Interstate 12

Interstate 12
Republic of West Florida Parkway
Route information
Maintained by Louisiana DOTD
Length	85.59 mi (137.74 km)
Existed	1957 (designated); 1967 (first section opened); 1970s (completed)–present
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
West end	I-10 in Baton Rouge
Major intersections	US 61 in Baton Rouge I-55 in Hammond US 51 in Hammond US 190 between Covington and Mandeville US 11 in Slidell
East end	I-10 / I-59 in Slidell
Location
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Parishes	East Baton Rouge, Livingston, Tangipahoa, St. Tammany
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future Louisiana State Highway System Interstate US State Scenic
← US 11 → LA 12

Interstate 12 (I-12) is an intrastate Interstate Highway located entirely within the U.S. state of Louisiana. It spans a total of 85.59 miles (137.74 km) in an east–west direction from I-10 in Baton Rouge to an interchange with both I-10 and I-59 in Slidell. Along the way, it passes through the city of Hammond, where it intersects I-55 and US 51. It also serves the smaller cities of Denham Springs and Ponchatoula, as well as the St. Tammany Parish cities of Covington and Mandeville which, like Slidell, are part of the New Orleans metropolitan area.

I-12 parallels the older US 190 corridor and traverses the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain in the southeastern portion of the state. Its length is relatively short for a mainline interstate and is comparable with some of the longer auxiliary interstates in the country. It is also the shortest mainline interstate to terminate at the same route (I-10) at either end. Apart from serving the various communities of the North Shore, I-12 acts as a long bypass of New Orleans and is heavily used as a shortcut for through traffic on I-10. While I-10 curves to the south to pass through the city limits, I-12 takes a more direct alignment, reducing the distance between Baton Rouge and Slidell by about 22 miles (35 km).

In 1993, the Louisiana state legislature designated I-12 as the Republic of West Florida Parkway. In 2003, signs identifying the highway's official name and bearing the flag of the Republic of West Florida were erected by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (La DOTD) in order to highlight the unique history of Louisiana's Florida Parishes.

Route description

I-12's eastbound exit to LA 1249, which leads to the communities of Baptist and Pumpkin Center

At the bottom of I-12's eastbound ramp to LA 59, travelers also find a shield for the unrelated I-59, some 20 miles farther east

Baton Rouge to Hammond

From the west, I-12 begins just east of downtown Baton Rouge at an interchange with I-10 known as the I-10/I-12 split. While I-10 heads to the southeast toward the New Orleans metropolitan area, I-12 proceeds eastward toward the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Before leaving town, I-12 intersects some of Baton Rouge's major arteries, including LA 3064 (Essen Lane) and LA 73 (Jefferson Highway) via LA 1068 (Drusilla Lane). It then passes through a cloverleaf interchange with US 61 (Airline Highway). These three exits serve several of the area's key medical and shopping centers, such as the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center and the Cortana Mall. The final exit in Baton Rouge is an interchange with LA 3245 (O'Neal Lane), which serves the Ochsner Medical Center and eastern suburbs.

1.3 miles (2.1 km) later, I-12 reaches the Amite River, where it crosses from East Baton Rouge Parish into Livingston Parish and enters the city of Denham Springs. I-12 skirts the southern edge of town with an exit to LA 3002 (South Range Avenue) serving the area. Continuing east, I-12 skirts the southern edge of Livingston Parish's only other city, Walker, to which it is connected by LA 447. Exits serving the smaller communities in the eastern half of the parish include LA 63 to Livingston, LA 441 to Holden, and LA 43 to Albany and Springfield.

Shortly after crossing the Natalbany River into Tangipahoa Parish, I-12 intersects LA 1249, which leads to the communities of Baptist and Pumpkin Center. 3.2 miles (5.1 km) later, I-12 enters into a cloverleaf interchange with I-55 at the southeast corner of Hammond, the largest city in Tangipahoa Parish. I-55 heads toward Jackson, Mississippi on the north and New Orleans on the south. Shortly afterward, US 51 crosses over but does intersect I-12. There is instead an interchange with US 51 Business which serves downtown Hammond, as well as the city of Ponchatoula to the south. Two exits serve rural Tangipahoa Parish east of Hammond: LA 3158 (Airport Road) to the Hammond Northshore Regional Airport and LA 445 to Robert.

St. Tammany Parish

Just after crossing into St. Tammany Parish, I-12 curves to the southeast and begins to parallel the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain. An interchange with LA 1077 serves the town of Madisonville to the south. The following exit, an interchange with LA 21, also connects to Madisonville as well as the parish seat of Covington to the north. Immediately before crossing the Tchefuncte River, an exit to Pinnacle Parkway and East Brewster Road serves the growing shopping area east of LA 21. 2.0 miles (3.2 km) east of the bridge, I-12 passes through an interchange with US 190 between Covington and Mandeville. This section of US 190 serves as St. Tammany's busiest north–south thoroughfare, connecting Covington and surrounding points with the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, a 24 miles (39 km)-long bridge leading to New Orleans. Further exits in St. Tammany Parish west of Slidell include LA 59 to Mandeville and Abita Springs, LA 1088 to LA 36, and LA 434 to Lacombe.

6.3 miles (10.1 km) east of the Lacombe exit, I-12 passes through an interchange with Airport Drive, which connects to Slidell Airport due north. Soon afterward, I-12 begins to skirt the northern edge of the city of Slidell. An interchange with US 11 connects to the downtown area. Less than 2.0 miles (3.2 km) later, I-12 reaches its eastern terminus at a major interchange with both I-10 and I-59 at the northeast corner of town. From this interchange, I-10 heads southwest toward New Orleans and east toward Bay St. Louis, Mississippi while I-59 heads north toward Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

I-12 is a divided, six-lane freeway from its western terminus in Baton Rouge to Exit 12 (LA 1026 / Juban Road) east of Denham Springs. It proceeds as a divided, four-lane freeway for the remainder of its route.

