Mississippi Highway 23

{{Infobox road

|state=MS

|type=MS

|route=23

|map={{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=290|frame-lat=34.2391 |frame-long=-88.2504|zoom=9|type=line|raw={{Wikipedia:Map data/Wikipedia KML/Mississippi Highway 23}}}}

|map_custom=yes

|map_notes=MS 23 highlighted in red

|length_mi=32.135

|length_round=

|length_ref={{Cite report |author=Mississippi Department of Transportation Planning Division |date=December 31, 2013 |title=Mississippi Public Roads Selected Statistics Extent, Travel, and Designation |url=http://mdot.ms.gov/documents/planning/Programs/Statistics%20Book/2013%20MDOT%20Public%20Roads%20Statistics%20Extent%2C%20Travel%2C%20and%20Designation.pdf |publisher=Mississippi Department of Transportation |page=153 |access-date=December 24, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207065424/http://mdot.ms.gov/documents/planning/Programs/Statistics%20Book/2013%20MDOT%20Public%20Roads%20Statistics%20Extent,%20Travel,%20and%20Designation.pdf |archive-date=December 7, 2014 |url-status=dead }}

|established={{circa|1932}}–1940
{{circa|1950}}

|direction_a=South

|terminus_a={{jct|state=MS|MS|25}} in Smithville

|junction={{jct|state=MS|I|22|US|78}} in Tremont

|direction_b=North

|terminus_b={{Jct|state=AL|SR|19}} at Alabama state line near Red Bay, AL

|counties=Monroe, Itawamba

|previous_type=MS

|previous_route=22

|next_type=MS

|next_route=24

}}

Mississippi Highway 23 (MS 23) is a state highway in Mississippi. The route starts at MS 25 in the town of Smithville. It travels northeastward through the forests of eastern Itawamba County. The highway intersects Interstate 22 (I-22) and U.S. Route 78 (US 78) in Tremont. MS 23 ends at the Mississippi–Alabama state line, just west of Red Bay, continuing as SR 19.

The routing that became part of MS 23 was first constructed as a graded road in 1925, from north of Amory to the state line. Gravel was added to sections of the route in the 1930s. The designation was added to maps around 1950, and it was extended to Smithville in 1960. The route was fully paved by 1980.

Route description

{{tv-b|note=Data was measured in 2015 in terms of AADT|source={{cite web|title=MDOT Traffic Count Application|url=http://mdot.ms.gov/applications/trafficcounters/|publisher=Mississippi Department of Transportation|access-date=January 6, 2017|date=2015}}}}

The highway is located in northern Monroe and eastern Itawamba counties.{{Cite map|url=http://mdot.ms.gov/documents/planning/Maps/County%20Highway%20Maps/Monroe.pdf|title=Monroe County, Mississippi|publisher=Mississippi Department of Transportation|year=2015|format=PDF|access-date=January 6, 2016|author=Mississippi Department of Transportation}}{{Cite map|url=http://mdot.ms.gov/documents/planning/Maps/County%20Highway%20Maps/Itawamba.pdf|title=Itawamba County, Mississippi|publisher=Mississippi Department of Transportation|year=2015|format=PDF|access-date=January 6, 2016|author=Mississippi Department of Transportation}} MS 23 is legally defined in Mississippi Code § 65-3-3,{{cite web|title=Mississippi Code Of 1972 As Amended - SEC. 65-3-3. State highways designated.|url=http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/mscode/|publisher=Mississippi Legislature|access-date=January 1, 2017|date=2016}} and is maintained by the Mississippi Department of Transportation as part of the state highway system. The section of the route from Tremont to the Mississippi–Alabama state line is designated as Tammy Wynette Memorial Highway, named after the country music singer–songwriter who grew up near Tremont.{{cite news|last1=Harrison|first1=Bobby|title=Highway in Itawamba County to be named after Wynette|url=http://djournal.com/news/highway-in-itawamba-county-to-be-named-after-wynette/|access-date=April 6, 2017|work=Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal|date=March 31, 2010|location=Jackson, Mississippi}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.meridianstar.com/archives/miss-tweaks-name-of-highway-for-tammy-wynette/article_d0516e07-7e35-5827-9785-4808ceecabe6.html|title = Miss. Tweaks name of highway for Tammy Wynette}}{{Cite web|url=https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/2016/title-65/chapter-3/special-designations-of-portions-of-highway-system-and-bridges/section-65-3-71.151/|title = 2016 Mississippi Code :: Title 65 - Highways, Bridges and Ferries :: Chapter 3 - State Highway System :: Special Designations of Portions of Highway System and Bridges (§§ 65-3-38 - 65-3-71.265) :: § 65-3-71.151.}}

