Interstate 10 West - Mississippi to New Orleans East

Interstate 10 crosses over a narrow four lane bridge across the Pearl River between Hancock County, Mississippi and St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. I-10 between the state line and Interstates 12 & 59 was completed in 1970.

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Welcome to Louisiana sign posted after the Pearl River span. The Texas state line lies 274 miles ahead.

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Crossing the Middle Pearl River along Interstate 10 west. I-10 travels through the Pearl River Wildlife Management Area between the Pearl and West Pearl Rivers.

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A rest area and the Louisiana Welcome Center lies just west of the West Pearl River crossing, pictured on the horizon here, at Slidell.

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The first interchange in Louisiana along Interstate 10 joins the freeway with two other freeways, Interstate 12 west to Hammond and Interstate 59 north to Picayune, Mississippi.

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Interstate 10 crosses the West Pearl River at milepost 270. The freeway leaves the Pearl River Management Area and enters the suburban outskirts of Slidell.

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Westbound at the Louisiana Welcome Center on the outskirts of Slidell. A new rest area and tourist information center was built during 2008-09.

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Crawford Landing Road parallels Interstate 10 closely as a northbound side frontage road between a boat ramp and LA 1090 (Military Road). The freeway mainline meanwhile continues beyond the welcome center on the one mile approach to Interstate 12 west (Exit 267B) and Interstate 59 north (Exit 267A).

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Dynamic message board posted ahead of the split with Interstate 12. While LA 1090 (Military Road) crosses over the freeway ahead, motorists must proceed to the next interchange of either Interstates 10, 12, or 59 to access the local roads of Slidell.

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Painted shields accompany overhead signs for the Exit 267A/B directional cloverleaf interchange with Interstate 12 west and Interstate 59 north. These were added by 2008.

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Interstate 10 westbound enters the joint termini interchange of Interstates 12 and 59. Traffic bound for Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Houston, Texas, should take Interstate 12 west as it stays north of Lake Pontchartrain and the New Orleans metropolitan area. The 85.59 mile Interstate terminates at Interstate 10 again in the capital city of Baton Rouge.

11/19/08

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A second set of painted shields prepares motorists for the continuation of Interstate 10 into Slidell.

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Westbound Interstate 10 at Exits 267A/B for Interstates 12 and 59. Traffic continuing on the mainline transitions to Interstate 12 westbound as Interstate 10 turns southwest. Exit 267A for Interstate 59 north departs in 0.25 miles to the right to Pearl River and Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

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A parting shot of the Exits 267A/B split for Interstate 12 west and Interstate 59 north. Interstate 12 ventures west 22 miles to Mandeville and the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway and 45 miles to Hammond. Interstate 59 ventures northeast to Hattiesburg and Meridian, Mississippi, serving as the main route between Birmingham and New Orleans. Overall the route travels 445 miles to Interstate 24, west of Chattanooga, Tennessee.

09/20/09

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Traffic from Interstate 59 south merges with Interstate 10 west, 0.75 miles north of Exit 266 with U.S. 190 (Gause Boulevard). Note the sign changes made over a four year period.

11/23/08

06/09/10

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Interstate 10 widens to six lanes from the Interstate 12 / 59 confluence southward to Lake Pontchartrain. Four interchanges serve the Slidell area, with the first joining the freeway with U.S. 190 (Gause Boulevard) east of the central business district.

06/10/06

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Entering the Exit 266 diamond interchange with U.S. 190 (Gause Boulevard) along Interstate 10 west. Gause Boulevard comprises the main commercial arterial for the city and it also represents the first travel services of consequence along Interstate 10 west since Bay St. Louis.

06/10/06

New Exit 265 signs replaced advance signage for LA 433 (Exit 263) after the Fremaux Avenue interchange opened. U.S. 190 follows Gause Boulevard west from Military Road (LA 1090) through downtown to Covington Highway west of Bayou Vincent. Fremaux Avenue (U.S. 190 Business) represents the original U.S. 190 alignment through Slidell.