History

Interstate 12 was added to the highway system on October 17, 1957, with I-12 running from I-10 in Baton Rouge to I-59 north of Slidell. By the mid-1960s, the routes had been realigned to their current configuration, with I-12 and I-59 both ending at I-10 near Slidell.

With major damage to the I-10 Twin Span Bridge across Lake Pontchartrain from Hurricane Katrina, I-12 was temporarily functioning as I-10. On October 14, 2005, the eastbound span of I-10 over Lake Pontchartrain was reopened to two-way traffic. The westbound span of I-10 reopened on January 6, 2006, with speed, weight and size restrictions, relieving I-12 of much of the congestion that was clogging it from the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway to the junction with I-10 and I-59.

Future

In 2011, a project broke ground to widen I-12 from Juban Road east to the LA 447 interchange in Walker, Louisiana. Left-over funds will be used to widen I-12 past Walker in the future.

In 2011, officials began constructing a third travel lane in each direction on I-12 from the Vincent's Bayou Bridge to the I-10/I-12/I-59 split.

The La DOTD announced a plan in May 2012 to construct a westbound exit to southbound LA 3064 to relieve congestion on LA 73 (Jefferson Highway) and the nearby Drusilla Lane exit.

Exit list

Parish	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
East Baton Rouge	Baton Rouge	0.0	0.0	–	I-10 east – New Orleans	Western terminus
		0.8	1.3	1A	I-10 west – Baton Rouge	Exit 159 on I-10
		1.2– 1.5	1.9– 2.4	1B	LA 3064 (Essen Lane)	No westbound exit
		2.1	3.4	1C	LA 1068 (Drusilla Lane) to LA 73 (Jefferson Highway)	Eastbound entrance and westbound exit
		2.6– 3.1	4.2– 5.0	2	US 61 (Airline Highway)	Signed as exit 2A (south) and 2B (north); to Hammond Aire Plaza and Mall at Cortana
		3.8– 4.3	6.1– 6.9	4	Sherwood Forest Boulevard
		5.7– 6.4	9.2– 10.3	6	Millerville Road
		6.8– 7.3	10.9– 11.7	7	LA 3245 (O'Neal Lane)
East Baton Rouge– Livingston line	Denham Springs	8.3– 8.8	13.4– 14.2	Bridge over Amite River
Livingston		10.0– 10.5	16.1– 16.9	10	LA 3002 – Denham Springs
	​	12.4– 12.9	20.0– 20.8	12	LA 1026 (Juban Road)
	Walker	15.6– 16.2	25.1– 26.1	15	LA 447 – Walker, Port Vincent
	​	19.6– 20.1	31.5– 32.3	19	PR 45 – Satsuma, Colyell
	Livingston	22.5– 23.1	36.2– 37.2	22	LA 63 – Livingston, Frost
	​	28.8– 29.3	46.3– 47.2	29	LA 441 – Holden
	Hungarian Settlement	32.6– 33.2	52.5– 53.4	32	LA 43 – Albany, Springfield
Tangipahoa	​	34.7– 35.4	55.8– 57.0	35	LA 1249 – Baptist, Pumpkin Center
	Hammond	37.9– 38.5	61.0– 62.0	38	I-55 – New Orleans, Jackson, MS	Signed as exit 38A (south) and 38B (north)
		39.9– 40.4	64.2– 65.0	40	US 51 Bus. – Hammond, Ponchatoula
	​	42.4– 42.9	68.2– 69.0	43	LA 3158 north (Airport Road)	Southern terminus of LA 3158; to Hammond Northshore Regional Airport
	​	47.5– 47.8	76.4– 76.9	47	LA 445 – Robert
St. Tammany	​	56.8– 57.4	91.4– 92.4	57	LA 1077 – Goodbee, Madisonville
	​	59.1– 59.8	95.1– 96.2	59	LA 21 – Covington, Madisonville
	​	60.1– 60.7	96.7– 97.7	60	Pinnacle Parkway, East Brewster Road
	​	60.8– 61.0	97.8– 98.2	Bridge over Tchefuncte River
	​	62.5– 63.3	100.6– 101.9	63	US 190 – Covington, Mandeville	Signed westbound as exit 63A to (east) and 36B (west), to Lake Pontchartrain Causeway
	​	65.5– 66.1	105.4– 106.4	65	LA 59 – Abita Springs, Mandeville
	​	68.0– 68.8	109.4– 110.7	68	LA 1088 to LA 36 – Mandeville
	Lacombe	73.8– 74.4	118.8– 119.7	74	LA 434 – St. Tammany, Lacombe
	Slidell	80.1– 80.7	128.9– 129.9	80	Airport Drive, North Shore Boulevard	To Slidell Airport
		83.5– 83.7	134.4– 134.7	83	US 11 – Pearl River, Slidell
		85.2– 86.2	137.1– 138.7	85	I-10 / I-59 north – New Orleans, Hattiesburg, MS, Bay St. Louis, MS	Eastern terminus; signed as exit 85A (I-10 south), 85B (I-59), and 85C (I-10 north), exit 267B on I-10 and 1C on I-59
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access

See also

• Louisiana portal
• U.S. Roads portal

External links

Template:Attached KML/Interstate 12

KML is from Wikidata

• Media related to Interstate 12 at Wikimedia Commons
• La DOTD State, District, and Parish Maps