Former Louisiana Highways

[mcdonaat]

If anyone out there is interested in helping me out, I'm updating Wikipedia's listing for Louisiana highways to move the former routes to a separate section, under current routes. I have U.S. 71 Business in Alexandria and Louisiana Highway 3131, both of which have been removed. Since I'm only familiar with Pointe Coupee, Grant, Rapides, WBR, and Ouachita Parishes, if anyone from other areas can check the DOTD's maps online (click http://www.dotd.la.gov/planning/mapping/ to view them) and post which highways they know of that are removed, it would be a huge help! LA 3131 has been deleted as of April 2012, so it's a pretty recent route. Thanks in advance!

[bassoon1986]

are you talking about those parish maps?  If thats the case then LA 3231 isn't shown in Shreveport. It was tiny and rarely shown on a map. Probably still signed in one spot that I can think of

[mcdonaat]

Thanks for that! Yeah, the parish maps... I'm going to contact the Caddo Parish Police Jury and see if PR 18 has been extended to meet US 79/80.

[bassoon1986]

Bossier Parish map is missing LA 782-1. Insignificant I know haha. It connects Airline Dr. (3105) with Northgate (185) near Barksdale AFB and is all residential

[mcdonaat]

Bossier Parish map is missing LA 782-1. Insignificant I know haha. It connects Airline Dr. (3105) with Northgate (185) near Barksdale AFB and is all residential

Actually... looking at a state highway log, and looking at Wikipedia shields already made, I don't see a LA 782-1. It shows up on Google Maps, and is shown in former maps... but surprisingly, LA 782-1 is missing. I've got the DOTD to send me a list of the highways that have been added, deleted, or rerouted. It's gonna be a long list, but hopefully it makes a dent in Louisiana's 2000+ different route numbers.

[bassoon1986]

where's the actual log on the DOTD website? I mean I've seen the maps and the state map but is there a list on there anywhere?

Yeah gotta love the hyphenated routes. Nothing beats the 10 or 12 of them at Grand Isle. Completely pointless!

[cenlaroads]

The only log I am aware of is this one:

http://www.southeastroads.com/la_state_highways.html

It is missing several minor routes that I know of.  One that comes to mind right now is LA 1138-1.  Some of the newer routes (e.g., 1256, 1258) are also missing.

[mcdonaat]

The only log I am aware of is this one:

http://www.southeastroads.com/la_state_highways.html

It is missing several minor routes that I know of.  One that comes to mind right now is LA 1138-1.  Some of the newer routes (e.g., 1256, 1258) are also missing.

That log is the one that I use, and was referring to. I've never heard of LA 1256 though.

[cenlaroads]

I've never heard of LA 1256 though.

It's in Sulphur.  You can see it on the Calcasieu_West map from the DOTD website.  Although that map shows it running from US 90 down to LA 108, it's signed only from I-10 down to 108.  As far as I know, it used to be part of LA 27; LA 27's current route from Lewis St. (north of Sulphur) to LA 108 used to be LA 3077.  LA 27 used to split from it's current route and follow Lewis St. to US 90, US 90 to S. Huntington St., and S. Huntington St./Ruth St. to LA 108.

I just noticed that LA 388 is not shown on that Calcasieu map.  I don't know whether it has been decommissioned or accidentally left off.  It ran along Edgerly Dequincy Rd. from US 90 at Edgerly north about 3 miles.  I haven't driven it, so I don't know whether it is signed.  Google still shows it.

When you ask about highways that have been removed, do you mean former highways no longer shown on the DOTD maps, or highways still shown on the maps, but which have actually been decommissioned? Or both perhaps?

[mcdonaat]

I've never heard of LA 1256 though.

It's in Sulphur.  You can see it on the Calcasieu_West map from the DOTD website.  Although that map shows it running from US 90 down to LA 108, it's signed only from I-10 down to 108.  As far as I know, it used to be part of LA 27; LA 27's current route from Lewis St. (north of Sulphur) to LA 108 used to be LA 3077.  LA 27 used to split from it's current route and follow Lewis St. to US 90, US 90 to S. Huntington St., and S. Huntington St./Ruth St. to LA 108.

