Airline Highway

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For the play, see Airline Highway (play). For "the airline" highway in Maine, see Maine State Route 9.
New Orleans
Major intersections
Northwest end
US 190 east of Krotz Springs
Location
CountryUnited States
StateLouisiana
ParishesOrleans, Jefferson, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, St. James, Ascension, East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Pointe Coupee
Highway system
  • Louisiana State Highway System
U.S. Highway 51 in LaPlace, Louisiana

Airline Highway is a

Opelousas
on an extension built at roughly the same time.

The highway was named "Airline" because it runs relatively straight on a new alignment, rather than alongside the winding Mississippi River. (Compare with the similar term air-line railroad.) The name later became even more fitting, as both Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport were built along the highway. Airline Highway also runs close to the site of the old Baton Rouge airfield (near the intersection of Airline and Florida Boulevard, now a park and government office complex), which brings it within blocks of the similarly named Airport Avenue and Airway Drive.

History

The highway's origin is famously identified with Governor

Huey P. Long, who advocated for a modern highway system in Louisiana. Though the project was underway when Long took office, most of its initial construction was completed during his administration. The Airline Highway was considered a pet project of Long's as it reduced the length of his journey between the capitol building in Baton Rouge and the bars and establishments in New Orleans, namely The Sazerac Bar in the Roosevelt Hotel.[2] Originally, Airline Highway was a two-lane road that ran from Prairieville to Shrewsbury. The first section, running between Williams Boulevard in Kenner and Shrewsbury Road, opened in June 1927.[3] It was begun by the Jefferson Parish Police Jury as a local road and incorporated into the plan for Airline Highway during construction.[4]
The remainder of the highway was built between 1928 and 1933 by the Louisiana Highway Commission with federal aid, as the road would carry US 61 upon completion.

The section north of the spillway was officially opened on July 4, 1933,

Bonnet Carré Spillway was delayed until 1935, necessitating a detour over the Jefferson Highway (River Road) via temporary gravel roads along the spillway guide levees.[7] The spillway bridge was opened to traffic on September 28, 1935[8] and dedicated on December 13.[9]

At this time, traffic was routed from Prairieville into Baton Rouge over the Jefferson Highway (today's LA 73). On the New Orleans end, travelers had the option to continue on Airline Highway and follow Metairie Road (the original route of Jefferson Highway) into town or transfer to the Jefferson Highway (today's LA 48) at Kenner and follow the direct connection onto South Claiborne Avenue completed in 1928.

The first improvements to the Airline Highway began in 1935 and consisted of widening and re-surfacing the Kenner-Shrewsbury link built a decade earlier. The new four-lane section from Williams Boulevard to Haring Road opened in October 1937.[10] The new four- and six-lane section from Haring Road to Labarre Road opened in December 1938.[11] The latter project included a slight re-alignment and extension on the Shrewsbury end. (Present-day Robertson Street is a remnant of the old alignment.) The eight-lane extension into Tulane Avenue (reached by a now-demolished six-lane bridge over the former New Basin Canal) was officially opened on August 26, 1940.[12]

Also in 1940, the Old Mississippi River Bridge opened in Baton Rouge. With this occurrence, a 7.9 mile bypass was built around the city that went to the Nesser Overpass, opening to traffic in July 1941—this bypass was part of Airline Highway, but it was not connected to the rest of the highway until 1953. A further extension continued west to the Atchafalaya Bridge at Krotz Springs. The remainder of the highway was multilaned in sections during the 1940s and the 1950s. For a short time in that decade, it was the longest toll-free four-lane highway in the nation, as the multilaned portion ran 124 miles from the Atchafalaya River to New Orleans.[13] The spillway bridge carried four very narrow lanes of traffic (often resulting in accidents) until 1984 when a parallel bridge was constructed.[14]

The majority of the New Orleans-Baton Rouge section was built parallel to the

Opelousas parallels the New Orleans, Texas and Mexico Railway (later part of the Missouri Pacific Railroad
).

Originally US Highways 65 and 51 were cosigned to Airline (65 the entire length, and 51 from LaPlace to New Orleans). In 1951, Louisiana truncated the route lengths, and the highway, with the exception of a portion in north Baton Rouge, is signed as US 61.

In an effort to clean up the highway's notorious history due to the seedy hotels and motels that once lined it, the portion in Jefferson Parish has been renamed Airline Drive.

