Roadtrip Report: January 10

No pictures this time, this was strictly a test run for the Buick.

Purpose:

Taking my sister and brother-in-law to the DMV near Picayune, Mississippi, as well as a shakedown for my new Buick.

Route:

US 190 east from Lacombe to US 11
US 11 north from US 190 to LA 41/LA 3081
LA 3081 north from US 11/LA 41 to Spur LA 41
Spur LA 41 east from LA 3081 to I-59
I-59/US 11 north from Louisiana Exit 5A (Spur LA 41) to Mississippi Exit 1 (US 11 North/MS 607 South)
US 11 north from I-59 to the Picayune-area DMV
US 11 south from the DMV to MS 43
MS 43 south from US 11 to I-59
I-59 south from Mississippi Exit 6 (MS 43 North) to Louisiana Exit 1A (I-12)
I-12 west from Exit 85 (I-10/I-59) to Exit 74 (LA 434)
LA 434 south from I-12 to US 190

Among the things I saw:

I-59: New signage in Pearl River (Town limits are now marked on the interstate, both entering and leaving, along both northbound and southbound). Also, there appears to be new signage at Exit 11 (Pearl River Turnaround) - then again, it might just be new to me. Going into Mississippi, the first sign for Exit 1 is in Louisiana - it used to be at the end of the bridge over the Pearl. Similarly, the first sign for Louisiana Exit 11 southbound is now in Mississippi. The new gore point signage for Mississippi's exits is interesting, to say the least. I'll get pictures next time. I-59 from Exit 1 at least to Exit 6 (likely further than that) has been resurfaced recently - the new asphalt is nice.

US 11: There's a sweet railroad bridge over US 11 just to the north of Picayune, near the DMV. I will definitely be returning there with a camera.

Old MS 43: Between US 11 and I-59, going towards I-59, it is still signed as MS 43. From I-59, it is not signed as a highway. The road's condition has gotten a lot worse since the last time I was in Picayune.

MS 43: Brand new surface between US 11 and I-59. The new road has a lot more curves than the old, but it's still a sweet drive. Beware going southbound - I-59 sneaks up on you.

New highway mileage:

US 11: From Old MS 43 to the Picayune-area DMV
MS 43: "New" section between US 11 and I-59

Mississippi: Oil prices may kill non-maintenence roadwork

Sun-Herald: Road building may hit dead end

This story just proves how much oil prices are throwing everything into chaos these days. In this case, the costs of building new roads is becoming too prohibitive. Because of this, widening projects on MS 26, MS 43, US 11 and MS 603 are being delayed or are otherwise in jeopardy. I've driven parts of all four of those (albeit pre-Katrina), and they could use some work, indeed.

The MS 57 widening, the Vancleave bypass and the first phase of a connector from I-10 to downtown Gulfport aren't being axed, since they already have the funding in place. Only new roads and widenings seem to be threatened with the axe at the moment.

If it's happening there, how long will it take for other states to feel the crunch and have to belt-tighten?