Been a long time since we posted anything covering site updates. There have been a lot of them, but without a dynamic way to generate a list of changes, writing about them here has fallen by the wayside. Last week we completed a 4,738 mile long trip to the High Plains from the Southeast and back. Covered a lot of new ground, including the newly opened Arkansas/Missouri Connector along Interstate [...]
Finally getting around to reviewing a day trip we took on May 9 from Pensacola, Florida west to Biloxi, Gulfport, New Orleans and LaPlace, Louisiana. While we have extensively covered much of this region previously, several key projects are underway or were completed in recent years. Let's take a look at a few of them. The drive across Mobile was uneventful and the only work ongoing is a resurfacing project [...]
Day 2 of the whirlwind trip took us around the Shreveport freeway system, northward along new Interstate 49 to Arkansas, around Texarkana on the new I-369 and AR 549 freeways, and northeast to a revisit of the Little Rock Interstates. Meandering southeastward, we crossed the doomed Clarendon Bridge over the White River toward U.S. 49 through Helena-West Helena into Mississippi. Zigzagging southward, we ended up in Vicksburg. Interstate 220 provides [...]
Took Interstate 10 westbound from Northwest Florida to Lake Charles, Louisiana, then U.S. 171 north to Shreveport. Redocumented all of I-10 west to Lafayette, all of I-12 west, Interstates 110 and 210. Took new coverage of I-10 west to Lake Charles and all of U.S. 171 north toward Shreveport as well as photographing the south ends of U.S. 165 and 171. The first construction of note on the day is [...]
The third day of the southern trip from July, 2008. And the fourth, since a lot of the third day was unfortunately spent in boring parts of Tennessee. Somewhere in all that kudzu, there is an old US-11 bridge. […]
A New Orleans – and general south – trip from July of 2008. This is a glass cateye reflector sign. There are four of them, and they all date back to about 1936 when this bridge in New Orleans was opened. The Milky Way over partly cloudy skies. Lights from Shreveport are providing the orange glow. […]
Construction for future Interstate 49 between Interstate 220 in Shreveport and the Arkansas state line is proceeding well. Current work is underway from the state line south 9.6 miles to Louisiana 2 east of Hosston. At least one overpass north of Louisiana 168 is already complete. Planned interchanges for the new 9.6 mile section will be located at Louisiana 168, Mira-Myrtis Road, and Louisiana 2. Looking southward at [...]
Speaking of carbon copying signs, perhaps it is about time that Interstate 10 guide signs in Mobile County, Alabama reflect Biloxi and/or New Orleans? Pascagoula made sense when Interstate 10 was originally built, because the freeway defaulted onto U.S. 90 at the state line for many years before Mississippi completed its portion. Nowadays, Pascagoula makes little sense, as Interstate 10 travels through Moss Point, Pascagoula's neighbor to the north, and U.S. 90, [...]
Continuing with our I-49 corridor theme, it's time to look at Shreveport's non interstate-interstates. The Clyde Fant memorial parkway runs southeast from downtown along the Red River. It goes through miles of parkland and passes by the city's major hospital and it's major tourist attractions (the casinos). The view below looks north at downtown Shreveport from the Parkway. Click any images for a larger view. I-20 east at [...]
This past weekend afforded me with the opportunity to check on the status of some upper Gulf Coast road projects related to the recovery from Hurricane Katrina. The August 29, 2005 landfall of the historic storm not only devastated the New Orleans and Mississippi coastal area homes and businesses, but also washed out several key stretches of highway infrastructure. Included in the storm's fury was the destruction of the U.S. [...]
