About a half mile from Exit 153 (LA 1), just to the west of Baton Rouge. Many signs about this distance from an exit along I-10 in Louisiana have "Next Right" on them instead of a distance.
Exit 153 departs here as I-10 prepares to ascend the Horace Wilkerson Bridge across the Mississippi River.
After driving for two days straight, wouldn't your windshield be a disaster? Descending the Mississippi River Bridge, we will soon approach Exits 155A (LA 30, to LSU) and 155B (Left exit to I-110).
Exit 155A departs from I-10 eastbound. Welcome to Baton Rouge.
The sign is misleading. Although two lanes continue as I-10, before reaching the I-110 South mainline (which defaults to I-10 East), one of those two lanes will become exit-only, leaving only one actual through lane for I-10 East traffic! Ok, rant over. 1/2 mile to the northbound start to I-110.
Left lane: I-110 North, to the Baton Rouge Business District and airport, with further connections to Baker and Natchez, MS (via US 61). Middle and right lanes: I-10 East to New Orleans, connecting along the way to I-12, to Hammond and Slidell.
Traffic from I-110 South merges in on the left. The right lane becomes exit only for Exit 156A.
Departing to the right: Exit 156A, to Washington Street. 1/2 mile away: Exit 156B, connecting to Dalrymple Drive, which in turn offers a connection to LSU. This section of I-10 is elevated.
As the sign says. I-10 goes back down to ground level for this short section.
Right: Exit 156B departs. A mile ahead, Exit 157A, to Perkins Road.
Hard to see through the dead bug on the windshield, I know. 1/4 mile to Exit 157A, while Exit 157B (Acadian Thruway) looms shortly after.
Ugh, 18-wheelers. I love them until they block a shot. Exit 157A peels off here, Exit 157B will peel off soon.
Gore point signage for Exit 157B. The I-10/I-12 split looms large in the distance ahead.
We're on I-10 East after traffic from I-55 merges on. Theoretically. For some reason, traffic was jammed back for miles. Jazzfest, maybe?
The speed limit along this section of Interstate is only 60 miles per hour due to the fact that this viaduct is older than dirt.
Mileage sign. Loyola Drive, 10 miles (Eternity). New Orleans, 19 miles (Eternity + 1 day). Gee, I think they forgot an exit in between.
Traffic finally got unsnarled. We're crossing into St. Charles Parish. I-10 spends its entire time in St. Charles over water.
Crossing over the Bonnet Carre Spillway on I-10 East. We're also crossing an edge of Lake Ponchartrain in the process.
I knew they forgot an exit. Two miles to Exit 220 - I-310 South, Boutte/Houma.
One mile to Exit 220. Information for Airport-bound traffic is present - air cargo should use Exit 220, while everything else should use another exit further east.
One-half mile sign for Exit 220.
Sign bridge - Left: Pullthrough for I-10 East. Center: Exit 221 (Loyola Drive) 1 1/2 miles. Right: Exit here for Exit 220.
On the Causeway Boulevard/Bonnabel Boulevard collector/distributor road paralleling I-10 East in Metairie. This interchange is in the process of being reconfigured.
Traffic merges onto the C/D road to the right. Ahead, the C/D road will divide between ramps to I-10 East and to Bonnabel Boulevard.
The left two lanes will merge into I-10 East. The right lane offers the connection to Bonnabel Boulevard. Reconfiguration of this interchange moved the merge point from Causeway Boulevard to here, at the expense of a connection from I-10 East. (Hint: Get off at Causeway.)
The next exit on I-10 East is Exit 230, a left exit to Interstate 610. Through traffic should use I-610.
1/2 mile sign for Exit 230.
The left three lanes mark the beginning of Interstate 610 East. The right three lanes continue I-10 toward the CBD.
The next exit is Exit 231A for City Park Avenue and Metairie Road (LA 611-9). The reassurance shield for I-10 East is at far right.
Exit 231A is 0.5 miles away. Traffic from I-610 West and West End Boulevard flies overhead to join I-10 East. At right, one of the giant pumping stations necessary to mitigate flooding in the New Orleans area.
0.25 miles to Exit 231A. This infamous railroad underpass tends to flood even when it threatens to rain. The pumping stations nearby attempt to mitigate this.
Traffic bound for City Park Avenue and Metairie Road (LA 611-9) departs at far right. The next exit for I-10 East is Exit 232 for Airline Drive (US 61 North), Tulane Avenue (US 61 South) and Carrolton Avenue, 0.5 mile away.
Just after traffic departs on Exit 231A, this sign reminds travelers that the rightmost lane is exit-only for Exit 232.
Traffic departs at right for Exit 232, an extremely complex interchange serving both US 61 (Airline Drive and Tulane Avenue) and Carrolton Avenue.