06/09/10

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U.S. 190 shield and guide sign assembly posted along the Exit 266 off-ramp of Interstate 10 west. A popular truck stop nearby adds congestion to the forthcoming intersection, with trucks frequently backing up traffic from the business to the eastbound I-10 on-ramp. The situation garnered enough complaints that Slidell Police diverted truckers onto I-10 westbound to the next interchange for the Fremaux Avenue eastbound on-ramp.¹

06/09/10

U.S. 190 Business travels 3.9 miles between U.S. 11 (Front Street) and U.S. 190 (Military Road). Work to build Exit 265 coincided with a widening U.S. 190 Business west to Lindberg Drive, a west side frontage road for Interstate 10.²

06/09/10

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Exit 265 departs Interstate 10 west for U.S. 190 Business. The interchange opened up a parcel southwest of Fremaux Avenue for the Summit Fremaux retail development. Shortcut Highway east from Interstate 10 exits the city to U.S. 190, which in turn ends at U.S. 90 and White Kitchen.

06/09/10

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Old Spanish Trail angles southeast from U.S. 11 (Pontchartrain Drive) to meet Interstate 10 at the next exit. LA 433 is a 14.86 mile route running between U.S. 90 at the Rigolets and U.S. 190 (Covington Highway) west of Slidell.

06/09/10

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A look at the original 1.25 mile guide sign for Exit 263 (LA 433) on Interstate 10 westbound during construction of the Fremaux Avenue exit. Locally the state highway serves a growing area along Rigolets Avenue to the east and Old Spanish Trail to the west.

06/10/06

LA 433 (Old Spanish Trail) merges with U.S. 11 (Pontchartrain Drive) briefly to the west before departing the Slidell area for the communities of Bayou Liberty and Bontouca.

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Forthcoming Exit 263 serves south Slidell and the Rigolets area near Lake St. Catherine. The state highway travels part of the former U.S. 90 alignment between current U.S. 90 and U.S. 11 (Pontchartrain Drive).

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Exit 263 departs Interstate 10 westbound to LA 433 (Old Spanish Trail).

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The last Slidell and St. Tammany Parish interchange joins Interstate 10 with Oak Harbor Boulevard at Exit 261. Oak Harbor Boulevard serves the Eden Isles area to the east and Oak Harbor area to the west of the freeway.

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Interstate 10 reassurance shield posted in south Slidell. Oak Harbor Boulevard meanders southeast from U.S. 11 (Pontchartrain Drive) to Interstate 10 and the Eden Isles communities along the Lake Pontchartrain north shore.

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One mile north of the diamond interchange (Exit 261) with Oak Harbor Boulevard.

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Eden Isles was replaced with Lakeshore on sign replacements done after 2008. Lakeshore is the new community carved out of land between Interstate 10 and the East Diversion Canal.

06/10/06

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Interstate 10 enters the Exit 261 interchange with Oak Harbor Boulevard. Oak Harbor Boulevard connects the freeway with three branches of Lakeshore Boulevard to the east.

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Continuing south, Interstate 10 approaches Lake Pontchartrain beyond this shield assembly.

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Seven miles separates Slidell from Irish Bayou and the southern shores of Lake Pontchartrain via Interstate 10.

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Interstate 10 kinks eastward from its 1965 footprint onto a new alignment to span Lake Pontchartrain into New Orleans. A portion of the old Twin Bridges were retained as the St. Tammany Fishing Pier nearby, which opened on May 18, 2012.

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The 1965 spans were severely damaged by the storm surge of Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. The bridges were closed from the landfall until October 14, 2005 when they reopened in a temporary configuration. An $733 million project followed to replace the ailing bridges, leading to a September 2011 completion of the new spans and their approaches.

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Cresting at a height of 80 feet over the Lake Pontchartrain navigation channel along Interstate 10 westbound. The lake is fairly shallow at an average depth of 12 to 14 feet.

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The Twin Bridges over Lake Pontchartrain travel 5.5 miles overall between Slidell and Point aux Herbes at New Orleans. Carrying six overall lanes with full shoulders, the new bridges rise 21 feet higher than their predecessors above Lake Pontchartrain.

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Three crossovers link the Twin Bridges, two near each end, and one midway across the lake.

