Interstate 22
Interstate 22 is a Interstate Highway in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Alabama, connecting I-269 near Byhalia, Mississippi to I-65 near Birmingham, Alabama. I-22 is also Corridor X of the Appalachian Development Highway System. Designated in 2012, I-22 follows the route of the older U.S. Route 78. The freeway mainly spans rural areas and passes numerous small towns along its route, including Jasper, Winfield, and Hamilton, Alabama; and Fulton, Tupelo, New Albany, and Holly Springs, Mississippi.
I-22 was upgraded to Interstate Highway standards to close a gap in the Interstate Highway System, allowing for more direct connections between cities in the southeast with cities in the central part of the country. I-22 indirectly connects I-240, I-40, I-55, and I-69 in the Memphis metropolitan area via US 78 and I-269 with I-65 and I-20/I-59 in Birmingham.
Route description
I-22 serves as a connection between Birmingham and suburban Memphis, filling in a gap in the Interstate Highway System. It begins at an interchange with I-269 at Byhalia, Mississippi approximately from downtown Memphis and travels southeast across northern Mississippi and Alabama, before ending at an interchange with I-65 approximately north of downtown Birmingham, Alabama. While I-22 itself does not continue past I-269 to Memphis, some believe that an I-22 spur route may be named along the existing US 78 from I-269 northwest to the Tennessee state line.Mississippi
I-22 begins at an interchange with I-269 at Byhalia in northwestern Mississippi and continues across rural areas, connecting towns such as Fulton, Tupelo, New Albany, and Holly Springs.Alabama
I-22 continues across rural areas in northwestern Alabama, and connects the towns of Jasper, Winfield, and Hamilton before ending at an interchange with I-65 approximately north of downtown Birmingham.History
The concept of a Memphis-to-Birmingham expressway was discussed as early as the 1950s, but did not move beyond talk for more than 20 years.When studies for I-22 began, the highway was proposed to continue west to downtown Memphis, Tennessee and end at Interstate 240 and Interstate 69. Several other proposals were also considered. One took I-22 along I-269 to I-55/I-69 and another took it along Crump Boulevard to end at Interstate 55, but those plans never materialized.
The part of I-22 just east of Fulton, Mississippi, was approved by Congress as "Corridor X" in 1978, as a part of the Appalachian Development Highway System, and parts of I-22 have been under construction ever since. Corridor X was also designated as "High Priority Corridor 10" in the Federal National Highway System Designation Act of 1995, and as "High Priority Corridor 45" in later legislation. Over the many years of development, the project changed multiple times.
In 2004, Corridor X was designated as Future I-22 by Public Law Number 108-199, and the designation was made official on April 18, 2005. In Alabama and Mississippi, blue signs reading "FUTURE/I-22/CORRIDOR" at left and an I-22 shield with "FUTURE" instead of "INTERSTATE" at the right were unveiled on April 18, 2005.
The first major completed section of the route between the Mississippi state line and Jasper was opened to traffic on November 22, 2005. Exits on the Jasper Bypass portion of I-22 were originally numbered using a kilometer-based sequence because at the time this stretch was opened it appeared that all highways in the U.S. were going to be measured using the metric system. The final decision was made to remain using miles, and they have been renumbered according to the highway's mileposts. A segment between Graysville and Brookside was opened in June 2007, and another section of Future I-22 between Jasper and Graysville was opened in November 2007. A segment between Cherry Avenue in Forestdale to a point about short of I-65 near Fultondale, including an interchange with Coalburg Road, was opened in December 2009. Next came the connection of I-22 with I-65 and US 31. The Alabama Department of Transportation widened Coalburg Road from its interchange with I-22 southward to Daniel Payne Drive to allow heavy trucks to use it; this project was nearly complete as of May 2015. Signs are now in place on Daniel Payne Drive informing truckers that access to I-22 is not allowed from Daniel Payne Drive.
ALDOT was to award contracts in August 2009 for the construction of the final segment of I-22, including its large interchange with I-65 and US 31, with the construction to begin shortly afterwards. Funding delays postponed these into 2010, however. On March 19, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the HIRE Act into law, which included an extension of federal highway funding through the end of 2010. This extension gave the ALDOT the opportunity to proceed with its plans for the construction of final segment of I-22 in Alabama. The opening of the bids for this project began on May 21, 2010. ALDOT announced on June 16, 2010, that the project has been awarded to the company Archer Western Contractors for $168.6 million. The project is the most expensive highway project ever undertaken in Jefferson County, and it is the highest-priced contract awarded by the ALDOT as of 2010.
On November 12, 2012, ALDOT's application for establishing I-22 was conditionally approved by AASHTO at a special committee, pending for MDOT to submit their own application for I-22 and FHWA approval. This therefore officially established the existence of I-22.
In April 2013, the first actual Interstate 22 shields were deployed in Marion County, Alabama, immediately east of the Mississippi state line. Such signs will extend east at least through Walker County into the outskirts of Birmingham. On August 21, 2014, ALDOT reported that I-22's interchange with I-65 would not be completed until October 2015. The interchange's connections via exit 95 to I-65 and the continuation over I-65 as exit 95C at US 31 remained under construction. In March 2016, the intersection with I-65 and continuation to US 31 was still under construction. New lanes north and southbound were opened on I-65 passing through the interchange and construction and painting operations were carried out on the I-22 entrance and exit ramps. The interchange to I-65 opened to traffic on June 20, 2016, while the connector to US 31 remained under construction.
Mississippi officials announced May 5, 2015 that the state officially began the process to designate its portion as I-22. The two requirements to be able to apply for this designation were to upgrade the route to interstate standards and to connect to an existing interstate within 25 years; this was completed when I-269 was opened in December 2017. The I-65 interchange was opened in October 2015. The route was officially signed in Mississippi in a ceremony on October 23, 2015.