I-69 in MS

[Anthony_JK]

If more of Interstate 69 in Mississippi is ever built, I would connect it with existing US 61, then run it down 61 to the Clarksdale Bypass, then have 69 leaving the existing 61 corridor at Merigold to access the proposed Charles W. Dean Bridge into Arkansas. That would, of course, require a bypass being constructed around Tunica (which probably should happen regardless of any Interstate 69 plans).

The currently approved plans for I-69 does have it parallel US 61 from Tunica southward, then overlay the US 61-US 49 bypass of Clarksdale (portions of which are already freeway grade), then divert from it to cross the Mississippi into Arkansas via the Charles Dean Bridge.

If Arkansas or Mississippi have no intent of building their portions of I-69, though, I'd seriously consider junking the entirety of it. Just build the Dyersburg (I-155) to downtown Memphis (TN 300/I-240) section and terminate at downtown Memphis. Transform the "I-269 extension" into Tunica into an outer loop with a southern crossing of the Mississippi connecting to I-40, and then use the US 79 corridor between Pine Bluff and I-40, and an I-530/AR 530 extension to Monroe (with future extension to Alexandria and Lake Charles) to complete the connection. You would have to find some way to renumber the I-69 colossus in Texas, but that would be far less expensive than waiting 60 years for this corridor to be completed.

[bwana39]

If more of Interstate 69 in Mississippi is ever built, I would connect it with existing US 61, then run it down 61 to the Clarksdale Bypass, then have 69 leaving the existing 61 corridor at Merigold to access the proposed Charles W. Dean Bridge into Arkansas. That would, of course, require a bypass being constructed around Tunica (which probably should happen regardless of any Interstate 69 plans).

The currently approved plans for I-69 does have it parallel US 61 from Tunica southward, then overlay the US 61-US 49 bypass of Clarksdale (portions of which are already freeway grade), then divert from it to cross the Mississippi into Arkansas via the Charles Dean Bridge.

If Arkansas or Mississippi have no intent of building their portions of I-69, though, I'd seriously consider junking the entirety of it. Just build the Dyersburg (I-155) to downtown Memphis (TN 300/I-240) section and terminate at downtown Memphis. Transform the "I-269 extension" into Tunica into an outer loop with a southern crossing of the Mississippi connecting to I-40, and then use the US 79 corridor between Pine Bluff and I-40, and an I-530/AR 530 extension to Monroe (with future extension to Alexandria and Lake Charles) to complete the connection. You would have to find some way to renumber the I-69 colossus in Texas, but that would be far less expensive than waiting 60 years for this corridor to be completed.

The Charles Dean Bridge is a pet project for Robert Moore. He had been President / Speaker of the Arkansas General Assembly (Legislature / House) when this was proposed. For the past decade he HAD been first a member then Chairman of the Arkansas Highway Commission. Chairman Moore recently retired. Chairman Moore is native and still lives in Desha County . This thing would run smack through Desha County as it is proposed.

I have railed on about this ad nauseum that it either should cross the river at Lake Village or follow US-79 to a point south of Memphis. There is plenty of bridge for I-69 at Greenville / Lake Village.  If the Dean Bridge is built as proposed, it would be the closest rural crossing (to US-82) in Mississippi or Tennessee.  It is only 35 river miles to US-82 and obviously if I-69 followed an easterly track from ElDorado, the highway miles would be minimally different.

[MikieTimT]

I-69 in Arkansas has far more usefulness if it would parallel US-79 between El Dorado and Camden about 10 miles to the SE of US-79 all the way up to between Marianna and Hughes, then shoot a bridge across the river just north of North Tunica.  Then Arkansas has all the reason in the world to continue I-269 back to at least I-40, making a southern bypass of Memphis, which I think we all agree would be preferable to the I-55 crossing to head to I-22 from I-40 and vice versa.  My family and I have to go to a funeral near Tupelo this weekend and have the distinct pleasure of either adding a half hour and crossing the river at West Helena to avoid Memphis, or taking I-55/I-269 to I-22 at 8PM in Memphis on a Friday night.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1A6l2wesUVzc2qNDTbcu_RlWo-loeuIs&usp=sharing

This routing of I-69 helps with access to Camden, AR as well, which has a Lockheed Martin facility that makes the system that gets a lot of press in the Ukrainian defense of their country and has gotten lots of orders for more from other European countries building up their militaries right now.

[TheBox]

So what did MS do with I-69 the past 3 years? (maybe 4)

Could anybody recap me? I just want to know if they've done jack shit with it

[-- US 175 --]

So what did MS do with I-69 the past 3 years? (maybe 4)

Could anybody recap me? I just want to know if they've done jack shit with it

From what I've heard, that would be a grand total of:
-0-.