Baton Rouge bypass

Interstate Highway
plans, showing the Baton Rouge bypass on the Airline Highway as an urban route (numbered I-410 by 1959)

The portion of the Airline Highway north and east of downtown

traffic circle, which was replaced in 1963 by a cloverleaf interchange
.

In the original 1955 plan for

I-410
(which itself was cancelled in 1977).

Major intersections

ParishLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
US 61
south (Tulane Avenue)		Southeastern terminus; south end of US 61 concurrency
114.6–
114.5		184.4–
184.3
I-10 west – N.O. Int'l Airport, Baton Rouge
(northbound)
I-10 east to US 90 Bus.
 – Westbank (southbound)		Exit 232 on I-10
JeffersonMetairie113.7–
113.5		183.0–
182.7

 LA 3046 south (Causeway Boulevard) to US 90 (Jefferson Highway)		Interchange; northern terminus of LA 3046 (not signed)
112.7181.4
LA 611-9
(Severn Avenue)		Western terminus of LA 611-9; to Metairie Road
112.5181.1

 To
LA 3139 south (Earhart Expressway
)		At Cleary Avenue
112.2180.6
LA 3139 (Earhart Expressway
)
112.0180.2
LA 3154 south (Hickory Avenue) – Harahan
Northern terminus of LA 3154
111.5179.4
LA 3155
(Little Farms Avenue)		Northern terminus of LA 3155 (not signed)
I-10
Southern terminus of LA 49
LA 50 (Almedia Road) – Almedia
Northern terminus of LA 50
108.4–
108.2		174.5–
174.1		 I-310 – Boutte, Baton RougeExit 2 on I-310
LA 626 (St. Rose Avenue) – Destrehan, St. Rose
Northern terminus of LA 626
LA 627
(Prospect Avenue)		Northern terminus of LA 627
104.0167.4
 LA 48 east (Apple Street)		Western terminus of LA 48
​101.4–
101.2		163.2–
162.9		U.S. 61 Bonnet Carré Spillway Bridge
LA 628 west (CC Road) – Montz
Eastern terminus of LA 628
LA 3217
south		Northern terminus of LA 3217
98.2158.0
LA 636-1
south (McReine Road)		Northern terminus of LA 636-1
96.2154.8
 LA 44 west (Main Street)		Eastern terminus of LA 44
96.1154.7
I-55
Southern terminus of US 51
96.0154.5
I-10
Southern terminus of LA 3188
LA 3179
south (East 22nd Street)		Northern terminus of LA 3179
93.0149.7
Reserve–Edgard Ferry
Northern terminus of LA 53
90.0144.8
LA 637
south (West 10th Street)		Northern terminus of LA 637
Mt. Airy
Northern terminus of LA 54
LA 3213 – Gramercy, Lutcher, Convent
LA 3213 southbound leads to Gramercy Bridge (not signed)
LA 3274
(North Airline Avenue)		Northern terminus of LA 3274
New Orleans
(southbound)		Exit 187 on I-10
​80.2129.1
LA 3140
Western terminus of LA 3140
Sorrento78.0125.5 LA 22 – Sunshine Bridge, Donaldsonville
LA 431 – Port Vincent, Denham Springs
Eastern terminus of LA 30; southern terminus of LA 431
LA 939
(South Purpera Avenue)		Eastern terminus of LA 939
71.0114.3
LA 3038
(East Cornerview Street)		Eastern terminus of LA 3038
69.200111.367
LA 429
(Weber City Road, East Ascension Street)
68.2109.8 LA 44 (North Burnside Avenue)
​67.4108.5
 LA 74 west		Eastern terminus of LA 74
​66.2106.5
LA 621
Prairieville64.0103.0
 LA 73 south (Old Jefferson Highway)		South end of LA 73 concurrency
61.298.5
 LA 73 north (Old Jefferson Highway)		North end of LA 73 concurrency
60.096.6
 LA 42 east		South end of LA 42 concurrency
57.993.2
LA 427
(Perkins Road)
LA 948
(Highland Road)		North end of LA 42 concurrency; western terminus of LA 948
Baton Rouge51.082.1
 LA 73 south (Jefferson Highway)		South end of LA 73 concurrency
47.075.6
LA 3246
west (Siegen Lane)		Eastern terminus of LA 3246
​45.8–
45.6		73.7–
73.4
 LA 73 north (Jefferson Highway)		Interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance;
North end of LA 73 concurrency
I-12 – Baton Rouge, Hammond
Exit 2A–B on I-12
43.069.2
Old Hammond Highway
)
41.0–
40.50		66.0–
65.18
US 190 Bus.
(Florida Boulevard)		Interchange; east end of US 190 concurrency;
Southeastern terminus of US 61/190 Business
