Interstate 310 (Mississippi)

Interstate 310 (I-310), also designated as Mississippi Highway 601 (MS 601), is a proposed auxiliary route of I-10 in Gulfport, Mississippi. It is planned to travel from US Highway 90 (US 90) near the Port of Gulfport to I-10. The route is part of the High Priority Corridor 100(B), Central Mississippi Corridor, as part of the I-14 extension project. The route is also listed as part of High Priority Corridors 93 (the South Mississippi Corridor) and 94 (the Kosciusko to Gulf Coast corridor).

Route description
The road is planned to travel from I-10 in the northern part of the city south to US 90 near the Port of Gulfport and downtown Gulfport. Officials want the highway to be as close as possible to the port so it can be accessed easily.

History
I-310 was originally listed as the southern part of High Priority Corridors 93 (the South Mississippi Corridor) and 94 (the Kosciusko to Gulf Coast corridor). The highway's designation was at first considered to be I-210, but, because the Interstate is going to the port and not going to connect back to I-10 forming a loop, the road was numbered I-310; I-110 was already taken in nearby Biloxi. The original state highway designation for the freeway was proposed as Mississippi Highway 977 (MS 977) but has since been changed to MS 601. The design of the highway began in 2005 and the right-of-way acquisitions started in 2006. This put the estimated completion date to 2012. Construction was supposedly started in 2008, but,, construction had not started. The Mississippi Department of Transportation wanted the road to be an elevated freeway like its sister road, I-110.

When the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act designated an extended future I-14 corridor that would encompass the original "14th Amendment Highway" and "Gulf Coast Strategic Highway" concepts, future I-310/MS 601 became part of the High Priority Corridor 100, the Central Mississippi Corridor, part B. The corridor would extend from the northern terminus of future I-310 northward following US 49 to US 98 near Hattiesburg, before heading northward on I-59 to Laurel.