Mississippi 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, the state's capital and largest city, to the
Mississippi Gulf Coast. 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. US 49 begins near the Port of
Gulfport, Mississippi at a junction with
US 90. It provides a major connection between the port, casinos, beaches and downtown with
I-10 (exits 34A-B), where it has its first major junction being a full service
cloverleaf interchange 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. Various state highway interchanges and junctions are encountered before the route passes near
Camp Shelby, then through an interchange with
US 98 just south of
Hattiesburg. At this point, travelers have an option of continuing on US 49 through Hattiesburg or using the
I-59/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 exacerbating the
weaving patterns which plague many cloverleaf interchanges. US 49 passes Hattiesburg's primary medical facility,
Forrest General Hospital, and the campus of the
University of Southern Mississippi 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 (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. At Jackson, US 49 upgrades to
Interstate Highway standards before joining
I-20 using a two-lane flyover. About a mile later, I-20/US 49 merges with
I-55 at a
stack interchange. 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 before turning northwest to
Yazoo City. A split in the highway, rare in the
U.S. Highway System, 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
Robert Johnson is reputed to have sold his soul to the devil. From Clarksdale, US 49 continues north and crosses the
Mississippi River using the
Helena Bridge where it enters Arkansas near the town of
Helena. , the inspiration for the song "
Cross Road Blues" 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. Upon entering Monroe County, US 49 turns north to begin a concurrency with
AR 39. US 49 also crosses
US 79 before meeting
US 70 near
Brinkley. The route crosses
Interstate 40 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 in
Fair Oaks and meets
AR 42 in southern
Hickory Ridge. It then enters
Poinsett County, concurring with
AR 214 from
Fisher 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 until again joining AR 1. The two routes angle north through downtown Jonesboro, crossing
US 63 Business and passing by
ASU Stadium 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 and briefly meets
AR 358 before entering
Paragould. 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 and
AR 90 in
Rector. The route turns north to
Piggott at Hargrave Corner, terminating at
US 62/
AR 139. The Arkansas portion of US 49 is mainly two-lane undivided. ==History==