Interstate 49 in Louisiana

Interstate 49
Route information
	Maintained by Louisiana Department of Transportation
Length:	208.25 mi (335.15 km)
Existed:	1984 – present
Major junctions
South end:	I-10 / US 167 in Lafayette
North end:	I-20 in Shreveport
Highway system

This article is about the section of Interstate 49 in Louisiana. For the entire length of the highway, see Interstate 49.

Interstate 49 near Chopin

Interstate 49 (I-49) is an Interstate Highway whose southern section is located in the state of Louisiana in the southern United States. Its southern terminus is in Lafayette, at Interstate 10 while its northern terminus is in Shreveport, at Interstate 20. It was an intrastate Interstate Highway prior to December 12, 2012, when I-49 designation was officially approved for an upgraded US-71 between Kansas City, Missouri and Joplin, Missouri.^[2] Portions of the remaining roadway, which will link Kansas City with New Orleans are in various stages of planning or construction.

[edit] Route description

I-49 begins its journey in Lafayette concurrent with U.S. Route 167 from I-10 to Opelousas at Exit 23. At Lafayette, motorists continuing southbound see the interstate highway change to U.S. 90 (Evangeline Thruway), a major thoroughfare taking travelers towards the heart of Lafayette. North of Lafayette, motorists on I-49 will parallel the ancient Mississippi river bed north of Carencro, and through Grand Coteau, just south of Opelousas.

After leaving Opelousas, I-49 traverses the relatively flat, fertile farmlands until reaching Alexandria. From there, the highway roughly follows the Red River and Louisiana 1, bypassing the historic city of Natchitoches to the west on its way to Shreveport. At Shreveport, the highway parallels a railroad line just to the west until its terminus at I-20 southwest of downtown.

The heaviest traffic on I-49 occurs within the cities of Shreveport and Opelousas. The stretch of freeway in Shreveport sees an average of 70,000 vehicles per day, while the stretch of freeway between Lafayette and Carencro sees an average of 55,000 vehicles per day, and the stretch of freeway through Opelousas sees an average of 45,000 vehicles per day between the Judson Walsh Drive and Creswell Lane exits.

[edit] History

The original plans for Interstate Highways in Louisiana only included Interstates 10 and 20 with no connection in between. After Interstate 55 was added in the 1950s, the state considered building a toll road to connect I-10 in southwestern Louisiana and I-20 in the northern part of the state, but later rejected the idea.

In the mid 1970s, The Federal Highway Administration approved an Interstate Highway to run between I-10 and I-20, beginning at I-10 in Lafayette and ending at I-20 in Shreveport. The mileage was gained from mileage released from other highways the states did not build as well as 153 miles (246 km) from a supplemental reserve.^[3]

Construction of I-49 began in the early 1980s, the first signed segment from I-10 to Washington, Louisiana, opened in 1984. After several delays, most of the highway was open by the early 1990s. The entire length of the 212-mile (341 km) road was completed May 1, 1996 when a 16.6-mile (26.7 km) section of highway in Alexandria named the Martin Luther King Jr. Highway was completed. The total cost of I-49's construction was about $1.38 billion.

[edit] Future expansion

Interstate 49 North is a 36-mile construction project that will connect I-220 in Shreveport to the Arkansas state line. This project has been divided into 11 segments. Of the 11 segments, 4 are complete and 5 are under construction As of November 2012^[update] and $460 million of $622 million needed to complete the project has been secured.^[4]

State transportation officials are currently working on plans to extend Interstate 49 to the south and east, from Lafayette to New Orleans roughly following the path of the current U.S. 90, which is at present a four-lane divided highway between the two cities. However, from Morgan City to near Raceland, U.S. 90 is an interstate-standard freeway, bypassing Houma to the north.

Future corridor I-49 sign in Lafayette, LA

In the Lafayette area, the project is divided into two projects, the I-49 Connector and the rest of the interstate from the Lafayette Regional Airport to LA 88. The I-49 Connector has a record of decision and is currently in the process of formulating the Environmental Impact Study. It is planned to be a six-lane elevated freeway, passing to the West of the current Evangeline Thruway corridor, as to be closer to the Central Business District in Downtown Lafayette. The rest of the freeway from the airport to LA 88 will be an at grade six-lane freeway with a two mile (3 km) segment of eight-lane elevated freeway through the suburb of Broussard.

