Interstate 59
Interstate 59 (I-59) is an Interstate Highway located in the southeastern United States. It is a north–south route that spans 445.23 miles (716.53 km) from a junction with I-10 and I-12 at Slidell, Louisiana, to a junction with I-24 near Wildwood, Georgia.
Interstate 59 | ||||||||||||||||
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I-59 highlighted in red | ||||||||||||||||
| Route information | ||||||||||||||||
| Length | 445.23 mi (716.53 km) | |||||||||||||||
| Existed | 1960–present | |||||||||||||||
| NHS | Entire route | |||||||||||||||
| Major junctions | ||||||||||||||||
| South end | I-10 / I-12 in Slidell, LA | |||||||||||||||
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| North end | I-24 near Wildwood, GA | |||||||||||||||
| Location | ||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | |||||||||||||||
| States | Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia | |||||||||||||||
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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 miles (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.