I just noticed that LA 388 is not shown on that Calcasieu map.  I don't know whether it has been decommissioned or accidentally left off.  It ran along Edgerly Dequincy Rd. from US 90 at Edgerly north about 3 miles.  I haven't driven it, so I don't know whether it is signed.  Google still shows it.

When you ask about highways that have been removed, do you mean former highways no longer shown on the DOTD maps, or highways still shown on the maps, but which have actually been decommissioned? Or both perhaps?

Preferably both. Some routes are signed where there is no more route under that name (example being US 61/190 By-Pass in Baton Rouge, which is now mainline US 61/190), some routes are signed where state maintenance is gone (LA 8 was signed for a while along Ulster Street in Boyce), and some routes have been removed, like LA 782-1 in Shreveport. Just a general change of highways would be what I'm interested in.
By the way, the South Traffic Circle is about to be changed... I've heard that Masonic Drive will no longer be US 165 Business, with Jackson Street carrying that designation, and LA 488 extended up Jackson Street to meet MacArthur Drive. North Third Street (1208-4) will be signed as LA 1 Truck or LA 1 Bypass to route traffic to the Fort Buhlow bridge, Sterkx (1208-2) will be resigned as a plain 1208 for DOTD use, and the weird LA 1208-1 will be resigned as LA 3250, which is currently just Sugarhouse Road. When the Sugarhouse Extension is done, it will be signed as TO LA 1, hidden route 3290. Just rumors, but they might have credibility. Noticed the Cenlaroads username, figured I'd share it!

[Darkchylde]

LA 1087 is no longer a state highway, add that one to your list. It was turned back to the city of Mandeville a couple of years ago.

[bassoon1986]

Preferably both. Some routes are signed where there is no more route under that name (example being US 61/190 By-Pass in Baton Rouge, which is now mainline US 61/190), some routes are signed where state maintenance is gone (LA 8 was signed for a while along Ulster Street in Boyce), and some routes have been removed, like LA 782-1 in Shreveport. Just a general change of highways would be what I'm interested in.
By the way, the South Traffic Circle is about to be changed... I've heard that Masonic Drive will no longer be US 165 Business, with Jackson Street carrying that designation, and LA 488 extended up Jackson Street to meet MacArthur Drive. North Third Street (1208-4) will be signed as LA 1 Truck or LA 1 Bypass to route traffic to the Fort Buhlow bridge, Sterkx (1208-2) will be resigned as a plain 1208 for DOTD use, and the weird LA 1208-1 will be resigned as LA 3250, which is currently just Sugarhouse Road. When the Sugarhouse Extension is done, it will be signed as TO LA 1, hidden route 3290. Just rumors, but they might have credibility. Noticed the Cenlaroads username, figured I'd share it!

So is all of that a rumor or have you seen it somewhere? That's crazy.

I like the idea of Bus 165 being moved to Jackson St because then it would actually connect at LA1/LA28 bus at Bolton St. instead of zig-zagging near the zoo. Except that Jackson St. is really really narrow around Texas Ave. It will make for some new signage at the circle too.

I've always seen on maps that 488 supposedly goes all the way to Sterkx Rd (is it 1208-2 or 3?) but it isn't signed that way, it only goes as far as Jackson St. If they do move it it would be ok, as long as it's actually signed.

How would the Truck 1 work? Obviously 1208-4 isn't signed now and how would it connect to 1 with the hospital in the way and all?



I'm from that area too. Actually Shreveport but my wife is from Pineville.

[cenlaroads]

That would be quite a change!  I don't think that 1208-4 is still a state route.  The city sold part of the road to the hospital a few years ago.  I know it hasn't been signed for years.

Right now, 488 stops at Jackson St.  Sterkx is 1208-2 from Horseshoe to MacArthur.  Jackson is 1208-3 from Horseshoe to Bolton.