Flying over the Carrolton Interchange, the next exit for I-10 East is Exit 234A for US 90 and Business US 90 (not marked on the sign), bound for the Louisiana Superdome (home of the NFL's New Orleans Saints and Tulane University's Green Wave football team), Claiborne Avenue, and the Westbank.
Exit 234A is a left exit, continuing on the mainline of the Ponchartrain Expressway. I-10 will actually exit itself.
Business US 90 (hidden Interstate 910, Future Interstate 49) finally gets a mention on a guide sign as I-10 prepares to exit the Ponchartrain Expressway. To continue on I-10 East, you must be in the right two lanes.
Exiting from the Ponchartrain Expressway. I-10 East uses a flyover ramp to link with its next segment. This interchange is known sometimes as the “Megachange.”
Beautiful shot of the Louisiana Superdome in the background, behind the 1/3 mile sign for Exit 234B (Poydras Street, Superdome). We are still on the flyover from the Ponchartrain Expressway.
Exit 234B, also a left exit, offers access to the only land-based casino in Louisiana, as well as the Aquarium of the Americas. (The aquarium's worth a trip.)
I-10 East's control point is now Slidell, 27 miles away. Exit 234B departs on the left. This offramp is situated within the Megachange. Traffic from I-10 West to Business US 90 West flies overhead.
Now on the Claiborne Viaduct (built in the median of Claiborne Avenue), the next exit is for Orleans Avenue, offering access to the Vieux Carre (French Quarter). This part of I-10 East frequently suffers from congestion, as seen here.
0.5 mile to Exit 235A (Orleans Avenue, Vieux Carre).
The next two exits offer access to the French Quarter. Exit 235A will depart soon on the right.
Damn truck got in my way. Oh well, at least I got the Exit 235A departure sign. Be careful, some of the offramps from the Claiborne Viaduct are very tight and tricky to negotiate. In other words, when the sign says 25 mph, you'd better be doing 20!
The next exit is Exit 236B for North Claiborne Avenue (LA 39 South). The pole to the right's not bent, that's just my windshield messing with it... I hope.
Next right, Exit 236B. Some of these signs are very old.
Along I-10 eastbound in New Orleans East, we see one of two ghost interchanges situated between Michoud Boulevard and US 11.
Here's another ghost interchange, from I-10 eastbound.
I-10 East will encounter US 11 in 2 miles.
The VMS here warns of conditions on the damaged Twin Spans. Here, it notes that that permit loads are not allowed to cross the lake on the Twin Spans. They will not be able to cross on US 11 northbound either... so really, they shouldn't be this way to begin with.
One more mile left to go to Exit 254. Even from here, you can see how much the land in this area is decaying.
One final warning sign for trucks using this corridor before Exit 254 - this one has been up for years. The speed limit begins to drop for a lane shift right after Exit 254.
The right lane has temporarily been converted to an exit-only lane here, as Exit 254 departs I-10 eastbound. As if the Big White Sign wasn't indication enough, a weight limit sign is also posted on the exit sign itself!
Looking out at the existing I-10 spans and the under-construction new spans from the US 11 overpass.
While the group saw the southern end of the Twin Spans from US 11, there was a wreck on eastbound I-10. This traffic is the result of that wreck plus a bottleneck as eastbound I-10 sheds a lane.
Now past US 11, we look at the approach to the future I-10 eastbound Twin Span. The new bridges will rise much higher over the water, reducing the chances of catastrophic damage to it from a hurricane. Already, the new Spans have claimed the lives of two construction workers.
The older Twin Spans sit in the shadow of the new ones, to the right. Note the mile marker to the right - we are at I-10 East Mile 255.5.
Now we're back in St. Tammany Parish. The older Twin Spans were originally striped for three travel lanes, but that was changed to two lanes plus shoulders. This caused a huge traffic snarl on both Shores for many years even before the storms. In the event of an evacuation, the shoulder can still carry traffic on this Span if necessary. Oh, and there's the one-mile guide sign for Exit 261 as well.
Temporary lane shift at the end of the Twin Spans, to allow room for the footprint of the new Spans to be built. Seriously, you'd better slow it down. This area is well-known for truck accidents.
Second-to-last guide sign for Exit 261, above lanes not currently in use.
Exit 261 departs here. The ramp is striped for two exit lanes, although only one is currently in use due to the condition of the Interstate behind this vantage.
The next exit along I-10 eastbound is Exit 263 for LA 433, which is also an old alignment of US 11, US 90, and before 1955, Louisiana Highway 2.
Now we approach the now-third Slidell exit, Exit 265 for Business US 190, itself a former alignment of US 190. Slidell and the surrounding areas are packed with US Highway history.
