Mississippi Highway 25

Mississippi Highway 25 (MS 25) runs from I-55 in Jackson, Mississippi to the Tennessee state line north of Iuka. The largely controlled-access part from Jackson to Starkville connects the state capital with the main campus of Mississippi State University.

History
The 1933 Road Map of Mississippi shows MS 25 running northward from Macon roughly along the 2019 alignment of U.S. Route 45 to Brooksville, then roughly along the 2019 alignment of U.S. Route 45 Alternate through Artesia and West Point to Muldon, where the 2019 alignment continues in a northeasterly direction.

As of June 28, 2006, 150 mi of continuous four-lane divided highway is open between Starkville, Mississippi, and Jackson, Mississippi. The last leg to open was the 11.9 mi, $27-million section from the intersection of Highway 19 north of Louisville, Mississippi, to Noxapater Creek in Winston County. This is one of the culminations of the 1987 Four-Lane Highway Program (commonly referred to as AHEAD Program) for improving Mississippi roadways.

On May 10, 2006 the next-to-last leg, a 10.1 mi, $23-million section, opened from the Oktibbeha County line west into Winston County.

Legally, Mississippi 25 is defined in Mississippi Code Annotated § 65-3-3, as follows: "Begins at or near Jackson, Hinds County, thence in a northeasterly direction to or near Carthage, Louisville and Starkville, thence along U.S. 82 to its intersection with U.S. 45A, thence along U.S. 45A to Muldon, thence to or near Aberdeen, Amory, Smithville, to U.S. 78, thence continuing to Belmont, Dennis, Tishomingo, Iuka and to the Mississippi-Tennessee state line north of Cross Roads, Tishomingo County."

Iuka business route
Mississippi Highway 25 Business (MS 25 Bus.) is an earlier alignment of MS 25. It is an unsigned highway called Battleground Drive. The southern terminus at MS 25 is just outside of Downtown Iuka, where it intersects with MS 172; the northern terminus is at MS 25 north of Iuka.