[mcdonaat]

It's a rumor, and its not written down anywhere. If it's true, though, the change will be soon, since I've seen plans for Clearviewing the traffic circle (the only BGS setups I've seen are US 71 South/TO US 167 - Opelousas, Baton Rouge; US 165 North/US 71 North - Monroe, Shreveport). I would assume that Alternate LA 1 (I typed Truck LA 1 by accident) would follow Main Street to Jackson Street south, to 6th Street to Monroe Street to North Third. It would then access the port, then turn towards mainline LA 1.

LA 488 does end at Jackson Street, making it one of a few instances where a Louisiana highway changes numbers for its route. LA 488 ends at LA 1208-3, and LA 1208-3 ends at LA 488, both at the same intersection. The only reason 1208-2 exists is to give the DOTD a road to use to access the headquarters. I've heard Masonic Drive is being given to the city anyways, with the whole street calming (which is needed, with all of the people trying to dart across at the hospital and parks).

[mcdonaat]

LA 1087 is no longer a state highway, add that one to your list. It was turned back to the city of Mandeville a couple of years ago.

Thanks for that! It's changed and live! Head on over to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_numbered_highways_in_Louisiana to see the changes made.

[Urban Prairie Schooner]

It's a rumor, and its not written down anywhere. If it's true, though, the change will be soon, since I've seen plans for Clearviewing the traffic circle (the only BGS setups I've seen are US 71 South/TO US 167 - Opelousas, Baton Rouge; US 165 North/US 71 North - Monroe, Shreveport). I would assume that Alternate LA 1 (I typed Truck LA 1 by accident) would follow Main Street to Jackson Street south, to 6th Street to Monroe Street to North Third. It would then access the port, then turn towards mainline LA 1.

LA 488 does end at Jackson Street, making it one of a few instances where a Louisiana highway changes numbers for its route. LA 488 ends at LA 1208-3, and LA 1208-3 ends at LA 488, both at the same intersection. The only reason 1208-2 exists is to give the DOTD a road to use to access the headquarters. I've heard Masonic Drive is being given to the city anyways, with the whole street calming (which is needed, with all of the people trying to dart across at the hospital and parks).

Rapides Parish (east) DOTD map (updated as of 3/2/12) already shows Masonic/US 165B turned back. A short stub extending just north from the south circle is shown designated as LA 1208-5. Also noticed that LA 3263 (Pinegrove Drive) in Pineville is gone which renders that route quite short lived.

Pretty certain that LA 488 once continued along Horseshoe Drive to end at Macarthur Drive/Lee Drive. State route numbers in La. don't normally end at each other as a general rule, so this is a product of route turnback.

Also according to the Jefferson Parish maps, much of the 611 and 560 hyphenate "families" are now gone - specifically, routes 611-2, 4, 5, 7, and 8, 611-3 north of Jefferson Highway, LA 3261 and 3262 which were former portions of 611 routes, and routes 560-1 and 560-3. Can confirm that signage for at least the erased 611-x routes have been removed. Also removed in the same area is LA 3046 Spur which only intersected the frontage roads of its parent. All local roads that should have been removed years ago - good riddance. Seems that these routes may have been what were swapped out in return for bringing the entirety of Clearview Parkway under state maintenance. Next on the list IMO should be the unsigned and useless 574-x routes in Grand Isle.

[cenlaroads]

The only reason 1208-2 exists is to give the DOTD a road to use to access the headquarters. I've heard Masonic Drive is being given to the city anyways, with the whole street calming (which is needed, with all of the people trying to dart across at the hospital and parks).

I wonder why DOTD thinks that any road leading to one of their facilities needs to be a state highway.  LA 1242, 3281, and 3237 all come to mind just of the highways I've driven.  I suppose I can understand maintaining the road, but it doesn't need to be numbered and signed.

Pretty certain that LA 488 once continued along Horseshoe Drive to end at Macarthur Drive/Lee Drive. State route numbers in La. don't normally end at each other as a general rule, so this is a product of route turnback.

This is my understanding as well.

I just checked the parish maps, and it seems that LA 1208-4 has been removed.  I did notice that LA 3263 was gone.  LA 180 also seems to have been decommissioned.



One mistake I have noticed on Wikipedia is on the article for LA 798-3.  The route also consists of the 4 blocks around the Bienville Parish courthouse, not only Locust Street.  Some of the blocks are even signed.