[TheBox]

So what did MS do with I-69 the past 3 years? (maybe 4)

Could anybody recap me? I just want to know if they've done jack shit with it

From what I've heard, that would be a grand total of:
-0-.

how surprising

[rte66man]

So what did MS do with I-69 the past 3 years? (maybe 4)

Could anybody recap me? I just want to know if they've done jack shit with it

Spent all their $$$ on finishing 269

[abqtraveler]

So what did MS do with I-69 the past 3 years? (maybe 4)

Could anybody recap me? I just want to know if they've done jack shit with it

Mississippi completed the short section of I-69 between Tunica Resorts and I-55 using revenues generated by the casinos at Tunica Resorts. For Mississippi's portion of I-269, Desoto and Marshall Counties fronted the state the money to pay for its construction, with the expectation that the feds would eventually reimburse the state, and by extension, the counties after it was built. The State of Mississippi doesn't have enough money to maintain its existing roads, let alone fund the completion of I-69. And unlike Desoto and Marshall Counties, the counties further south along the I-69 route don't have money they can "lend" to MDOT to jumpstart construction, and hopefully get reimbursed by the feds and the state later.

[sprjus4]

^ And then another point... I-269 serves a purpose as an outer beltway for the Memphis metro area... I-69 southwest of there is not nearly as much as a demand. It is already served by a rural 4 lane 65 mph highway and carries light traffic.

[Wayward Memphian]

So what did MS do with I-69 the past 3 years? (maybe 4)

Could anybody recap me? I just want to know if they've done jack shit with it

Mississippi completed the short section of I-69 between Tunica Resorts and I-55 using revenues generated by the casinos at Tunica Resorts. For Mississippi's portion of I-269, Desoto and Marshall Counties fronted the state the money to pay for its construction, with the expectation that the feds would eventually reimburse the state, and by extension, the counties after it was built. The State of Mississippi doesn't have enough money to maintain its existing roads, let alone fund the completion of I-69. And unlike Desoto and Marshall Counties, the counties further south along the I-69 route don't have money they can "lend" to MDOT to jumpstart construction, and hopefully get reimbursed by the feds and the state later.

To add to that the Tunica resorts area shell of their former selves thanks to what Southland in West Memphis has morphed in to.  So much so, MS is considering land based casinos to address the issue.

[abqtraveler]

So what did MS do with I-69 the past 3 years? (maybe 4)

Could anybody recap me? I just want to know if they've done jack shit with it

Mississippi completed the short section of I-69 between Tunica Resorts and I-55 using revenues generated by the casinos at Tunica Resorts. For Mississippi's portion of I-269, Desoto and Marshall Counties fronted the state the money to pay for its construction, with the expectation that the feds would eventually reimburse the state, and by extension, the counties after it was built. The State of Mississippi doesn't have enough money to maintain its existing roads, let alone fund the completion of I-69. And unlike Desoto and Marshall Counties, the counties further south along the I-69 route don't have money they can "lend" to MDOT to jumpstart construction, and hopefully get reimbursed by the feds and the state later.

To add to that the Tunica resorts area shell of their former selves thanks to what Southland in West Memphis has morphed in to.  So much so, MS is considering land based casinos to address the issue.

I thought Mississippi lawmakers changed the law to allow land-based casinos after Hurricane Katrina wiped out the ones on the Gulf Coast. Did the law not change yet?

[Rick Powell]

I thought Mississippi lawmakers changed the law to allow land-based casinos after Hurricane Katrina wiped out the ones on the Gulf Coast. Did the law not change yet?

They allowed the gulf coast casinos to rebuild inland. There are also at least 3 Native American casinos on dry land; other than those, I think the casinos are restricted to being near the Mississippi River or on the Gulf Coast, whether land or water based.

[Wayward Memphian]

Expanding it to target the Tenn border.

[bwana39]

I thought Mississippi lawmakers changed the law to allow land-based casinos after Hurricane Katrina wiped out the ones on the Gulf Coast. Did the law not change yet?

They allowed the gulf coast casinos to rebuild inland. There are also at least 3 Native American casinos on dry land; other than those, I think the casinos are restricted to being near the Mississippi River or on the Gulf Coast, whether land or water based.

It isn't like the Tunica casinos are actually on the river. They are on a mostly filled in former channel that itself is mostly on the land.

[Wayward Memphian]

I thought Mississippi lawmakers changed the law to allow land-based casinos after Hurricane Katrina wiped out the ones on the Gulf Coast. Did the law not change yet?

