MS 16 begins in the
Mississippi Delta region in
Issaquena County at an intersection with Grace Road in the community of
Grace, not even a half mile from that road's intersection with
MS 1 (
Great River Road). It heads southeast as a two-lane highway through rural farmland for several miles to enter
Sharkey County. The highway now crosses
Deer Creek before making a sharp right turn at an intersection with Rolling Fork Road to enter the
Rolling Fork city limits, where state maintenance ends. Former MS 16 heads south enter town along Martin Luther King Jr. Street before turning left onto Rosenwald Avenue just north of downtown. Former MS 16 follows Rosenwald Avenue through some neighborhoods before it became
concurrent (overlapped) US 61 south/MS 14 west. They headed south along a three-lane boulevard through a business district before state maintenance restarts on MS 16, with it splitting off along McLaurin Street. MS 16 leaves Rolling Fork as a two-lane and passes southeast through farmland for a few miles to enter the
Delta National Forest. It travels southeastward through the northern part of for several miles before leaving the forest and crossing the
Sunflower River into
Holly Bluff and
Yazoo County. MS 16 passes straight through the center of the village, where it makes a sharp left turn at an intersection with Satartia Road (connector to
MS 433), before leaving Holly Bluff and passing northeast through farmland (paralleling
Silver Creek) for several miles to temporarily enter
Humphreys County, where it crosses the creek and becomes concurrent with
MS 149, before re-entering Yazoo County. MS 16/MS 149 pass southeast through a wooded area, where they cross the
Will M. Whittington Auxiliary Channel, before re-entering farmland for several miles, where they cross
Broad Lake. The highway now passes by
Yazoo County Airport before crossing the
Yazoo River to enter
Yazoo City and immediately have an interchange with
MS 3. MS 16/MS 149 pass east through both neighborhoods and the downtown area along Broadway Street to come to an intersection with
US 49, where MS 149 ends and MS 16 continues east to climb some
Loess hills out of the Mississippi Delta for several miles to pass through
Benton, where it has an intersection with
MS 433. The highway travels southeast through farmland for several miles to cross the
Big Black River into
Madison County. MS 16 continues southeast to come to an interchange with
I-55 (Exit 124), which it becomes concurrent with, and they head south as a four-lane freeway to enter
Canton, which they mostly bypass along its west side as they have an interchange with
MS 22 (Exit 119). MS 16 splits off at Exit 118 and heads east through the city's southern outskirts as a four-lane divided highway known as
Nissan Parkway, where it has an intersection with
US 51, and Canton Parkway, where it comes to an intersection with
MS 43. MS 16 heads north along MS 43 as a two-lane through neighborhoods to an intersection with E Peace Street, where MS 16 splits off and heads east to leave Canton and pass through rural areas for the next several miles, where it has an intersection with
MS 17 near
Farmhaven, before entering
Leake County. MS 16 travels east through a wooded area to have an interchange with the
Natchez Trace Parkway before crossing the
Yockanookany River and passing through the community of
Wiggins, where it has an interchange with
MS 25. The highway now begins heading as it parallels the
Pearl River to pass straight through downtown
Carthage as a four-lane undivided highway, where it has an intersection with
MS 35. MS 16 now narrows back to two-lanes as it leaves Carthage and travels through hillier terrain for the next several miles to the community of
Edinburg, where it crosses the Pearl River and has an intersection with
MS 427, before entering
Neshoba County. MS 16 travels southeast across the
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Reservation, where it passes through the community of
Pearl River, as well as widens to a four-lane divided highway for several miles. The highway now enters the
Philadelphia city limits, with it passing through a major business district as it has a short concurrency with
MS 15, as well as starting two longer ones with
MS 21 and
MS 19. MS 16/MS 21/MS 19 have an intersection with unsigned
MS 885 before splitting into a
one-way pair between Main Street and Beacon Street to travel straight through the center of downtown, where they pass by the Neshoba County Courthouse before MS 21 splits off along Pecan Avenue. MS 19 splits off along Holland Avenue just shortly before Main Street and Beacon Street merge back together, and MS 16 heads east through neighborhoods as a four-lane undivided highway, where it has an intersection with
MS 486, before leaving Philadelphia and heading east. MS 16 travels through rural areas for several miles, where it has intersections with
MS 482 and
MS 491, before crossing into
Kemper County. MS 16 travels eastward through remote woodlands for the next several miles, where it has a short concurrency with
MS 495, as well an intersection with
MS 397, prior to entering
De Kalb. The highway passes through a business district before having a short concurrency with
MS 39 as it bypasses downtown along its north side. MS 16 leaves De Kalb and travels through more remote woodlands (where it crosses the
Sucarnoochee River) to enter
Scooba. It passes by
East Mississippi Community College before passing straight through town and coming to an intersection with
US 45. MS 16 continues east to leave Scooba and travel through rural farmland for a few miles to come to the
Alabama state line, where the road continues as Sumter County Road 30 (CR 30), a well maintained two-lane road that connects MS 16 with
Alabama State Route 17 (SR 17). ==History==