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U.S. 11 crosses Lake Pontchartrain along its own two lane span to the west. Known as the 5-Mile Bridge, the bridge includes two draw spans at the Pontchartrain navigation channels. Interstate 10 and U.S. 11 cross paths at Point aux Herbes and the community of Irish Bayou.

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Interstate 10 westbound enters the Orleans Parish line, which doubles as the city limits for New Orleans.

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U.S. 11 and Interstate 10 converge at the foot of the bridge. The junction between the two highways (Exit 254) is a four-ramp parclo interchange.

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The 5-Mile Bridge bends closer to the Twin Bridges. Road work in 2012 closed the bridge again for repairs. In the background is a Norfolk Southern Railroad bridge.

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U.S. 11 heads 5.75 miles south to its conclusion with U.S. 90 at Powers Junction. The US highway provides a direct route to U.S. 90 (Chef Menteur Highway) for Venetian Isles and Chef Menteur.

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U.S. 11 crosses over Interstate 10 to Irish Bayou. The route totals 1,645 miles overall between New Orleans and Rouses Point, New York.

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Continuing southwest, Interstate 10 enters Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge with six overall lanes. The refuge represents the largest such preserve within an urban area in the United States and was established in 1990.

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Exit 251, now closed, served Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern New Orleans. An attractions sign for the interchange advertised for an alligator park and swamp tours, however those operations ceased after the landfall of Hurricane Katrina.

06/10/06

Approaching the closed diamond interchange (Exit 251) for the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge. This exchange was closed until 1999 as well.

11/23/08

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The second of two interchanges within the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Area on Interstate 10 westbound is the abandoned Exit 250 diamond interchange. Overgrown with vegetation, concrete barricades prevent motorists from using the ramps to the overpass. Both interchanges were likely built in anticipation of urban growth during I-10's construction in 1969.

11/23/08

Resurfacing of the bumpy concrete along Interstate 10 by 2010 included the removal of the concrete acceleration and deceleration lanes of unopened Exit 250.

04/20/12

The first interchange (Exit 248) serving residential New Orleans joins Interstate 10 with Michoud Boulevard in one mile. Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage to the Michoud, New Orleans East, and Lake Forest communities of New Orleans.

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Three lanes of Interstate 10 westbound leave the wildlife refuge and approach the Exit 248 off-ramp to Michoud Boulevard. The north-south highway begins at the upcoming diamond interchange and from there travels southward to Lake Forest Boulevard, U.S. 90 (Chef Menteur Highway), and Old Gentilly Road (at the NASA Michoud Facility).

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Interstate 10 westbound at the Exit 248 ramp departure to Michoud Boulevard south. Michoud Boulevard travels south from Lake Marseille and the Villages of Oak Island to Lake Forest Boulevard near the abandoned Six Flags New Orleans theme park.

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Next in line for westbound travelers is the Exit 246A/B stack interchange with Interstate 510 south and LA 47 (Paris Road).

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Three-quarter mile sign bridge of Exit 246 (Interstate 510 south & LA 47). The 3.16 mile interstate of Interstate 510 is cosigned with LA 47 from the Intracoastal Waterway bridge northward to Interstate 10. Interstate 510 was constructed between 1985 and November 13, 1992 to replace LA 47 (Paris Road) between St. Bernard Parish and Interstate 10.

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Interstate 10 westbound advances one half mile to Interstate 510 & LA 47 (Paris Road). Interstate 510 joins I-10 with Chalmette via the continuation of LA 47 (Paris Road) south in St. Bernard Parish.

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The southbound beginning of Interstate 510 departs Interstate 10 westbound at Exit 246. LA 47 (Paris Road) continues northward from Exit 246B/A as a surface highway to Hayne Boulevard along the shoreline of Lake Pontchartrain. The state highway takes Hayne Boulevard west through New Orleans East to Downman Road.

04/20/12

Traffic to Interstate 510 & LA 47 south to Chalmette and LA 47 north to Little Woods departs Interstate 10 west in unison. Southbound drivers utilize a high flyover to the freeway south ahead of its interchange with Lake Forest Boulevard. Exit 246B north merges with LA 47 (Paris Road) ahead of the Interstate 10 frontage road and Morrison Road.

06/09/10

Traveling under the network of ramps to and from Interstate 510.

04/20/12