U.S. Route 49 (US 49) is a north–south

United States highway The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...

. The highway's northern terminus is in

Piggott, Arkansas Piggott is a city in Clay County, Arkansas, United States. It is one of the two county seats of Clay County, along with Corning. It is the northern terminus of the Arkansas segment of the Crowley's Ridge Parkway, a National Scenic Byway. As of t ...

, at an intersection with

US Route 62 U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) runs from the Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canadian border. It is the only east-west United States Numbered Highway that connects Mexico and Canad ...

/ Highway 1/ Highway 139 (US 62/AR 1/AR 139). Its southern terminus is in

Gulfport, Mississippi Gulfport is the second-largest city in Mississippi after the state capital, Jackson. Along with Biloxi, Gulfport is the co-county seat of Harrison County and the larger of the two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan ...

, at an intersection with

U.S. Route 90 U.S. Route 90 or U.S. Highway 90 (US 90) is an east–west major United States highway in the Southern United States. Despite the "0" in its route number, US 90 never was a full coast-to-coast route. With the exception of a short-lived ...

. US 49 is approximately 516 miles (830 km) in length. It was at the junction of US 49 and

U.S. Route 61 U.S. Route 61 or U.S. Highway 61 (U.S. 61) is a major United States highway that extends between New Orleans, Louisiana and the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. The highway generally follows the course of the Mississippi River and is designate ...

that

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

singer

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...

is said to have sold his soul to the

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...

. The highway is also the subject of songs by Big Joe Williams and

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...

(Chester Arthur Burnett).

Route description

Mississippi

, - , MS , 334 , 538 , - , AR , 182 , 293 , - , Total , 516 , 830 US 49 has historically been one of the most important highways in Mississippi. It was the state's first highway to see a significant rural segment four-laned. Today, it is the only four-laned route directly connecting

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

, the state's capital and largest city, to the

Mississippi Gulf Coast The Mississippi Gulf Coast, also known as Mississippi Coast, Mississippi Gulf Coast region, Coastal Mississippi, and The Coast, is the area of Mississippi along the Mississippi Sound at the northern extreme of the Gulf of Mexico. Geography At th ...

. Some urban segments along this portion of the route maintain three or more traffic lanes in each direction. US 49 serves as a primary hurricane evacuation route for Gulf Coast residents. Southern terminus of US 49 at US 90

US 49 begins near the Port of

at a junction with US 90. It provides a major connection between the port, casinos, beaches and downtown with

I-10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...

(exits 34A-B), where it has its first major junction being a full service

cloverleaf interchange A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange in which all turns are handled by slip roads. To go left (in right-hand traffic; reverse directions in left-driving regions), vehicles first continue as one road passes over or under the ...

on the city's north end. The crossing of these two roads is officially recognized by the state of Mississippi as the Castilgia Interchange. North of I-10, US 49 passes through suburban areas and enters

De Soto National Forest De Soto National Forest, named for 16th-century Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto, is of pine forests in southern Mississippi. It is one of the most important protected areas for the biological diversity of the Gulf Coast ecoregion of North Ame ...

. Various state highway interchanges and junctions are encountered before the route passes near

Camp Shelby Camp Shelby is a military post whose North Gate is located at the southern boundary of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on United States Highway 49. It is the largest state-owned training site in the nation. During wartime, the camp's mission is to s ...

, then through an interchange with US 98 just south of

Hattiesburg Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County (where it is the county seat and largest city) and extending west into Lamar County. The city population was 45,989 at the 2010 census, with the populat ...

. At this point, travelers have an option of continuing on US 49 through Hattiesburg or using the

I-59 Interstate 59 (I-59) is an Interstate Highway located in the southeastern United States. It is a north–south route that spans from a junction with I-10 and I-12 at Slidell, Louisiana, to a junction with I-24 near Wildwood, Georgia. ...