38.2–
38.0		61.5–
61.2		 LA 37 (Greenwell Springs Road) – Baton Rouge, Greenwell SpringsInterchange
36.4–
36.2		58.6–
58.3
LA 67 (Plank Road) – Baker–Zachary, Clinton
Interchange; no access to and from I-110.
34.3–
34.0		55.2–
54.7		 I-110 – Baton Rouge, NatchezExit 5B on I-110; to Metro Airport and St. Francisville (secondary signage)
31.8–
31.4		51.2–
50.5
US 190 Bus. (Scenic Highway)
Interchange; north end of US 61 concurrency; northwestern terminus of US 61/190 Business; to Southern University
East Baton Rouge–
West Baton Rouge line		​30.2–
30.0		48.6–
48.3		Huey P. Long Bridge over Mississippi River
I-10 – Port Allen, Plaquemine
Interchange; east end of LA 1 concurrency
I-10
Interchange
25.240.6
I-12 / I-110
Westbound entrance and eastbound exit;
Northern terminus of LA 415 Spur
LA 1145
south (Calumet Road)		Northern terminus of LA 1145
​21.534.6
LA 983
north (Bueche Road)		Southern terminus of LA 983
I-10 – Rosedale, Lakeland
Pointe Coupee​19.831.9
 LA 1 north (Wye Road) – New Roads, Marksville		West end of LA 1 concurrency
LA 978
north (Bigman Lane)		Southern terminus of LA 978
LA 411 (Maringouin Road East) – Maringouin, Rosedale, Ramah
Southern terminus of LA 78; northern terminus of LA 411
12.620.3
I-10 – Maringouin, Fordoche
LA 976
Northern terminus of LA 976
Lottie7.812.6 LA 81 (Charles Road) – Fordoche, Morganza
​4.9–
4.5		7.9–
7.2		Bridge over Morganza Spillway
​0.20.32
Sherburne Wildlife Management Area
Interchange; northern terminus of LA 975
​0.00.0
US 190 west – Opelousas
Northwestern terminus; west end of US 190 conurrency;
At Atchafalaya River Bridge
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ^ a b c "Overview Map of Airline Highway" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  2. ^ Mahne, Theodore P. (June 30, 2009). "Huey Long just one chapter of storied history of New Orleans' Roosevelt Hotel, which reopens Wednesday". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans, LA. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  3. ^ "News of Metairie and the highway". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans. June 1, 1927. p. 36.
  4. ^ "Airline route to state capital is feasible project". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans. July 19, 1925. pp. 4–1.
  5. ^ "Opening of airline route announced". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans. July 4, 1933. p. 1.
  6. ^ "Road to capital cut by opening of new section". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans. July 29, 1933. pp. 2–11.
  7. ^ "Driving distance to Baton Rouge will be reduced". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans. May 1, 1935. p. 1.
  8. ^ "Spillway bridge may be ready for use on Saturday". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans. September 24, 1935. p. 1.
  9. ^ "Throng to rally at Bonnet Carre Spillway today". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans. December 13, 1935. p. 1.
  10. ^ "Shrewsbury-Kenner Air Line Highway link open to traffic". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans. October 30, 1937. p. 1.
  11. ^ "Short-cut road on Baton Rouge route is opened". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans. December 20, 1938. p. 3.
  12. ^ "Air-Line Highway bridge ceremony slated Monday". The Times-Picayune New Orleans States. New Orleans. August 25, 1940. p. 1.
  13. ^ "Nation's longest toll-free four-lane highway nearing finish". The Times-Picayune New Orleans States. New Orleans. August 17, 1952. p. 2.
  14. ^ "New bridge over spillway opens quietly". The Times-Picayune/The States-Item. New Orleans. March 30, 1984. pp. 1–26.
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