Interstate 10, a major east–west Interstate Highway in the southern areas of the United States, has a section of about in Mississippi.
Route description
I-10 enters the Gulf Coast area of Mississippi from Louisiana after crossing the East Pearl River. The highway parallels US Highway 90 to the north as it runs through the southern parts of the three southernmost counties in the state: Hancock, Harrison and Jackson. As I-10 enters the Gulfport–Biloxi metropolitan area, its median widens shortly after crossing the Pearl River. The eastbound Mississippi Welcome Center is off the highway at exit 2, and the eastbound truck weigh station can be found just west of exit 13. Shortly after exit 13, I-10 crosses a bridge over the Jourdan River and enters Diamondhead, where the Interstate serves as a buffer between the communities and the north shore of Bay of St. Louis while crossing the Hancock–Harrison county line at the same time. It widens from four to six lanes between the bridge over the Wolf River and exit 28 northeast of Cuevas. The highway passes through the northern section of Mississippi's second-largest city, Gulfport, and has a cloverleaf interchange with US 49 crossing a railway line, US 49 itself, and Bayou Bernard in the process, respectively. Additionally, the interchange is north of the flight plan for planes at Gulfport–Biloxi International Airport. The crossing of these two roads is officially recognized as the Castiglia Interchange. later, I-10 intersects Mississippi Highway 605, which provides access to Gulfport's eastern neighborhoods and crosses the Biloxi River. A short distance later, the road crosses the Tchoutacabouffa River before entering the northern sections of Biloxi. After two diamond interchanges, collective–distributor roads can be found on both sides at exits 46 A–D. The eastbound exits here are for D‘Iberville Boulevard, I-110, as well as northbound MS 15 and MS 67. The westbound exits are for Lamey Bridge Road, northbound MS 15/MS 67, and southbound I-110. Shortly after the semi-complex interchange, the route crosses the Harrison–Jackson county line. No other interchanges exist within Jackson County until over later at MS 609, and the road narrows back down to four lanes east of MS 57 north of Ocean Springs. One last interchange can be found in Gautier west of a pair of rest areas on both sides of the road. A connecting U-Turn for official and emergency vehicles links both rest areas with one another. Immediately after the rest areas, I-10 uses a long causeway to cross the West Pascagoula River, several unnamed creeks and rivers, wetlands and swamps, before crossing the main channel. East of the Pascagoula wetlands, the road enters the northern section of Moss Point. Two interchanges with MS 613 and MS 63 provide access to the city of Pascagoula and are in close proximity to one another before I-10 starts to head northeastward. Following a shorter causeway over the Escatawpa River and its wetlands, I-10 has one last eastbound truck weigh station across the road from the westbound Mississippi Welcome Center, followed by one last interchange, for Franklin Creek Road. The first westbound truck weigh station can be spotted across the road before I-10 finally enters Alabama after trekking in the Magnolia State.
History
I-10 was built in 1982 throughout Mississippi. It was originally completed in Alabama and Louisiana before Mississippi completed its portion. I-10 in Alabama routed onto US 90 at the state line, which was the default roadway across southern Mississippi before I-10 was completed. Today, US 90 is not directly accessible from I-10. When coming from Louisiana, I-10 ended at MS 607. Today, entering Mississippi from Louisiana, the first twelve miles is the NASA John C. Stennis Space Center easement zone. To this day, I-10 displays the control city of Bay St. Louis from New Orleans, Louisiana and Pascagoula from traveling from Mobile, Alabama.