/US 98 bypass which reconnects with US 49 in the northern part of the city. Continuing on US 49 brings one to a cloverleaf interchange at US 11, one of very few in the South to lack merging lanes between loop ramps, thus altering the usual weaving patterns which plague many of these interchanges. US 49 passes Hattiesburg's primary medical facility,

Forrest General Hospital Forrest may refer to: Places Australia *Forrest, Australian Capital Territory * Forrest, Victoria, a small rural township *Division of Forrest, a federal division of the Australian House of Representatives, in Western Australia *Electoral distri ...

, and the campus of the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

before arriving at another, more standard cloverleaf interchange with I-59. Those who used the aforementioned bypass, wishing to reconnect with US 49 North to the state capital, must use exit 67B. It is also at I-59, where

Mississippi Highway 42 Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mississ ...

(MS 42) runs with US 49 for a short distance as suburban development is soon encountered as the road returns to rural environs. Eventually, MS 42 departs from the four-laned highway and branches off to the west toward smaller towns, starting with Sumrall. Interchanges between Hattiesburg and Jackson provide access to various state highways, and one at Collins provides access to US 84. Highway 49W north of Yazoo City, MS

At Jackson, US 49 upgrades to

Interstate Highway standards Standards for Interstate Highways in the United States are defined by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in the publication ''A Policy on Design Standards: Interstate System''. For a certain highway to ...

before joining

I-20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. Between ...

using a two-lane flyover. About a mile later, I-20/US 49 merges with

I-55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The h ...

at a

stack interchange A directional interchange, colloquially known as a stack interchange, is a type of grade-separated junction between two controlled-access highways that allows for free-flowing movement to and from all directions of traffic. These interchanges e ...

. I-20/I-55/US 49 crosses the Pearl River into Hinds County and bypasses Downtown Jackson, where I-55 departs to the south. US 49/I-20 continue west until US 49 ends its run with I-20 and joins

I-220 Interstate 220 (I-220) is the designation for two Interstate Highways in the United States, both related to Interstate 20: *Interstate 220 (Mississippi), a bypass of Jackson, Mississippi *Interstate 220 (Louisiana) Interstate 220 (I-220) in L ...

before turning northwest to

Yazoo City Yazoo City is a U.S. city in Yazoo County, Mississippi. It was named after the Yazoo River, which, in turn was named by the French explorer Robert La Salle in 1682 as "Rivière des Yazous" in reference to the Yazoo tribe living near the river's ...

. A split in the highway, rare in the

U.S. Highway System The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...

, begins here; both routes head into the Mississippi Delta, US 49W serving the towns of Belzoni and Indianola, where it junctions with US 82 and its four-lane segment ends, while two-laned US 49E serves Tchula before encountering US 82 at Greenwood. Both routes continue north from US 82 and are linked again at Tutwiler. Continuing northwest, the highway passes through an interchange with US 61 as it enters Clarksdale. It is at Clarksdale that US 49 encounters "The Crossroads", the legendary junction with State Street (an old alignment of US 61) where the great blues musician

is reputed to have sold his soul to the devil. From Clarksdale, US 49 continues north and crosses the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

using the

Helena Bridge The Helena Bridge is a cantilever bridge carrying U.S. Route 49 across the Mississippi River between Helena, Arkansas and Lula, Mississippi. The main cantilever span was modeled on the similar Benjamin G. Humphreys Bridge which had been bui ...

where it enters Arkansas near the town of Helena. ClarksdaleMS Crossroads

In May 2005 portions of extant US 49E were renamed the "Emmett Till Memorial Highway". The Mississippi section of US 49 and the routes of US 49E and US 49W are defined at Mississippi Code Annotated § 65-3-3.

Arkansas

US 49 enters Arkansas near Helena-West Helena in Phillips County. US 49 Business runs around the north part of the city, with the main route meeting AR 242 in the southern portion. US 49 continues west to Walnut Corner where the route meets AR 1 (and briefly AR 316). The US 49/AR 1 concurrency ends in Marvell and US 49 enters

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...

