Mississippi Update
The proposed Gulf Coast Strategic Highway route heading east in Mississippi starts at the Vidalia-Natchez Bridge over the Mississippi River. It follows US 84 eastward to Brookhaven, Monticello, Prentiss, Collins and Laural. At that point it joins Interstate 59 which connects to Meridian on the north and Hattiesburg to the south.
The Gulf Coast Strategic Highway Coalition recommends that a proposed Interstate 14 route follow US 84 from Natchez to Laural where it would connect to and run on I-59 from Laural to Meridian and on eastward to the Alabama state line near Kewanee. This overlap on I-59 is referred to as a concurrency and is intended to gain the most efficiency from the system. In Alabama, the proposed I-14 route would follow U.S. 80 from the Mississippi-Alabama line eastward to Demopolis, Selma and Montgomery. Much of this Alabama route in rural areas has already been improved to four lane divided.
The Mississippi Department of Transportation has spent the past two decades converting US 84 across the state to meet the four-lane divided highway standard. In the 144 miles from Natchez to Laural all but a few miles have been completed. There are grade separations at many of the major highway intersections.
US 84 in Covington County
In late 2008 work was being completed on replacement of US 84 bridges over Station Creek and Oakey Woods Creek east of Collins in Covington County. This work was part of $17 million in MDOT highway expansion and bridge replacement projects on the US 84 route in the county.