Transportation

MDOT will provide 24 hour transportation services (including airport shuttle service from/to Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport and Jackson-Evers International Airport) throughout the conference. Transportation services will be provided for all guests for the duration of the conference throughout the Natchez area. Feel free to visit the Registration Desk with any of your special transportation needs. Due to governmental travel restrictions, MDOT will only provide airport shuttle service from/to Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport and Jackson-Evers International Airports.

Special Events/Tours

To help us meet your transportation needs while you are visiting the Hospitality State, we will provide shuttle service to/from all AASHTO host hotels and facilities for the duration of the conference. Transportation representatives will be located in the lobby of each hotel to assist you with your transportation needs. Should you need any additional transportation during your attendance of AASHTO please call the AASHTO Transportation HOT-LINE at 601-445-6000 for immediate assistance.

Complimentary Airport Shuttle

If you will be flying for your attendance at the 2010 AASHTO Spring Meeting in Historic Natchez, Mississippi, we invite you to take advantage of our complementary airport shuttle service. The Mississippi Department of Transportation is providing airport transportation services from/to the Baton Rouge (Louisiana) Metropolitan Airport and Jackson-Evers International Airport throughout the conference. Upon your arrival at the airport, you will be greeted, given assistance with your baggage and shuttled to your conference hotel. In order to take advantage of this free service, please provide your airline itinerary information when registering. If you have not made travel plans at this point, but have indicated you will be flying; closer to the meeting start date, you will receive an email requesting your flight itinerary for shuttle service.

Rental Car Information

If you elect not to make use of the MDOT airport shuttle service, we are providing rental car information for your convenience.

The following rental car companies offer their services to Jackson-Evers International Airport and the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport:

Alamo Jackson: 601.936.4370 Baton Rouge: Not Available Toll Free: 800.227.7368	Avis Jackson: 601.939.5853 Baton Rouge: 225-355-4721 Toll Free: 800.331.1212	Budget Jackson: 601.932.2126 Baton Rouge: 225-355-0312 Toll Free: 800.527.0700
Enterprise Jackson: 601.664.0106 Baton Rouge: 225-355-5157 Toll Free: 800-264-6350	Hertz Jackson: 601.939.5312 Baton Rouge: 225-357-2867 Toll Free: 800.654.3131	National Jackson: 601.939.5713 Baton Rouge: 225-355-5651 Toll Free: 800.227.7368

Driving Directions (click the maps below for non-scenic directions and routes)

Baton Rouge Airport to Natchez	Jackson Airport to Natchez

You have indicated that you will be driving for your attendance at the 2010 AASHTO Spring Meeting in Historic Natchez, Mississippi. For almost 300 years Natchez has been an international destination glistening with Southern charm and grace. Natchez adorns the banks of the Mighty Mississippi with her magnificent antebellum homes, fascinating history and exciting events. Natchez is situated on a 200-foot bluff that offers a spectacular view of the Mississippi River. US Highways 61, 84, and 98 intersect in Natchez, connecting the city with Memphis, Baton Rouge and Mobile. Interstate 55 is 60 miles east of Natchez via four-lane US Highway 84.

The historic Natchez Trace Parkway offers a no trucks, no billboards approach to the city. The Natchez Trace is a National Park highway that began over 8,000 years ago as an animal trail and Indian route. The Trace, a 450-mile scenic route, originates in Natchez and connects the city with Jackson, the state capital. The Trace ends in Nashville, Tennessee.

Traveling by vehicle to Natchez from Jackson via The Natchez Trace

You will enjoy the quiet serenity of a calm drive enjoying the picturesque view of the historic Natchez Trace Parkway. The moment you pull onto this scenic byway, you will experience the peacefulness of a sunny summer day and anxiously look forward to the historic sites along the way. Some of the many sites to stop and explore are Rocky Springs, a beautiful petite waterfall flowing from a crystal-clear underground spring; the Sunken Trace, where you can actually observe the harsh terrain and pathway traversed over a century ago; Mount Locust, the original historic traveler’s inn where many stopped to rest during their harsh travels. Further south, you can visit Emerald Mound, the majestic and sacred Natchez Indians ceremonial mound, and experience a breath of fresh air on your ascent to the top. Additionally, when you cross over Highway 61, you journey on the newest portion of The Natchez Trace, the final ten-mile journey into Natchez, passing the site of the historical Elizabeth Female Academy, and winding your way off of the Trace to Liberty Road, the beautiful award-winning Liberty Road Bridge welcomes you with grace into Natchez.

Traveling by vehicle from Baton Rouge to Natchez

When you arrive in the capital city of Louisiana, Baton Rouge, you immediately experience the atmosphere and bustle of Cajun big city life. After leaving the hustle and bustle you traverse northward on a beautiful journey to Natchez via Highway 61 North, the River Road, winding through the beautiful town of St. Francisville, Louisiana, boasting of fragrant gardens and many fine antebellum homes. St. Francisville is hidden away in centuries-old oaks dripping with Spanish moss, which create their own unique entranceways into antebellum splendor. You can walk through the breathtaking Afton Villa Gardens, visit the stately Greenwood Plantation, and be amazed at Rosedown Plantation. Further north you will enter the beautiful state of Mississippi, into Woodville, a quaint small town incorporated in 1811, full of rich history and beautiful antebellum homes and gardens. You will enjoy the splendor of “The Jefferson Davis Oak” which is a living memorial to the only president of the Confederacy, who was raised at Rosemont Plantation near Woodville. On your remaining journey, you experience a glance in time passing by Mammie’s Cupboard, the building structured in Aunt Jemima fashion, your journey is guided by Magnolias planted within the median of Highway 61 North prior to reaching your destination of Natchez.

Jackson to Natchez, via the historic riverfront town of Vicksburg and the historic antebellum town of Port Gibson.

When leaving Jackson traveling westward on I-20, your drive leads you to the historic riverfront town of Vicksburg, Mississippi, where the Vicksburg National Military Park is a must-see. The hills and ammunition barriers in the park are second only to the beautiful flora and fauna that flourish within the battlefield grounds. From Vicksburg, you traverse south on the fabled Highway 61, which was the central flyway for Delta Blues musicians traveling from Mississippi and Louisiana to Chicago. Your next stop should be the historic town of Port Gibson, Mississippi, where kudzu-covered hills enhance and protect one of the most enchanting antebellum towns in Mississippi. Port Gibson was declared by the Civil War Union General, Ulysses S. Grant, as “The town too beautiful to burn.” The Grand Gulf National Park is home to the oldest church in Mississippi and the oldest gristmill in Mississippi. After leaving Grand Gulf, traveling downtown via Church Street, you will experience the beauty of the seasonal blooming flora and the majesty of five centuries-old churches, one with the steeple in the shape of a golden hand pointing upward to the heavens. Leaving Port Gibson, you wind past Chamberlain-Hunt Academy and make your way southward to the quaint community of Lorman. The Old Country Store is home to some of the South’s tastiest Southern Fried Chicken and was featured on the Food Network. Still continuing southward, you pass Alcorn State University and Windsor Ruins. The Baptist Trail is marked by crosses on the north-bound side of Highway 61. Take a few more breaths of fresh air and get a few more miles under your wheels to Washington, Mississippi, the state’s first capital. Watch closely for historic Jefferson College established in 1802 and named for Thomas Jefferson, where the view summons images of young cadets in woolen gray uniforms. Then, you reach the enchanting historic city of Natchez, home to over 1,000 historic structures and the most breathtaking historic cemetery in the South.