. Upon entering Monroe County, US 49 turns north to begin a concurrency with AR 39. US 49 also crosses

US 79 U.S. Route 79 (US 79) is a United States highway in the Southern United States. The route is officially considered and labeled as a north-south highway, but its path is actually more of a diagonal northeast-southwest highway. The highway's nort ...

before meeting

US 70 U.S. Route 70 or U.S. Highway 70 (US 70) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from eastern North Carolina to east-central Arizona. It is a major east–west highway of the Southeastern, Southern and Southwestern United States. ...

near

Brinkley Brinkley may refer to: People * Brinkley (surname) Places * Brinkley, Arkansas, USA * Brinkley, Nottinghamshire, England * Brinkley, Cambridgeshire, England Fictional places * Brinkley Court The following is a list of recurring or notable fict ...

. The route crosses

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

north of Brinkley prior to entering Woodruff County. US 49 runs northeast through rural Woodruff County, not crossing of concurring with any important routes before crossing into Cross County. The route meets

US 64 U.S. Route 64 (US 64) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,326 miles (3,743 km) from Nags Head in eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 1 ...

in Fair Oaks and meets AR 42 in southern Hickory Ridge. It then enters Poinsett County, concurring with AR 214 from

Fisher Fisher is an archaic term for a fisherman, revived as gender-neutral. Fisher, Fishers or The Fisher may also refer to: Places Australia *Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland *Elect ...

until Waldenburg. The route crosses AR 14 in Waldenburg. US 49 runs along south Jonesboro, with US 49 Business formerly running into town. US 49 concurs with

US 63 U.S. Route 63 (US 63) is a , north–south United States Highway primarily in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Southern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at Interstate 20 (I-20) in Ruston, Louisiana; the northe ...

until again joining AR 1. The two routes angle north through downtown Jonesboro, crossing US 63 Business and passing by

ASU Stadium The ASU Stadium on the campus of Alabama State University in Montgomery, Alabama is a 26,500-seat stadium that replaces the Cramton Bowl as the host venue for the Alabama State Hornets football team. The first game in the second ASU Stadium was ...

before leaving town. US 49/AR 1 pass around Brookland, with US 49 Business serving the community. Entering Greene County, US 49/AR 1 intersects

US 412 U.S. Route 412 is an east–west United States highway, first commissioned in 1982. U.S. 412 overlaps expressway-grade Cimarron Turnpike from Tulsa west to Interstate 35 and the Cherokee Turnpike from east of Chouteau, Oklahoma, to west of the ...

and briefly meets AR 358 before entering

Paragould Paragould is the county seat of Greene County, and the 19th-largest city in Arkansas, in the United States. The city is located in northeastern Arkansas on the eastern edge of Crowley's Ridge, a geologic anomaly contained within the Arkansas delta ...

. The routes cross US 412B near Kirk Field in Paragould, also meeting AR 135 north of town. US 49B also rejoins US 49/AR 1 north of Paragould. Continuing northeast through rural Greene County, US 49/AR 1 meet AR 34 in

Marmaduke ''Marmaduke'' is a newspaper comic strip revolving around the Winslow family and their Great Dane, Marmaduke, drawn by Brad Anderson from June 1954 to 2015. Publication history The strip was created by Anderson, and sold to the John F. Dille ...

and AR 90 in

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

. The route turns north to

Piggott Pigot, Pigott or Piggott may refer to: People * Pigot (surname), including a list of people with this name * Pigott (surname), including a list of people with the surname Pigott or Piggott Places * Piggott, Arkansas, United States, a city * ...

at Hargrave Corner, terminating at

US 62 U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) runs from the Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canadian border. It is the only east-west United States Numbered Highway that connects Mexico and Canada ...

/ AR 139. The Arkansas portion of US 49 is mainly two-lane undivided.