[Urban Prairie Schooner]

I wonder why DOTD thinks that any road leading to one of their facilities needs to be a state highway.  LA 1242, 3281, and 3237 all come to mind just of the highways I've driven.  I suppose I can understand maintaining the road, but it doesn't need to be numbered and signed.

Even on the proposed resizing maps, DOTD wants to keep the connections to their district HQs (if not already on a regular state route) and even a few maintenance yards. Guess they don't want to be reliant on the local maintenance authorities for access to their facilities. I don't understand it myself, either.

I just checked the parish maps, and it seems that LA 1208-4 has been removed.  I did notice that LA 3263 was gone.  LA 180 also seems to have been decommissioned.

LA 1208-4 is shown as a road extending from the vicinity of LA 3250 south via Eddie Williams Ave (parallel to I-49 and US 71/167). Or is this still part of 1208-1? I wonder if 1208-4 is referring to LA 3250 instead (that number is not labeled).

In the 1955 route log, LA 1208-5 was West Shamrock Street from Main Street in Pineville to the "west city limit" which I assume was at that time near the grounds of the Central La. State Hospital. Also there was a LA 1208-6 which comprised Baywood Drive in Pineville between US 165 and US 165 Business.

I believe LA 180 still exists (albeit significantly truncated) as the short connector road between US 71 and US 165 just north of their split in Pineville. Why this connector should by itself require a separate route number, I have no idea. Google Streetview turns up no signage there other than for the US routes.

[cenlaroads]

I just checked the parish maps, and it seems that LA 1208-4 has been removed.  I did notice that LA 3263 was gone.  LA 180 also seems to have been decommissioned.

LA 1208-4 is shown as a road extending from the vicinity of LA 3250 south via Eddie Williams Ave (parallel to I-49 and US 71/167). Or is this still part of 1208-1? I wonder if 1208-4 is referring to LA 3250 instead (that number is not labeled).

In the 1955 route log, LA 1208-5 was West Shamrock Street from Main Street in Pineville to the "west city limit" which I assume was at that time near the grounds of the Central La. State Hospital. Also there was a LA 1208-6 which comprised Baywood Drive in Pineville between US 165 and US 165 Business.

I believe LA 180 still exists (albeit significantly truncated) as the short connector road between US 71 and US 165 just north of their split in Pineville. Why this connector should by itself require a separate route number, I have no idea. Google Streetview turns up no signage there other than for the US routes.

LA 1208-4 used to begin at MacArthur Dr. and follow N. 3rd Street to where it became a duplex of 3rd and 4th Streets, and then continued to LA 1.  About 5-7 years ago, the City of Alexandria sold part of 3rd Street to Rapides Regional Medical Center to build an expansion.  Since the city sold the road, I assume the highway had been turned back to them.

I believe that portion of Eddie Williams Ave. is still part of LA 1208-1, but I can't say that with certainty.

Ah, I had forgotten about that segment of 180 between the 71/165 split.  I was thinking of the original routing between US 71 and Military Highway (US 165 Business).  It may still exist.

[mcdonaat]

Thanks for the help, guys! If the maps have been released, which they have, then it means the maps are official. I can change the LA 798-3 article, but Streetview shows no signs. A few notes are below:
1) LA 180 used to extend from US 71 all the way to Military Hwy. If you go along BUS US 165, you will see a sign directing motorists north to Monroe, and northwest along the old LA 180 to Shreveport. A DOTD official told me that the sign was placed at the intersection of LA 180 and US 165 Business.

2) Eddie Williams is still part of LA 1208-1, since a quick check showed a sign for LA 1208-1 south of I-49, and a sign on LA 1, both of which are the termini.

3) If someone can post some maps of Rapides Parish at five- or ten-year intervals, it would be helpful! It looks like we might have a few different routes being reused, something that the DOTD explicitly doesn't allow. I saw the mention of a 1955 route log... any chance I can see it? Since I consider myself, along with Britinvasion64, the keepers of Louisiana's Wikipedia highway articles, it would be a great help!

