The route starts at MS 19 near Meridian and travels eastwards through rural Lauderdale County.

The road crosses the Alabama–Mississippi state line east of Alamucha, and it continues on as a county highway.

Culpepper Road, a county-maintained state highway with the designation of MS 897.

The route was paved in asphalt near the western terminus, and the remaining had a gravel surface.

[8][9] A project to pave and improve 3.9 miles (6.3 km) of MS 496 from Meridian to Alamucha began in 1964,[10] and it was completed one year later.