File:MS23sRoadEnd-MS25sign (24140409557).jpg

MS 23 starts at an intersection with MS 25 in the town of Smithville and travels eastward. It leaves the city limits at Seminole Road and crosses Mill Creek shortly after. The road travels through a rural area, and turns northward at George Pearce Road. Past Jug Shop Road, MS 23 crosses the Itawamba County line. Upon entering the county, the route crosses Bluff Creek and travels northeastward. At Bull Mountain Road, the road enters a forest. Traveling past the community of Turon, the road turns further north into the county. Over the next few miles, MS 23 crosses over Smith and Jims creeks and travels toward Cadamy. The road travels north past Cadamy, turning into a divided highway. It meets I-22 and US 78 at a diamond interchange, just within the corporate limits of Tremont. Past the interchange, MS 23 changes back to a two-lane road and intersects MS 178, the beginning of a short concurrency through the town.

File:Mississippi Highway 178 Tremont MS.JPG

Once the concurrency begins, MS 23 and MS 178 travel westward through the center of Tremont.{{cite map |author = Mississippi Department of Transportation |title = Tremont, Mississippi |year =2012 |url =http://mdot.ms.gov/documents/planning/Maps/City%20Maps/Tremont.pdf |publisher =Mississippi Department of Transportation |access-date =March 6, 2017 }} MS 23 departs from MS 178 to the north less than {{convert|1|mi|km|spell=in}} later, ending the concurrency. It travels northeastward into the forest, and soon leaves the corporate limits. At Cotton Gin Road, MS 23 turns north, crosses Mountain Creek and intersects Mt. Gilead Road and Hartsell Road in the center of Bounds Crossroads. The route intersects MS 76 and later parallels that divided highway. MS 23 shifts slightly north past Pineville Road, and it ends at the Mississippi–Alabama state line. Past this point, Alabama State Route 19 (SR 19), also known as Tammy Wynette Memorial Highway, continues to Red Bay in Franklin County, Alabama.{{Cite web|url=https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/2016/title-65/chapter-3/special-designations-of-portions-of-highway-system-and-bridges/section-65-3-71.151/|title = 2016 Mississippi Code :: Title 65 - Highways, Bridges and Ferries :: Chapter 3 - State Highway System :: Special Designations of Portions of Highway System and Bridges (§§ 65-3-38 - 65-3-71.265) :: § 65-3-71.151.}}

File:MS23 North Sign - Near Red Bay AL (45249791942).jpg

History

The MS 23 designation was used for another route from 1932 to 1940. The routing was from Starkville to Shannon when it was first designated. The section from Shannon to Okolona was paved by 1937.{{Mississippi road map|year=1937|access-date=March 7, 2017}} The next year, {{convert|6|mi|km|spell=in}} of the route was paved from West Point southwards.{{Mississippi road map|year=1938|access-date=March 7, 2017}} MS 25 was extended south in 1939, replacing all of MS 23 from Starkville to north of West Point.{{Mississippi road map|year=January 1939|access-date=March 7, 2017}} The MS 23 designation was replaced with the MS 45W one by 1940.{{Mississippi road map|year=1940|access-date=March 7, 2017}} MS 45W was renumbered in 1968 to US 45 Alternate, its current designation.{{Mississippi road map|year=1967|access-date=March 7, 2017}}{{Mississippi road map|year=1968|access-date=March 7, 2017}}