They allowed the gulf coast casinos to rebuild inland. There are also at least 3 Native American casinos on dry land; other than those, I think the casinos are restricted to being near the Mississippi River or on the Gulf Coast, whether land or water based.

It isn't like the Tunica casinos are actually on the river. They are on a mostly filled in former channel that itself is mostly on the land.

They are  just isolated now,. Half have closed up shop.. Gone are the days of AirTran running charter flights from ATL on 717s to the little Tunica Airport.

[abqtraveler]

I thought Mississippi lawmakers changed the law to allow land-based casinos after Hurricane Katrina wiped out the ones on the Gulf Coast. Did the law not change yet?

They allowed the gulf coast casinos to rebuild inland. There are also at least 3 Native American casinos on dry land; other than those, I think the casinos are restricted to being near the Mississippi River or on the Gulf Coast, whether land or water based.

It isn't like the Tunica casinos are actually on the river. They are on a mostly filled in former channel that itself is mostly on the land.

They are  just isolated now,. Half have closed up shop.. Gone are the days of AirTran running charter flights from ATL on 717s to the little Tunica Airport.

Tunica Resorts is pretty much a ghost town now. Good thing they were able to pay for that short stretch of I-69 while it was still a boomtown.

[RoadMaster09]

How about letting it run along US 61 all the way to Leland, then along US 82 from there across Arkansas? That way, it could use the Greenville Bridge and all that would be necessary is upgrading an existing route. (Although 82 in Arkansas is mostly 2 lanes, and the Monticello Bypass would no longer be part of I-69, but the El Dorado Bypass would be.)

Something needs to be done in the area, since I-40 across eastern Arkansas desperately needs major relief.

[abqtraveler]

How about letting it run along US 61 all the way to Leland, then along US 82 from there across Arkansas? That way, it could use the Greenville Bridge and all that would be necessary is upgrading an existing route. (Although 82 in Arkansas is mostly 2 lanes, and the Monticello Bypass would no longer be part of I-69, but the El Dorado Bypass would be.)

Something needs to be done in the area, since I-40 across eastern Arkansas desperately needs major relief.

They will probably add another travel lane in each direction to I-40 between Little Rock and Memphis before any significant work gets done on I-69.

[The Ghostbuster]

I wouldn't be surprised if what exists of Interstate 69 in Mississippi at present is all that will ever exist. As much as I would like all of proposed 69 from Texas to Indiana to be built, it will probably take 50-100 years to complete it in-full (assuming they don't give up on constructing large portions of the proposed roadway, which seems highly likely to me).

[abqtraveler]

I wouldn't be surprised if what exists of Interstate 69 in Mississippi at present is all that will ever exist. As much as I would like all of proposed 69 from Texas to Indiana to be built, it will probably take 50-100 years to complete it in-full (assuming they don't give up on constructing large portions of the proposed roadway, which seems highly likely to me).

About 10-15 years ago was starting to move forward with constructing the northernmost section of SIU-11--the Tunica Bypass between the current terminus of I-69 at MS-3 to US-61 near the Tunica/Coahoma County line , as Tunica Resorts was still booming at that time.  With the rapid decline of Tunica Resorts over the past decade, even that section is off the table for the foreseeable future.  Sad to see what used to be the third largest casino gaming spot in the country has turned into a ghost town in a matter of a few years.

[edwaleni]

Let's put it in terms that even a sports fan would understand.

Ole Miss football coaching staff earns $15 million a year (Lane Kiffin $8.75M)

Miss State coach Zach Arnett signed a $3.3 million a year contract (he replaced the deceased Mike Leach who earned $5.5 million annually).

If you asked the average Mississippian what they would prefer, an SEC Champion or better roads, they would vote for an SEC Champion every single time.

If I-69 costs a million a mile to build they could have ~100 miles built within the lifetime of their 2 college football coaches salaries.

MissDOT just allocated $14 million to help bring back Mobile to New Orleans Amtrak service.

I am not saying all of these are practical, I am just saying that if priorities were different.

[abqtraveler]

Let's put it in terms that even a sports fan would understand.

Ole Miss football coaching staff earns $15 million a year (Lane Kiffin $8.75M)

Miss State coach Zach Arnett signed a $3.3 million a year contract (he replaced the deceased Mike Leach who earned $5.5 million annually).

If you asked the average Mississippian what they would prefer, an SEC Champion or better roads, they would vote for an SEC Champion every single time.

If I-69 costs a million a mile to build they could have ~100 miles built within the lifetime of their 2 college football coaches salaries.