In the immediate New Orleans area, I-49 is planned to follow the route of the U.S. 90 Business (also known locally as the Westbank Expressway) through Westwego, Gretna and across the Crescent City Connection into downtown New Orleans, ending at I-10. "Future I-49" signage is visible along U.S. 90 and U.S. 90 Business, although as of 2010, construction has yet to begin.

In addition to the southeastward extension, Louisiana officials are also working on clearing, grubbing and drainage for the new extension from Shreveport to the Arkansas line. The construction roughly parallels U.S. 71 northward from I-220. In Shreveport, I-49 is also proposed to be rerouted along Louisiana 3132/Inner Loop Expressway and concurrent with I-220 from I-20 to its proposed alignment near U.S. 71.^[5] The stretch of the current I-49 between the Inner Loop and I-20 is likely to become an interstate spur. Plans are underway to connect I-49 at the I-20 interchange with I-49 North in the vicinity of the I-220 interchange.^[6]

[edit] Exit list

Parish	Location	#	Destinations	Notes
Lafayette	Lafayette		US 167 south – Lafayette	Continuation beyond I-10
		1A-B	I-10 – Baton Rouge, Lake Charles	Signed as Exits 1A (east) and 1B (west)
		1C	Pont des Mouton Road
		2	LA 98 (Gloria Switch Road)
	Carencro	4	LA 726 – Carencro
		7	LA 182
St. Landry	Grand Coteau	11	LA 93 – Sunset, Grand Coteau
	Opelousas	15	LA 3233 (Harry Guilbeau Road)
		17	Judson Walsh Drive
		18	LA 31 (Creswell Lane)
		19	US 190 – Baton Rouge, Port Barre, Opelousas	Signed as exits 19A (east) and 19B (west) northbound
		23	US 167 north / LA 744 – Ville Platte	North end of US 167 overlap
	Washington	25	LA 103 – Washington, Port Barre
		27	LA 10 – Lebeau, Washington
Evangeline			No major junctions
St. Landry		40	LA 29 – Ville Platte
Evangeline			No major junctions
Avoyelles		46	LA 106 – St. Landry
Avoyelles		53	LA 115 – Bunkie
Rapides		56	LA 181 – Cheneyville
		61	US 167 – Turkey Creek, Meeker
		66	LA 112 – Forest Hill, Lecompte
		73	LA 3265 / PR 22 – Woodworth
		80	US 167 south / US 71 / US 167 Bus. north (MacArthur Drive)	South end of US 167 overlap; southbound exit to US 71 north is via exit 81
	Alexandria	81	LA 3250 (Sugarhouse Road)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		83	Broadway Avenue
		84	LA 1 / LA 28 Bus. / Casson Street	Southbound exit is via exit 85A. LA 1 southbound is also the Zachary Taylor Parkway, which starts here.
		84	US 167 north / LA 28 east (Pineville Expressway)	North end of US 167 overlap; south end of LA 28 overlap
		85A	M.L. King Drive, Elliott Street – Downtown Alexandria
		85B	Monroe Street, Medical Center Drive	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		86	US 71 / US 165 / LA 28 west (MacArthur Drive) – Fort Polk, Leesville
		90	LA 498 (Alexandria International Airport access)
		94	PR 23 (Rapides Station Road)
		98	LA 1 – Boyce	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		99	LA 8 east / LA 1200 – Boyce	South end of LA 8 overlap
		103	LA 8 west – Flatwoods	North end of LA 8 overlap
		107	Lena
Natchitoches		113	LA 490 – Chopin
		119	LA 119 – Cloutierville
		127	LA 120 – Flora, Cypress
	Natchitoches	132	LA 478 / PR 620
	Natchitoches	138	LA 6 – Many, Natchitoches
		142	PR 547 (Posey Road)
		148	LA 485 – Allen, Powhatan
		155	LA 174 – Ajax, Lake End
De Soto		162	US 371 / LA 177 – Pleasant Hill, Coushatta
		169	Asseff Road
		172	US 84 – Mansfield, Grand Bayou
		177	LA 509 – Carmel
		186	LA 175 – Kingston, Frierson
		191	LA 3276 / PR 16 – Stonewall
Caddo		196	Southern Loop
	Shreveport	199	LA 526 (Bert Kouns Industrial Loop)
		201	LA 3132 (Inner Loop Expressway) – Dallas, Texarkana
		202	LA 511 (East 70th Street)
		203	Hollywood Avenue, Pierremont Road
		205	Kings Highway
		206	I-20 – Dallas, Monroe Pete Harris Drive, Murphy Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance