This photo, courtesy Michael Summa, was taken in 1984, probably before US 49 was on I-20. It's also before Mississippi adopted mile-based exit numbers. These are now Exits 45B (18) and 45A (17).


I-55 SB/US 49 NB/I-20 WB follow the three lanes to the outside, while in the median, crews work on the US 51 freeway (SB is ahead and eventually joins I-55 where it leaves I-20/US 49). In the meantime, US 51 temporarily just uses the ramps to/from I-20 with a rather tight weave for I-55 traffic to get there. Detours are posted via frontage roads to make any difficult or temporarily closed connections.


Not the best photo, but you can see what's important about this sign where the three-route concurrency breaks apart, and that's how complex it is. Arrows really can't be shared between two different destinations this way. Yes, it does make sense when you look at it, but it takes a non-trivial amount of time to stare at this sign and process it, which you don't have when driving. This would normally be done with three separate signs, each with two arrows.


I-55 has been around awhile, whereas I-69 was just designated down here, hundreds of miles away from Indiana where it otherwise exists as a contiguous route. Yet I-69 has a much better-looking shield, with wider numbers and a larger state name. I'd even say the colors are brighter.

Onto I-20 alone
Onto US 49 alone

(Former) Exit 18 to US 51
Onto I-69
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