Louisiana Highway 10
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| Louisiana Highway 10 | |||||||||
| Length: | 250.03 mi (402.38 km) | ||||||||
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| Formed: | 1955 renumbering | ||||||||
| West end: |  US 171 south of Leesville |
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| Major junctions: |
 US 165 in Oakdale LA 13 near Mamou US 167 and LA 29 in Ville Platte I-49 in Washington US 71 near Palmetto LA 1 in Morganza US 61 in St. Francisville LA 19 east of St. Francisville  LA 37/LA 43 in Greensburg I-55 and  US 51 near Tangipahoa  LA 16/LA 25 in Franklinton LA 21 in Bogalusa |
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| East end: |  MS 26 at the state line |
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>Louisiana Highway 10 (LA 10) is a state highway in south-central Louisiana. It runs from west to east for 250 miles (400 km), beginning in Pickering near Fort Polk and ending east of Bogalusa at the Louisiana line.
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[edit] Route description
[edit] Western route
From the west, LA 10 begins at a junction with U.S. Route 171 as a two lane, undivided road. It runs due east, passing through part of Fort Polk and Kisatchie National Forest continuing through rural Vernon Parish. In Pitkin La 10 intersects and run east a few miles with Highway 113. Highway 113 splits off north towards Glenmora and U.S. Route 165 that runs north to Alexandria. LA 10 continues eastward and in northern Allen Parish, passes through Elizabeth. In Elizebeth LA 10 intersects and runs briefly concurrent with highway 112. Highway 112 turns north and La 10 continues east. In Oakdale, LA 10 intersects U.S. Route 165 and continues eastward. Just north of Reddell and barber Spur LA 10 intersects with Highway 13 and continues east. Just west of Ville Platte, LA 10 merges with U.S. Route 167 and runs through the center of town. LA 10 splits with U.S. 167 just west of Interstate 49 turning north and merging with highway 182 through Nuba into Washington. Through town is called S. Main Street.
- It is at this point that a defined highway begins to be somewhat obscure.[1]
[edit] Central route
LA 10/LA182 continues though Washington, intersects with I-49 and splits just south and west of Beggs. LA 10 continues east and north through St. Landry Parish. LA 10 also intersects U.S. Route 71, a few miles west of Palmetto near Lebeau running concurrent and south a short ways before splitting and continuing eastward. * At Melville, LA 10 crosses the Atchafalaya River into Pointe Coupee Parish via the [[Melville Ferry]] operated by the LaDOTD.[2] [3]
- It is at this point that a defined road that becomes obscure all but gets
lost.[4].
- After crossing the river LA 10 intersects with La 973.
- At this interection A La-10 spur continues east while LA 10 merges north withLa 417. A short way and LA 417 begins as a 4-lane and at this point LA 10 turns east again and at this point is also called Laio Road. A short ways east by southeast and LA 10(Laio rd.) and La-10 spur join continuing east. Just past levee road LA 10 intersects LA 77. LA 10 begins to run north and east parallel with Levee Rd.
- LA 10 also merges with Louisiana Highway 1 near Morganza and jointly run through New Roads before splitting in the city limits.
[edit] Eastern route
LA 10 then crosses the Mississippi River via another ferry New Roads-St. Francisville Ferry and enters into West Feliciana Parish where it heads due north into St. Francisville and intersects US 61. LA 10 then passes through Jackson and Clinton in East Feliciana Parish and Greensburg in St. Helena Parish. Also in Greensburg is Louisiana Highway 10 Spur, which connects LA 10 with Louisiana Highway 43.
- In Tangipahoa Parish, LA 10 intersects Interstate 55 between Tangipahoa and Roseland. LA 10 also shortly merges with U.S. Route 51 and turns due south, though the highways split just north of Roseland, and LA 10 turns east again. In Washington Parish, LA 10 passes through Franklinton and Bogalusa before becoming Mississippi Highway 26, at Pearl River, on the Louisiana/Mississippi state line.
- Between Morganza, Louisiana, and the Mississippi state line east of Bogalusa, Louisiana, LA 10 forms part of the Zachary Taylor Parkway.
[edit] History
Highway numbers in Louisiana first appeared in 1921, per Act 21 of the 1921 Special Session of the Louisiana Legislature. Routes 1 through 98 were defined that year. These first 98 routes remained consistent throughout the pre-1955. The lowest numbered routes seem to have followed major auto trails. The numbers of many highways were changed during the 1955 Legislative session but this did not affect the original 98 roads. With Burr Ferry in Vernon Parish at the Texas line La 10 was a major west/east transportation route long before 1921. By 1928 a plan by then Governor Huey P. Long to pave many roads[5] only included a section of LA 10 from the Mississippi River through Clinton but not the western part and the reason in not known.
- By 2004 the bridges on LA 10 were still wooden pilon type that had been paved over. All were in bad shape and none would actually pass any type of serious inspection. A bridge rebuilding was undertaken and many were replaced on the western part of the highway and all between Fort Polk and Oakdale.
[edit] Historical note
The portion of LA 10 that runs from Melville to Morganza appear that it does not even exist as a state highway. There are many versions as to the reason but there is one that is more popular among the locals and supported in history. This section of LA 10 runs through the Atchafalaya River drainage area. There have been several Great floods that severly affected south central Louisiana. The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 decimated many parts of Louisiana as the Atchafalaya and Mississippi rivers flooded an area up to 60 miles wide and up to 30 feet deep. After the flood[6] a major push was on to rebuild levees and find a way to help the 700,000 homeless. General highway construction was not as high on the priorty list and LA 10 has never seemed to be as important as it once was.
[edit] Points of interest
- New Roads – St. Francisville Ferry
- Angola Ferry
- Louisiana State Penitentiary(Angola)
- List of crossings of the Lower Mississippi River
[edit] Travel warning
LA 10 can not be easily traveled the entire length. Although a scenic by-way there are areas where the roads are not clearly marked and may appear to disappear between Melleville, La. and the New Roads-St. Francisville Ferry.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- LADOTD map of Numbered Highways in Louisiana
- Louisiana State Highway Log
- Google Earth
- Zachary Taylor Parkway
[edit] Other sources
Rand McNally Motor Carriers' Road Atlas/Louisiana