4) I wish Louisiana could do something unique... take the roads that are used to access DOTD maintenance yards and number them M-XX routes. Seems weird, but M stands for Maintenance, with the XX referring to the district. Most smaller maintenance yards are placed along pre-existing major highways that aren't going anywhere, and the headquarter buildings are going to be using the smaller roads. Sterkx could be renumbered as M-08, Monroe could have M-05, and Baton Rouge's Capitol Access Road could be renumbered M-61. Arkansas does the same thing with airport and university roads, in a sense.

5) LA 180 seems to have lost its use, really, since the expressway was built. It was a way for people to take the Murray Street bridge through Main Street on US 165 Business, then hop to US 71/167 to Tioga. That has been replaced, in essence, by the Pineville Expressway, itself LA 3026.

[cenlaroads]

The 1955 renumbering of Louisiana's highways was the result of Act 40 of the 1955 Acts of Louisiana.  The Act itself listed and described every highway from 1 to 1241, including many which have long since been decommissioned.  The only way I know of seeing it is to look in a physical copy of the Acts of 1955.  I looked at and photocopied the volume in LSU's Middleton library, but any university library should have a set.  The photocopies would be a bit much for me to scan all at once, but if you want to know the original routing of any highway, just pm me and I'll be glad to send the info to you.  Even a lot of extant highways once had somewhat surprisingly different routes than they now do.

I thought that there was a sign for LA 798-3 looking northbound on Maple St., but sure enough Google doesn't show one.  It may have been added since those pictures were taken.  The route consists of Locust St., S. Beech St., Chestnut St., and Maple St.

[Urban Prairie Schooner]

3) If someone can post some maps of Rapides Parish at five- or ten-year intervals, it would be helpful! It looks like we might have a few different routes being reused, something that the DOTD explicitly doesn't allow. I saw the mention of a 1955 route log... any chance I can see it? Since I consider myself, along with Britinvasion64, the keepers of Louisiana's Wikipedia highway articles, it would be a great help!

5) LA 180 seems to have lost its use, really, since the expressway was built. It was a way for people to take the Murray Street bridge through Main Street on US 165 Business, then hop to US 71/167 to Tioga. That has been replaced, in essence, by the Pineville Expressway, itself LA 3026.

LA 180 used to be part of US 71 from 1926 until the Long-Allen Bridge was opened in 1935 or whereabouts. Since it was part of the Jefferson Highway and served as part of a defacto business route for US 71 after 1935, that explains why such a short route received a primary route number.

University and parish libraries may also have older copies of DOTD/Dept. of Highways parish maps which show older state highways. I know that UNO had an incomplete set of early 1930s parish maps in their Louisiana collection when I was there (early 2000s). Here is a link to a EBR Parish map from 1937: http://cdm16340.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15196coll4/id/44

[NE2]

The 1940 U.S. Census also has a (probably full) set of county maps: http://1940census.archives.gov/search/

[mcdonaat]

That 1937 map shows everything wrong with the 1920's highway system. LA 1318 1/2?? Almost matches LA 99 1/2 in North Louisiana. Imagine your GPS: "In 200 feet, turn right onto Highway 99 and one half. Then, in 2 miles, turn left onto Highway C-1240.

[Urban Prairie Schooner]

That 1937 map shows everything wrong with the 1920's highway system. LA 1318 1/2?? Almost matches LA 99 1/2 in North Louisiana. Imagine your GPS: "In 200 feet, turn right onto Highway 99 and one half. Then, in 2 miles, turn left onto Highway C-1240.

Also note the haphazard and, shall I say, unorthodox trajectories of the numbered designations. LA 1108 overlaps other routes for its entire length; looks like 1318 1/2 magically turns into 877 at the Comite River; also note the routing of LA 276. Most of this nonsense is related to the content of the route descriptions in the original legislative acts.

I still would like to know what "C" routes represented. My wild guess is that they are La. Hwy. Commission assigned numbers as opposed to legislatively assigned numbers.

Looks like only the major roads were completely paved at the time; most of the roads were gravel surfaced. And this was within living memory.