Interstate 10 | |||||||
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Route information | |||||||
Maintained by Louisiana DOTD | |||||||
Length: | 274.42 mi (441.64 km) | ||||||
Existed: | 1939 (planned); 1957 (numbered); 1978 (completed) – present |
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Major junctions | |||||||
West end: | I-10 / US 90 at Texas state line | ||||||
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East end: | I-10 at Mississippi state line | ||||||
Highway system | |||||||
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Interstate 10 (I-10), a major transcontinental Interstate Highway in the Southern United States, runs across the southern part of Louisiana for 274.42 miles (441.64 km). It passes through Lake Charles, Lafayette, and Baton Rouge before dipping south of Lake Pontchartrain to serve the New Orleans metropolitan area before leaving the state.
In August 2005, the I-10 Twin Span Bridge was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina, rendering it unusable. Initially, the bridge was repaired through a $30.9 million contract with Boh Brothers Construction Company. However, Louisiana has since replaced the bridge with two higher elevation spans in 2009 and 2010.
From Texas to Lafayette, I-10 parallels the older U.S. Route 90 corridor. From Lafayette, the highway heads east-northeast toward Baton Rouge via the Atchafalaya Swamp Freeway, an 18.2-mile (nearly 30 km) bridge across the Atchafalaya River and its accompanying swamp. Between the two cities, I-10 parallels U.S. Route 190, from Opelousas to Baton Rouge. This route has signs and is designated as an alternate I-10 by-pass that runs from I-10/I-49 north to U.S. 190 (exit 19B at Opelousas) then east across to Baton Rouge and back down to I-10 via I-110 south. Traffic can be diverted both ways along this route should there be the necessity to close I-10 across the Atchafalaya Swamp Freeway and is also used as a hurricane evacuation route.