Mississippi Highway 26

Mississippi Highway 26 (MS 26) is a 77.05-mile-long (124.00 km) state highway in southern Mississippi. It runs from a continuation of Louisiana Highway 10 (LA 10) east through Pearl River, Stone, and George counties to MS 198 in Lucedale. Along the way it intersects several major highways including U.S. Route 11 (US 11) in Poplarville, Interstate 59 (I-59) in Poplarville, and US 49 in Wiggins.

Mississippi Highway 26 marker
Mississippi Highway 26
Map
MS 26 highlighted in blue
Route information
Maintained by MDOT
Length77.05 mi[1] (124.00 km)
Existed1932–present
Major junctions
West end LA 10 at the Louisiana state line near Bogalusa, LA
Major intersections
East end MS 198 in Lucedale
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMississippi
CountiesPearl River, Stone, George
Highway system
MS 25 MS 27

In late September a section of MS 26 six miles (9.7 km) east of Benndale collapsed due to heavy rains from Hurricane Ida and killed three people.

Route description

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Sign for MS 26 eastbound

MS 26 begins in Pearl River County at the Louisiana state line at a bridge over the Pearl River, where it continues west across the bridge into Bogalusa as Louisiana Highway 10 (LA 10). It heads east through woodlands for a couple miles to pass through the community of Crossroads, where it has an intersection with MS 43, before passing through rural for the next several miles, where it crosses White Sand Creek. The highway travels through the suburb of West Poplarville before entering the town of Poplarville, bypassing downtown to the south as it has an intersection with US 11 (where it becomes concurrent (overlapped) with MS 53) and crosses a bridge over some railroad tracks. MS 26 now passes through a business district, where MS 53 splits off, before having an interchange with I-59 (Exit 29) before leaving Poplarville and crossing the Wolf River. The highway travels through rural woodlands before entering Stone County.

 
Typical scenery along Mississippi Highway 26

MS 26 travels through a mix of farmland and wooded areas for several miles to cross Black Creek before entering the town of Wiggins. It passes through some neighborhoods before passing by the town's airport and having an interchange with US 49. The highway passes through more neighborhoods as Central Avenue before passing along the southern edge of downtown as it has an interchange between MS 29 and MS 149. MS 26 passes through more neighborhoods before leaving Wiggins and traveling through farmland for the next several miles. The highway passes through the community of Whites Crossing before traveling through the southern portion of De Soto National Forest, where it has an intersection with the southern section of MS 15, before entering George County.

 
The Pascagoula River bridge along MS 26 eastbound

MS 26 crosses Cypress Creek before traveling through the community of Benndale, where it has a junction with MS 57. It now crosses the Pascagoula River, and passes through the community of Crossroads, before having an interchange with MS 63 to enter the town of Lucedale along Winter Street. The highway passes through a business district, where it has an intersection with Old Highway 63 before entering downtown, where it comes to an end at an intersection with MS 198 (Main Street).

The entire length of Mississippi Highway 26 is a rural two-lane highway.[2]

History

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On August 31, 2021, two people were killed and at least ten others were injured when their vehicles plunged into a deep hole on a collapsed section of Highway 26 nearly six miles east of Benndale. Heavy rains from Hurricane Ida caused the highway to collapse.[3] On September 11, 2021, one of the others injured died bringing the death toll to three.[4][5] By late September, the Department of Transportation announced that a geotechnical review was finished and that a company will be chosen by early October to repair the damage.[5] On Thursday, October 7, the Department of Transportation awarded a $1.8 million contract to T.L. Wallace Construction, of Columbia. The road is expected to be opened in early winter 2021, and totally complete by early 2022.[6]

Major intersections

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CountyLocationmi[7]kmDestinationsNotes
Pearl River0.00.0 
 
LA 10 west – Bogalusa
Western terminus; Louisiana state line
2.94.7  MS 43 – Columbia, Picayune
Poplarville17.327.8  US 11 – Lumberton, Picayune
 
 
MS 53 begins
Western end of MS 53 concurrency; northern terminus of MS 53
18.029.0 
 
MS 53 south – Necaise
Eastern end of MS 53 concurrency
20.2–
20.4
32.5–
32.8
  I-59 – Hattiesburg, New OrleansI-59 exit 29; diamond interchange
StoneWiggins40.8–
40.9
65.7–
65.8
  US 49 – Hattiesburg, Gulf CoastDiamond interchange
41.967.4 
 
  MS 29 north / MS 149 – Perkinston, Downtown Wiggins
Partial cloverleaf interchange; southern terminus of MS 29
50.581.3 
 
MS 15 south – Biloxi
Northern terminus of southern section of MS 15
George62.199.9  MS 57 – McLain, Vancleave
73.6–
73.7
118.4–
118.6
  MS 63 – Leakesville, Moss PointDiamond interchange
Lucedale77.1124.1  MS 198 – McLain, Leakesville, MobileEastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

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  1. ^ Mississippi Department of Transportation Planning Division (December 31, 2014). Mississippi Public Roads Selected Statistics Extent, Travel, and Designation (PDF) (Report). Mississippi Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  2. ^ "Map of Mississippi Highway 26" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  3. ^ Duncan, Carrie; Ruppert, Tristan; Snyder, Bill (August 31, 2021). "2 dead, 10 injured after George County highway collapses". WLOX. Biloxi, MS. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  4. ^ Gwinn, Dominic (September 13, 2021). "Third person who drove into collapsed section of Mississippi Highway 26 has died". Clarion Ledger. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  5. ^ a b WXXV Staff (September 27, 2021). "Mississippi to start rebuilding collapsed portion of Highway 26". WXXV. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  6. ^ "(VIDEO) Work underway on State Route 26 in George County". Mississippi Department of Transportation. Jackson, MS. October 15, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  7. ^ "Mississippi Highway 26" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
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