 Mississippi Highway 500 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 MS 500 highlighted in orange | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byMDOT | ||||
| Length | 5.798 mi[1] (9.331 km) | |||
| Existed | c. 1960–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  MS 13 inLena | |||
| East end |  MS 487 inTuscola | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Mississippi | |||
| Counties | Leake | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Mississippi Highway 500 (MS 500) is a shortstate highway in centralMississippi. The route starts atMS 13 in the town ofLena, and it travels eastward across southernLeake County. The road turns northeastward after halfway to its eastern terminus, and it ends atMS 487 nearTuscola. MS 500 was designated in 1960 as agravel road, and it was completely paved with asphalt eight years later.
The route starts at athree-way junction with MS 13 inLena, just south of MS 13's intersection with MS 487. Known as Lena and Walnut Grove Road, it travels eastward through the town. The route leaves thecorporate limit of Lena past Lyle Street and enters a forested area at Ealy Road.[2][3] After intersecting Storm Road, the route crosses Sweetwater Creek and begins to turn northeastward near Drystone Road. MS 500 turns north northeast of Union Ridge Road. It shifts westward slightly near Lindsey Road, and it crosses a stream that leads to a drainage ditch.[4] The route emerges out of the forest and ends at MS 487 in Tuscola.[3] The road continues northward as MS 487,[4] and it travels north to MS 35 and onward toSebastopol.[3]
In 2016, theMississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) calculated as many as 670 vehicles traveling on MS 500 east of Mills Street, and as few as 580 vehicles traveling north of Dry Stone Road.[5] The route is legally defined in Mississippi Code § 65-3-3,[6] and is maintained by theMississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) as part of thestate highway system.[1]
The designation was proposed around January 1960,[7] helping connect Lena toMS 35.[8] By September, MS 500 was opened as a gravel road.[9][10] Paving of MS 500 was near completion in 1961,[8] and a portion near the eastern terminus was paved by 1962.[10][11] The segment near Lena was paved by 1967,[12][13] and the remainder was completed one year later.[13][14]
The entire route is inLeake County.
| Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations[2] | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lena | 0.000 | 0.000 | MS 13 (Grand Avenue) | Western terminus | |
| Tuscola | 5.798 | 9.331 | MS 487 | Eastern terminus | |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
