[4][5] I-59 was signed into the Interstate Highway System in 1960, with the first segment of it being a small section from the Louisiana state line to Picayune, then from Hattiesburg to Laurel, built in 1963.

As the highway proceeds north, US 11 immediately splits from I-59 at the northern terminus of MS 607 to head northwest through the central portion of town while I-59 continues northeast and passes a truck weigh station.

MS 43 shares a brief concurrency with I-59, about two miles (3.2 km) as the route crosses Hobolochitto Creek, before splitting off at the next interchange for North Picayune.

Curving slightly northward, the Interstate next crosses two small creeks before entering Lamar County and reaching an interchange with MS 589 for Purvis.

I-59/US 98 begins entering the commercial developments of Hattiesburg, and at milepost 65, the Interstate splits from US 98 at a partial cloverleaf interchange (parclo), which heads west along Hardy Street for Columbia.

I-59 heads in a relatively straight northward direction for a short distance before entering Forrest County again and turning northeast to meet US 49 and MS 42 at a cloverleaf interchange.

I-59 turns back north and enters Jones County, where it continues through forest and has an exit for the Hattiesburg–Laurel Regional Airport at milepost 76.

The highway turns entirely north and cuts around the shoreline of a nearby lake as US 84 also exits off of I-59 at the east side of town on Chantilly Street in a parclo interchange.

It then enters Jasper County and slants northeast yet again at an interchange with MS 528 before proceeding through more rural areas and bridging the Castaffa Creek.

Its first interchange within the county is with MS 18 serving Pachuta to the southeast as it slides northeast, then north before making another cross over the Chicwillasaw Creek.

Eastward, the highway crosses the Okatibbee Creek and has an interchange with US 11 and MS 19 for the Meridian Regional Airport as it approaches the city.

The highway continues on fully eastward and encounters a cloverleaf interchange with US 45 heading south of Russell before proceeding into rural areas yet again with the southbound lanes having a welcome center for travelers coming into the state.

Concluding the Battle of New Orleans in 1815, general (later president) Andrew Jackson proposed two easy routes for military officers to travel.

Jackson was selected by the U.S. War Department to appoint an engineer as well as receive building equipment by April 27, 1816, and Congress appropriated $10,000 for the initial construction.

With a final cost of approximately $300,000, the Military Road was built by over 300 soldiers and covered a distance of about 392 miles (631 km).

[16] On July 30, Jackson announced to Congress that the survey line from Columbia, Tennessee to Madisonville, Louisiana, part of the Nashville-to-New Orleans link, was close to completion.

Trips were guaranteed to take several days, and historians raised comments that the road built by engineers and the soldiers closely paralleled the Interstate Highway of today, I-59.

Despite this, I-59, which was built more than a century after, solved most of the road's problems and proved to be a success, as since its construction, it presently serves as a major hub and a faster alternative to the older U.S. Route 11 for long-distance travelers.

[16] I-59 was not part of the plans in the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, which created the Interstate Highways around the nation; however, in route logs as early as 1957, it was part of a series of contracts awarded by the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT), which included a total of 543 miles (874 km) of road for work, or approximately $46,800,000 in value.

At an estimated bid cost of $1,142,371.95, this job included grading, drainage, culverts, a one-box bridge with incidental bases, double bituminous surface treatment, and eight-inch reinforced cement concrete pavement for the interchanges.

[26] In 1965, as warmer weather arose on the horizon, engineers and contractors would resume work on I-59 in southern Mississippi between McNeill and Nicholson within about one month, with contracts scheduled to bid at $4,487,000.

The dedication began with a ribbon-cutting that occurred in Picayune to open up the section that links Poplarville with Nicholson which was proposed the year prior.