridian.
Federal-Aid Number: 456 (continues west to MS
495, and east to US 45)
Functional Classification: Major Collector
2000 ADT: 4,700
Speed Limit: 55 MPH
Notes: This is the main connector route between the end of
the 4-lane section on MS 39 and the front gate to the Navy base
here. I believe it's because of this importance that MDOT
maintains this as a hidden state route, MS 854. Originally
2 lanes, it was expanded to a 4-lane divided highway sometime
late 70s-early 80s and serves as a traffic feeder to/from the
base. It is also one of only two non-state highways (hidden
routes don't count) I've seen so far in Mississippi that carry a
speed limit higher than 45 MPH.
Location: MS 39 near 19th St, northeast through
Marion to US 45.
Federal-Aid Number: 9456
Functional Classification: Minor Arterial (MS 39
to Lindley Rd), Major Collector (Lindley Rd to US 45)
2000 ADT: 6,400
Speed Limit: 45 MPH
Notes: This is the "second-generation routing"
of US 45 through eastern Meridian and Marion (the bypass is the
"third-generation routing"). It's 2 lanes, and
except for the ends and one short stretch near a manufacturing
plant, is in very poor condition, with substandard, narrow
bridges and numerous bumps and ruts in the pavement. Though
there is only one stop sign, in Marion where it crosses Lindley
Rd (which connects to North Hills Street and Marion-Russell Rd),
traffic frequently gets tied up behind people trying to turn left
off of the road. This problem is especially noticeable
during the evening rush hour.
The northern 3/4 mile or so is a 4-lane divided highway leading to US 45. I believe this is because the 4-lane stretch of US 45 northeast of Marion was built before work began on the US 45 bypass of Marion and Meridian. This section is also maintained by MDOT as a hidden state route, MS 884.
There have been bills in the Mississippi Legislature in recent years by local legislators, attempting to get MDOT to take back the entire route, probably as a new incarnation of MS 145. This is due to the route having once served as a US highway, it currently serving a significant amount of traffic, and also (I believe) to get the state to assist in funding improvements to the route, which in my humble opinion are badly needed. The persistence eventually succeeded during the 2000 Legislative session, but under the legislation, the cities and counties are required to bring the roadway up to "state highway standards" before MDOT will take it over.
North Shore Drive
Location: US 11/80 north and east around Bailey
Lake to Lauderdale-Toomsuba Road.
Federal-Aid Number: None
Functional Classification: None
2000 ADT: Unknown.
Speed Limit: 35 MPH
Notes: This route, along with US 11/80 and
Lauderdale-Toomsuba Road, forms a loop around Bailey Lake near
Toomsuba. There's a hidden designation for this route, MS
895, and it is state maintained, though I'm not sure why.
T.K. Culpepper Road
Location: MS 496 east to the Alabama line.
Federal-Aid Number: None
Functional Classification: None
2000 ADT: Unknown.
Speed Limit: Not sure
Notes: I've included this road on this page because
it carries a hidden designation, MS 897, though I don't know why.
This road isn't even a mile long, but was paved in late 2000.
22nd Ave Heights/Causeyville Road
Location: MS 145 at I-20/59 southeast to
Causeyville.
Federal-Aid Number: 9446 (22nd Ave/MS 145 to
Meridian East Urban Boundary), 454 (Meridian East Urban Boundary
to Causeyville; continues east to Shannon Rd)
Functional Classification: Major Collector
2000 ADT: 3500 from MS 145 to just east of US 45; 2,100
near Long Creek Rd-Vimville Rd; 930 near Causeyville.
Speed Limit: 20-30 MPH in Meridian, 40-45
MPH outside of Meridian.
Notes: This road, along with MS 19, is an important
route connecting Meridian with the southeastern part of
Lauderdale County. Causeyville Road was built as a WPA
project back during the 1930s, and as such is rather narrow,
hilly, and very curvy, as secondary roads built back then tended
to follow the contours of the land a great deal. In
particular is one very nasty hairpin curve at Aycock Road in
which Causeyville road does about a 120 degree turn.
A section of Causeyville Road from Causeyville to Cliff Williams is being widened.
Fred Clayton Road
Location: Northern part of the county. From
Stennis Drive to Campground Rd.
Federal-Aid Number: None
Functional Classification: None
2000 ADT: Unknown.
Speed Limit: 40-45 MPH
Notes: This road is basically a collector.
It's important enough that the county does bother to stripe and
patch it, but it's quiet enough that not much traffic uses it.
Some people, especially those familiar with it and including
myself, use it and Campground Rd as a connection between Stennis
Drive and US 45 heading towards Meridian, instead of following
Stennis Drive and MS 39 into town.
Lauderdale County has plans for this road. Starting sometime in 2002, the northern 1.5 miles, from Stennis Drive to Lockhart Trailer Court Rd, will be widened and realigned as part of a project to build a new connector between Stennis Drive, NAS Meridian, and US 45. This project will then follow along/near Lockhart Trailer Court Rd and use the Campground Road bridge over the KCS RR to intersect US 45 at Minnow Bucket Road. When completed, the new/realigned roadway will have 12-foot driving lanes, graded shoulders, and will handle up to 80,000 lb. loads, which is a higher load limit than the 57,800 lb. loads that most 3di state routes can handle. It will also have a new road name, although it's too early to tell what it will be called.
Go to Meridian's Major Street Plan
Go back to Magnolia Meanderings
Page last modified 25 January, 2004
Copyright (C) 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, Adam Froehlig