The earliest sections of the current routing of MS 23 have existed since 1925,{{cite report |author=Mississippi State Highway Commission |author-link=Mississippi Department of Transportation |date=1967 |title=Itawamba Co. Stats |url=http://www.mdah.ms.gov/arrec/digital_archives/governmentrecords/files/mdot/s2729/s2729-1967/s2729-1967-d1/Ms.%20Project%20And%20Work%20Order%20Construction%20Itawamba%20Co.%20Stats%203%20of%205.PDF |publisher=Mississippi Department of Archives and History |page=1 |access-date=January 6, 2017 }} and the road that became MS 23 was part of the state map in 1928 as a graded road. The road traveled from north of Amory to the state line.{{Mississippi road map|year=1928|access-date=January 6, 2017}} The section from US 78 northward was paved in gravel by 1933.{{Mississippi road map|year=1932|access-date=January 6, 2017}}{{Mississippi road map|year=1933|access-date=January 6, 2017}} It was straightened out and extended southwestward three years later.{{Mississippi road map|year=1935|access-date=January 6, 2017}}{{Mississippi road map|year=1936|access-date=January 6, 2017}} The route designation re-appeared on the state map by 1950.{{Mississippi road map|year=1949|access-date=January 6, 2017}}{{Mississippi road map|year=1950|access-date=January 6, 2017}} A small section near Tremont was paved five years later,{{Mississippi road map|year=1953|access-date=January 6, 2017}}{{Mississippi road map|year=1955|access-date=January 6, 2017}} and the majority of the route was paved by 1957.{{Mississippi road map|year=1956|access-date=January 6, 2017}}{{Mississippi road map|year=1957|access-date=January 6, 2017}} MS 23 was extended to MS 25 and Smithville along a gravel road, and the entire section north of US 78 was paved in 1960.{{Mississippi road map|year=1958|access-date=January 6, 2017}}{{Mississippi road map|year=1960|access-date=January 6, 2017}} The Monroe County section of the route was paved in 1965,{{Mississippi road map|year=1964|access-date=January 6, 2017}}{{Mississippi road map|year=1965|access-date=January 6, 2017}} and a part of the route south of Tremont was paved in 1973.{{Mississippi road map|year=1971|access-date=January 6, 2017}}{{Mississippi road map|year=1973|access-date=January 6, 2017}} The entire route was paved by 1980.{{Mississippi road map|year=1979|access-date=January 6, 2017}}{{Mississippi road map|year=1980|access-date=January 6, 2017}} In 1991, US 78 was rerouted onto a divided highway, and a new interchange was constructed at MS 23.{{Mississippi road map|year=1990|access-date=January 6, 2017}}{{Mississippi road map|year=1991|access-date=January 6, 2017}} A part of the Appalachian Development Highway System, Corridor V, was constructed to MS 23 by 2014.{{Mississippi road map|year=2013|access-date=January 6, 2017}}{{Mississippi road map|year=2014|access-date=January 6, 2017}}

Major intersections

{{jcttop|state=MS|length_ref={{Google maps|url=https://www.google.com/maps/dir/34.0732294,-88.3882575/34.4363464,-88.1594045/@34.2549135,-88.5556676,10z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!4m1!3e0?hl=en|title=Mississippi Highway 23|access-date=June 5, 2016}}|county_ref=}}

{{MSint

|county=Monroe

|location=Smithville

|mile=0.0

|road={{jct|state=MS|MS|25|city1=Amory|city2=Fulton}}

|notes=Southern terminus

}}

{{MSint

|county=Itawamba

|cspan=5

|location=Tremont

|lspan=3

|mile=14.7

|mile2=14.9

|road={{jct|state=MS|I|22|US|78|city1=Tupelo|location2=Birmingham}}

|notes=I-22 exit 113

}}

{{MSint

|type=concur

|mile=15.8

|road={{jct|state=MS|MS|178|dir1=east}}

|notes=South end of MS 178 concurrency

}}

{{MSint

|type=concur

|mile=16.2

|road={{jct|state=MS|MS|178|dir1=west|city1=Fulton}}

|notes=North end of MS 178 concurrency

}}

{{MSint

|location=none

|mile=29.3

|road={{jct|state=MS|MS|76}}
{{jct|state=AL|to1=to|AL|24|city1=Russellville|city2=Decatur}}

}}

{{MSint

|location=none

|mile=32.7

|road={{Jct|state=AL|SR|19|dir1=south|name1=Tammy Wynette Memorial Highway|city1=Red Bay}}{{Cite web|url=https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/2016/title-65/chapter-3/special-designations-of-portions-of-highway-system-and-bridges/section-65-3-71.151/|title = 2016 Mississippi Code :: Title 65 - Highways, Bridges and Ferries :: Chapter 3 - State Highway System :: Special Designations of Portions of Highway System and Bridges (§§ 65-3-38 - 65-3-71.265) :: § 65-3-71.151.}}

|notes=Alabama state line; northern terminus; former SR 24

}}

References

023

Category:Transportation in Monroe County, Mississippi

Category:Transportation in Itawamba County, Mississippi