HERNANDO, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi’s newest interstate highway is opening to drivers.
Officials gathered Friday morning to cut the ribbon on the final stretch of Interstate 269 in DeSoto County.
It’s the last leg of a beltway around Memphis, Tennessee. The 9-mile (14.5-kilometer) section stretches from Mississippi 305 to Interstate 55.
It allows drivers to move between Interstates 55, 22 and 40 without going through Memphis.
I-269 is Mississippi’s largest current highway construction project, costing more than $600 million. A section from Mississippi 305 in Lewisburg to Interstate 40 in Tennessee had opened earlier. Construction started in 2011
The corridor is becoming a magnet for development, attracting large industrial and warehousing developments that straddle the state line. DeSoto County officials have also said they expect more commercial and residential development.
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