MissDOT just allocated $14 million to help bring back Mobile to New Orleans Amtrak service.

I am not saying all of these are practical, I am just saying that if priorities were different.

I can go onto a tangent about paying a college football coach $15 million a year. Why should the taxpayers pay his salary when colleges and universities are jacking up tuition and fees year over year at a rate that's sometimes double, triple, or more the rate of inflation? With all that extra money, the university should more than well enough afford to pay the coach's salary without having to go to the taxpayers to ask them to foot the bill.

Now back to I-69.

[Bobby5280]

I'm not a fan of taxpayer money being used to fund any sports programs, whether it's funding a major league sports stadium or paying the high salary of a college football coach. Those operations are huge money making businesses. They should pay for their own damned stadiums and salaries. These same people bitch about "socialism," but they have no problem at all sucking up taxpayer money when it benefits their rich asses.

How about letting it run along US 61 all the way to Leland, then along US 82 from there across Arkansas? That way, it could use the Greenville Bridge and all that would be necessary is upgrading an existing route.

Routing I-69 that far South and into that much of an extreme L-shape would eliminate any point of finishing the Interstate. Any long distance traffic coming up from Texas and going to destinations in the Ohio River Valley and beyond would just shift to the I-369 & I-30 combo and then use I-57 or I-40 to get to where they're going. The proposed I-69 route thru LA, AR and MS is already very indirect as is. Pushing it down to US-82 just makes it a whole lot more ridiculous.

Sad to see what used to be the third largest casino gaming spot in the country has turned into a ghost town in a matter of a few years.

I think the casino resorts in Tunica fell on hard times because they were too dependent on visitors in Texas, Oklahoma and other nearby states. Over the past 10 or so years some casinos in Oklahoma underwent major expansions. Winstar, just across the Red River from DFW, has more gaming floor space than any casino in North America. Choctaw Casino near Durant is a whole lot bigger now. Really the US seems to have a lot more casinos spread across the country now. It's even forcing resorts in Las Vegas to take their act to another level with attractions like the MSG Sphere. It's not enough to have a building filled with slot machines and blackjack tables anymore.

[bwana39]

Routing I-69 that far South and into that much of an extreme L-shape would eliminate any point of finishing the Interstate. Any long distance traffic coming up from Texas and going to destinations in the Ohio River Valley and beyond would just shift to the I-369 & I-30 combo and then use I-57 or I-40 to get to where they're going. The proposed I-69 route thru LA, AR and MS is already very indirect as is. Pushing it down to US-82 just makes it a whole lot more ridiculous.

I want to agree with you mostly. The proposed Arkansas City route is a mirror image though. From US-82 to the Greenville bridge you go mostly east then north. Using the proposed location for the I-69 bridge, you go mostly North then east.

You follow the existing US-82 / 278 from Eldorado to Cleveland MS it is around 150 miles. You could probably get 15-20 miles out of that by going directly from Antioch to SE of Lake Village. So lets say 140 miles. It will probably be around a hundred miles to Arkansas City from ElDorado. It would be around 40 more less to Cleveland MS.  Worst case it would be 5-10 miles farther going across the Greenville Bridge. In all likelihood, it would be closer AND it would not require a new $1B+ bridge system.

I am not a proponent of the freeway either place (but I clearly prefer US-82 crossing if it is going to cross south of the Arkansas River.) The freeway SHOULD follow US-79 and Cross the Mississippi River near Tunica Resorts.

As to the casinos. When the ones at Tunica were the closest ones to DFW they made sense. Now, they are not even the closest one to Memphis (the Dog Track at West Memphis).  https://www.southlandcasino.com/


Either way, using either the New Bridge or the Greenville bridge are within 10 miles or less of each other from Nacogdoches to Memphis.  The Greenville Bridge would PROBABLY be the shorter of the two routings.

As to Nacogdoches to Texarkana to LRA to Memphis versus I-69, the mileage from Nacogdoches to Memphis is 427 miles.
Going from Nacogdoches to Carthage to Shreveport to Delhi to Greenville to Memphis is only 30  miles farther.
You can definitely feather some miles out of it (but the projected route doesn't.)

Thirty miles farther and not go through Little Rock makes it a wash for time. Depending on your egress from Memphis, it would likely save the headache of Memphis too. ANd you cross the Mississippi on a far less crowded bridge regardless the time of day.

If it ever gets built, it would be a large improvement over I-30/ I-40.

[Anthony_JK]

If you are going to do that, you might as well just extend I/AR 530 south to I-20 in Monroe and then upgrade US 165 all the way to I-10 east of Lake Charles, and just nuke I-69 between Texarkana and Memphis.