History

One of the original US highways, US 49 was extended north from

Clarksdale, Mississippi Clarksdale is a city in and the county seat of Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. It is located along the Sunflower River. Clarksdale is named after John Clark, a settler who founded the city in the mid-19th century when he establishe ...

to US 70 in

Brinkley, Arkansas Brinkley is the most populous city in Monroe County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,700, down from 3,188 in 2010. Located within the Arkansas Delta, Brinkley was founded as a railroad town in 1872. The city ...

via

and Highway 6 in 1963. US 49 was again extended north in 1978, replacing Highway 39 between Brinkley and Jonesboro. Highway 1 between Jonesboro and

was redesignated as US 49 in 1979. It is notable that for several years during the 1930s, a second split route existed on US 49 in South Mississippi, similar to but shorter than the split that still exists in the Delta region. Between Brooklyn and Hattiesburg, travelers had the option of a direct route via US 49W, or a somewhat shorter but broken route on US 49E, serving the

Forrest County Agricultural High School Forrest County Agricultural High School (FCAHS) is a public, secondary school in Brooklyn, in unincorporated Forrest County, Mississippi (United States). The school provides education to grades 9 12. Forrest County AHS is the only independently ...

and the small community of

McLaurin, Mississippi McLaurin is a small unincorporated community in Forrest County, Mississippi, United States. History The town of McLaurin is named for General McLaurin, who was also the first president of the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad. At one time, McLauri ...

Gallery

Major intersections

U.S. Route 49E

U.S. Route 49E (US 49E) is an

U.S. Highway The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...

in the Delta region of

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. It travels through Yazoo,

Holmes Holmes may refer to: Name * Holmes (surname) * Holmes (given name) * Baron Holmes, noble title created twice in the Peerage of Ireland * Chris Holmes, Baron Holmes of Richmond (born 1971), British former swimmer and life peer Places In the Uni ...

, Leflore, and Tallahatchie counties.

U.S. Route 49W

U.S. Route 49W (US 49W) is an

in the Delta Region of

, passing through Yazoo,

Humphreys Humphreys may refer to: Places * Benjamin G. Humphreys Bridge, Arkansas-Mississippi * Camp Humphreys, U.S. Camp in South Korea *Humphreys, Missouri *Humphreys County, Mississippi * Humphreys County, Tennessee * Humphreys County Airport, Tennessee * ...

Sunflower The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a large annual forb of the genus ''Helianthus'' grown as a crop for its edible oily seeds. Apart from cooking oil production, it is also used as livestock forage (as a meal or a silage plant), as ...

, and Tallahatchie counties.

Related Routes

Arkansas Highway 349 Highway 349 (AR 349, Ark. 349, and Hwy. 349) is a designation for two state highways in Northeast Arkansas. One route of begins at Highway 226 and runs north to Highway 18/ Highway 91. A second route of begins at Highway 230 a ...

* Mississippi Highway 149

Special routes

* U.S. Route 49 Business in

Brookland, Arkansas Brookland is a city in Craighead County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 1,642 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Jonesboro, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Brookland is located in northern Craighead County a ...

* U.S. Route 49 Business in Helena-West Helena, Arkansas * U.S. Route 49 Business in

Jonesboro, Arkansas Jonesboro is a city located on Crowley's Ridge in the northeastern corner of the U.S. State of Arkansas. Jonesboro is one of two county seats of Craighead County. According to the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 78,576 and is the f ...

(decommissioned) * U.S. Route 49 Business in

Paragould, Arkansas Paragould is the county seat of Greene County, and the 19th-largest city in Arkansas, in the United States. The city is located in northeastern Arkansas on the eastern edge of Crowley's Ridge, a geologic anomaly contained within the Arkansas delta ...

* U.S. Route 49E Business in

Greenwood, Mississippi Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta region, approximately 96 miles north of the state capital, Jackson, and 130 miles south of the riverp ...