Louisiana Highway 20

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

Louisiana Highway 20 marker

Louisiana Highway 20
Route information
Maintained by Louisiana DOTD
Length: 36.6 mi[1] (58.9 km)
Existed: 1955 renumbering – present
Major junctions
West end: LA 182 in Gibson
 

US 90 in Gibson
US 90 in Chacahoula
LA 24 in Schriever
LA 1 / LA 308 in Thibodaux

LA 3127 in North Vacherie
East end: LA 18 in North Vacherie
Location
Parishes: Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. James
Highway system
  • Louisiana Highway System
← I-20 LA 21 →

Louisiana Highway 20 (LA 20) is a state highway that serves Terrebonne Parish, Lafourche Parish, and St. James Parish. It spans a total of 36.6 miles (58.9 km)[1] as a two lane, undivided road.

Contents

Route description[edit]

From the south, LA 20 begins at LA 182 in the northwest Terrebonne Parish town of Gibson. The road parallels then intersects U.S. 90 (Future I-49) at two locations (Exits 189 & 194) as it heads northeastward, where it intersects LA 24 in Schriever. LA 20 turns due north and intersects LA 1[disambiguation needed] in Thibodaux as it continues northward. The road then passes through Chackbay before it enters St. James Parish. LA 20 runs northward through South Vacherie and ends at an intersection with LA 18 in North Vacherie.

History[edit]

In 1972, LA 20 was routed off of Jackson Street in downtown Thibodaux and onto parallel Canal Boulevard, a four-lane, largely residential thoroughfare.[2] The extension of Canal Boulevard north of Bayou Lafourche was to be opened soon, bypassing St. Patrick Street.[2][3] The route change was opposed by Thibodaux's mayor, Warren Harang, and the Louisiana Department of Highways agreed to keep truck traffic routed via Jackson Street,[2] which was retained as LA 20 Spur.[4] By the late 1990s, LA 20 was routed back onto Jackson Street, reinstating a short concurrency with LA 1 from St. Mary Street to West 1st Street and utilizing LA 308 to connect with North Canal Boulevard.[5][6]

In Vacherie, LA 20 originally turned east along LA 18 and crossed the Mississippi River by ferry to Lutcher.[7][8] It then followed what is now LA 3274 to a terminus at US 61 (Airline Highway).[7][8] The ferry service was replaced by the newly-opened Gramercy Bridge (or Veterans Memorial Bridge) in May 1995,[9] and LA 20 was truncated to its present terminus in Vacherie two years later.[5][10]

Major intersections[edit]

Parish Location Mile[1] km Destinations Notes
Terrebonne
 Gibson 0.0 0.0 LA 182 (Bayou Black Drive) Western terminus
0.6 1.0 Bridge over Tiger Bayou
1.2 1.9 US 90 – Morgan City, New Orleans Exit 189 (U.S. 90)
1.7 2.7 Bridge over Tiger Bayou
Chacahoula 5.6 9.0 LA 309 north (Brule Guillot Road) Southern terminus of LA 309
5.9 9.5 US 90 – Morgan City, New Orleans Exit 194 (U.S. 90)
Lafourche
 No major junctions
Terrebonne
 Schriever 12.5 20.1 LA 24 east (Main Street, Park Avenue) – Houma Interchange;
Western terminus of LA 24
12.7 20.4 BNSF/Union Pacific Railroad overpass
13.7 22.0 LA 3185 (Elizabeth Street) Southeastern terminus of LA 3185
14.8 23.8 LA 648 (Percy Brown Road) Southwestern terminus of LA 648
Lafourche
 Thibodaux 15.1 24.3 LA 3107 (Talbot Avenue) Eastern terminus of LA 3107
16.4 26.4 LA 1 north (St. Mary Street) – Napoleonville West end of LA 1 concurrency
16.5 26.6 LA 1 south (West 1st Street) – Raceland East end of LA 1 concurrency
16.5 26.6 St. Patrick Bridge over Bayou Lafourche
16.6 26.7 LA 308 north (Bayou Road) – Napoleonville West end of LA 308 concurrency
16.9 27.2 LA 308 south (Bayou Road) – Raceland East end of LA 308 concurrency
Chackbay 22.7 36.5 LA 304 Northeastern terminus of LA 304
24.2 38.9 Bridge over Grand Bayou
27.7 44.6 LA 307 south – Kraemer Northern terminus of LA 307
Lafourche-St. James line
 Chackbay-South Vacherie line 28.9 46.5 Bridge over Bayou Chevreuil
St. James
 South Vacherie 31.6 50.9 LA 643 east – Lac Des Allemands Western terminus of LA 643
32.0 51.5 LA 644 east Western terminus of LA 644
North Vacherie 33.9 54.6 LA 3127 – Donaldsonville, Boutte
36.6 58.9 LA 18 (River Road) – Donaldsonville, Luling / Mississippi River Bridge Eastern terminus
  •       Concurrency terminus
  •       Closed/former
  •       HOV only
  •       Incomplete access
  •       Tolled/ETC
  •       Unopened

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Microsoft. Bing Maps – Map of LA 20 (Map). Cartography by Nokia. http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?mapurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Attached_KML/Louisiana_Highway_20&action=raw. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c "Truck traffic route changed in Thibodaux". Morning Advocate (Baton Rouge). December 29, 1972. p. 16A. 
  3. ^ Louisiana Department of Highways (1953). Lafourche Parish (North Section) (Map). Cartography by Department of Highways Traffic and Planning Section (January 1, 1958 ed.).
  4. ^ Louisiana Department of Highways (1976). Louisiana (Map). Cartography by Louisiana Department of Highways.
  5. ^ a b Shearer Publishing (1997). The Roads of Louisiana (Map). Cartography by Shearer. p. 75.
  6. ^ Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (1998). Lafourche Parish (West Section) (Map). Cartography by Office of Planning and Programming.
  7. ^ a b "Act No. 40, House Bill No. 311". State-Times (Baton Rouge). June 18, 1955. p. 3B–4B. 
  8. ^ a b Louisiana Department of Highways (1953). St. James Parish (Map). Cartography by Department of Highways Traffic and Planning Section (January 1, 1958 ed.).
  9. ^ Bell, Rhonda; Hyman, Vicki (May 5, 1995). "St. John, St. James link open". The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). p. A1. 
  10. ^ Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (1999). St. James Parish (Map). Cartography by Office of Planning and Programming.

External links[edit]

Route map: Google / Bing

KML file (edit)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Louisiana_Highway_20&oldid=557790802"