 Mississippi Highway 24 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 MS 24 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byMDOT | ||||
| Length | 76.0 mi[1] (122.3 km) | |||
| Existed | 1932–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end | Main Street inFort Adams | |||
| Major intersections |  US 61 inWoodville | |||
| East end |   I-55 /US 98 inMcComb | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Mississippi | |||
| Counties | Wilkinson,Amite,Pike | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Mississippi Highway 24 (MS 24) is astate highway inMississippi, United States. The highway runs 76.0 miles (122.3 km) fromFort Adams east to an interchange withInterstate 55 (I-55) andU.S. Highway 98 (US 98) inMcComb. The roadway passes throughWilkinson,Amite, andPike counties, serving the communities ofWoodville,Centreville,Gloster, andLiberty. MS 24 hasconcurrencies withMS 33 between Centerville and Gloster andMS 48 from Liberty to west of McComb.
MS 24 was designated in 1932 to run from Fort Adams east toLeakesville, following gravel roads across the southern part of the state. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, much of the route was paved and realigned. The route was extended from Leakesville to theAlabama border in 1953. US 98 replaced the MS 24 designation from McComb to east ofMcLain in 1955, splitting MS 24 into two segments. The eastern segment was redesignatedMS 594 in 1958. The eastern terminus was moved to its current location in 1967, with US 98 replacing the part leading into McComb.
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MS 24 begins at Main Street inFort Adams,Wilkinson County, heading northeast as a two-lane undivided road. The highway passes through a mix of farmland and woodland before entering dense forests. The road curves to the east and continues through forested areas with some fields and homes. After passing through several miles of rural areas, MS 24 heads intoWoodville and runs south through wooded residential neighborhoods. The highway turns east onto Main Street and passes homes before heading through the commercial downtown of Woodville. On the eastern edge of town, the road comes to an intersection withUS 61. Past this junction, MS 24 leaves Woodville and becomes an unnamed road that runs southeast through forested areas with some development. The highway curves east and continues through a mix of farm fields and woodland. The road heads through denser areas of forests as it approachesCentreville. At this point, MS 24 bypasses the town to the south and crosses aGloster Southern Railroad line before it reaches an intersection withMS 33. At this point, MS 33 turns east to form aconcurrency with MS 24.[1][2]
MS 24/MS 33 curves to the northeast and enterAmite County, passing businesses as it bypasses Centreville to the southeast. The road heads into wooded areas and curves north, intersecting the western terminus ofMS 48. The highway continues north through a mix of farm fields and woodland; eventually the roadway turns to the northeast. MS 24/MS 33 becomes Captain Gloster Drive as it heads intoGloster. The road passes through wooded areas with some development as it bypasses the center of Gloster to the southeast. MS 33 splits from MS 24 by heading to the north while MS 24 curves east to leave Gloster. The highway continues east-southeast through dense forest for several miles. Farther east, the road heads through a mix of fields and woods, where the name becomes Main Street.[1][2]
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MS 24 heads east to cross theWest Fork of the Amite River intoLiberty and intersects the southern terminus ofMS 567. The highway passes commercial development and comes to an intersection with MS 48/MS 569. At this intersection, MS 48/MS 569 turn east to join MS 24 on Main Street and the road runs through the commercial downtown of Liberty. The portion of MS 24 which continues east from this point until it reaches McComb has been designated as Jerry Clower highway by Mississippi state statute 65-3-71.23. The highway intersects the western terminus ofMS 584 immediately before MS 569 splits from MS 24/MS 48 by heading to the north. Following this, MS 24/MS 48 passes through more residential areas with some businesses before leaving Liberty. The road becomes unnamed and heads through a mix of farmland and woodland with occasional development, where it curves northeast. The highway continues through rural areas for several miles and turns back to the east where it crosses theEast Fork of the Amite River. MS 24/MS 48 entersPike County and passes through more farmland and forests, crossing theTangipahoa River directly north ofLake Tangipahoa. MS 48 splits from MS 24 by heading to the south. MS 24 continues through rural areas with some businesses before ending at acloverleaf interchange withI-55/US 98 west ofMcComb. At this point, the roadway continues east into McComb as part of US 98.[1][2]
By 1928, what would become MS 24 existed as gravel or unimproved roads.[3] MS 24 was designated by 1932 to run from Fort Adams east toMS 63 north ofLeakesville; the road went east to McComb before passing throughTylertown,Columbia,Hattiesburg, andNew Augusta. At this time, the entire highway was gravel.[4] In 1935, a portion of the road west of Tylertown was paved.[5] A small portion of the road betweenMcCallum and New Augusta was paved a year later.[6] Paving was completed on a part of the highway east of Tylertown in 1939.[7] In 1940, the portions of MS 24 betweenFoxworth and Columbia and betweenBeaumont andMcLain were paved. That same year, new alignments for the highway were under construction between McComb and Tylertown, fromUS 49 south of Hattiesburg to Beaumont, and from McLain to Leakesville. In addition, construction was underway to upgrade MS 24 between Columbia and Hattiesburg.[8]
A year later, the highway was paved between Woodville and McComb, from east of Tylertown to Foxworth, and withinLamar County between Columbia and Hattiesburg. In addition, MS 24 was shifted to a new improved alignment from Hattiesburg to west of New Augusta, following a portion of US 49 along with a newly constructed road.[9] In 1943, the new alignment of MS 24 between McComb and Tylertown was completed. Also, the highway was paved between Columbia and the border betweenMarion County and Lamar County as well as west of New Augusta.[10] In 1944, paving was completed between McLain and Leakesville.[11] A year later, MS 24 was moved to a more direct alignment between Hattiesburg and New Augusta that bypassedCamp Shelby.[12] MS 24 was extended east from Leakesville to theAlabama border in 1953. The same year, a portion of the highway west of Woodville was paved.[13]
In 1955, US 98 replaced the MS 24 designation fromUS 51 in McComb to east of McLain; as a result, MS 24 was split into two segments.[14] In 1957, the paved portion of MS 24 west of Woodville was extended further to the west.[15] The eastern segment of MS 24 between McLain and the Alabama border was redesignated asMS 594 in 1958.[16] In 1962, the highway was paved to a point east of Fort Adams.[17] Paving was completed on the remainder of MS 24 leading to Fort Adams in 1964.[18] In 1967, the eastern terminus of MS 24 was truncated to its current location at the interchange with I-55; US 98 replaced the route between there and US 51.[19] Since then, MS 24 has remained on the same alignment.[2]
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilkinson | Fort Adams | 0.0 | 0.0 | Fort Adams Main Street | Western terminus |
| Woodville | 20.0 | 32.2 | US 61 –Natchez,Baton Rouge | ||
| Centreville | 33.4 | 53.8 |   MS 33 south / Camp Street –Baton Rouge,Centreville | West end of MS 33 concurrency | |
| Amite | 34.4 | 55.4 | East Joseph Street (MS 946 west) –Downtown Centreville | Eastern terminus of unsigned MS 946 | |
| | 35.7 | 57.5 |   MS 48 east / East Howard Street –Liberty,McComb,Centreville | Western terminus of MS 48 | |
| Gloster | 42.9 | 69.0 | East Tate Street (MS 911 north) –Downtown Gloster | Southern terminus of unsigned MS 911 | |
| 43.3 | 69.7 | East Main Street (MS 913 north) –Downtown Gloster | Southern terminus of unsigned MS 913 | ||
| 43.7 | 70.3 |  MS 33 north –Crosby | East end of MS 33 concurrency | ||
| Liberty | 55.5 | 89.3 |  MS 567 north | Southern terminus of MS 567 | |
| 55.8 | 89.8 |   MS 48 west /MS 569 south (South Broad Street) –Centreville | West end of MS 48 / MS 569 concurrency | ||
| 56.0 | 90.1 |  MS 584 east (Gillsburg Road Avenue) –Gillsburg | Western terminus of MS 584 | ||
| 56.1 | 90.3 | MS 569 north (Old Jackson Road) | East end of MS 569 concurrency | ||
| Pike | | 74.4 | 119.7 | MS 48 east –Magnolia,Percy Quin State Park,Quail Hollow Golf Course | East end of MS 48 concurrency |
| | 75.0 | 120.7 | Wardlaw Road (MS 905 east) | Western terminus of unsigned MS 905 | |
| McComb | 76.0 | 122.3 | I-55 /US 98 –Tylertown,McComb,Brookhaven,New Orleans | Eastern terminus; I-55 exit 15 | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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Media related toMississippi Highway 24 at Wikimedia Commons