Now on I-10 eastbound in Slidell, nearing Exit 265 (Business US 190, Fremaux Avenue, Short Cut Highway). At the time of this photo, the interchange itself was very close to completion. It has since been opened to traffic.
Approaching the Exit 265 offramp from I-10 east. At the time of this photo, the interchange was not yet open.
Exit 265 departs ahead to a recently-completed interchange. Before that, a weigh station existed here.
Now we're passing the Exit 265 onramp. It appears as though the construction will yield an auxiliary lane between Exit 265 and Exit 266 ("Mainline" US 190).
The onramp from Business US 190 becomes an auxiliary lane for Exit 266, US 190. This sign survived the storm.
Gantry carrying signage for (from right to left) the departing Exit 266 ("Mainline" US 190, Gause Boulevard), a pullthrough for the center and right lane indicating which continue as I-10 Eastbound to Bay St. Louis, and a 1 1/2 mile sign for Exit 267A-B (Left exit: I-12 to Hammond, I-59 to Hattiesburg, MS). The Exit 267A-B sign should be of the "Exit Only" variety since I-10 sheds the left lane at the interchange, but I digress.
The ramp for Exit 266 departs here. The final Slidell exit, Exits 267B-A for I-12 and I-59, looms 1.5 miles away. I-10's control city becomes Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, a remnant of a time when I-10 had a gap in its route through most of Mississippi.
Due to having to do some very defensive driving, these signs were cut off during the snap. Left sign: Exits 267B-A - I-12/I-59: Hammond, Hattiesburg - Right sign: I-10 East: Bay St. Louis.
Expect these to be replaced one day with the newer MUTCD-compliant versions with “Left Exit” tabs. As it is, I-10 continues in the right lanes as the left ones connect to I-59 and I-12. This marks the northbound beginning of Interstate 59.
Reassurance shield for I-10 West after the interchange with I-110 near Biloxi, Mississippi.
The next exit along I-10 West is Exit 44, for Cedar Lake Road and the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum.
Exit 44 also can be used to reach Beauvoir, the historical home and presidential library of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Beauvoir was heavily damaged during Hurricane Katrina, however.
Exit 44 departs here.
Interstate 10 crosses the Tchoutacabouffa River here near Biloxi.
The next exit is Exit 41, MS 67 North to Woolmarket.
Exit 41 departs here.
Mileage sign after Exit 41, showing distances to the next exit (3 miles), Gulfport (Looks like 11 miles) and New Orleans (78 miles).
The next 3 interchanges connect to Gulfport.
The first exit in Gulfport is Exit 38, for MS 605 (Lorraine Cowan Road), which also connects to the Bernard Bayou Industrial District. From here, it's 1.5 miles away. Hospital services are also available near the interchange.
Exit 38 also connects to William Carey University on The Coast and Gulf Coast Community College Jefferson Davis Campus.
Exit 38 departs here.
The second Gulfport-area interchange is Exits 34B-A for US 49. Access to hospital services, beaches, camping and an airport are all available at this exit.
Auxiliary signage for Exit 34A lets travelers know that US 90, as a scenic route, as well as some casinos can be accessed.
One mile advance signage for Exits 34B-A.
Exiting first in the full cloverleaf from westbound is Exit 34B for US 49 North, to Hattiesburg.
While the pullthrough now points to New Orleans, Exit 34A departs, connecting travelers to Gulfport via US 49 South.
The final Gulfport interchange is Exit 31, Canal Road.
Exit 31 connects to USM-Gulf Park. At least, that's what the sign says.
Exit 31 departs here. Aside from the university mentioned on the auxiliary sign at 1/2 mile, Exit 31 has extensive traveler services provided at truck stops, and is also home to Barry's U-Pull-It, a popular auto junkyard in the area.
Interstate 10 westbound encounters its second exit within Louisiana, Exit 266 to US 190 (Gause Boulevard). 2.5 mile advance signage is in place for Exit 263, which is LA 433 (Old Spanish Trail) near the south end of town. That sign will likely be replaced once Exit 265 (Business US 190) is finished.
Obscured by the contruction equipment is the 1/2 mile guide sign for Exit 265, US 190 Business.
Traffic prepares to depart I-10 westbound for the recently opened Exit 265, connecting to US 190 Business.
Gore point signage for I-10's Exit 265.
Nearing the end of I-10 westbound's Exit 265 offramp, these trailblazers are found. Note the Interstate directional plates and the 2dus shields - these things obviously were hastily placed.
A look from the eastbound lane of US 190-Y from the overpass of Interstate 10 towards westbound. This shot gives a workable angle of the work on the south half of the Exit 265 complex.
Merging onto I-10 West from Exit 263 (LA 433), the next exit ahead is Exit 261, connecting to Oak Harbor Boulevard and the Eden Isles subdivision. A VMS is in place here.
Between Exits 263 and 261 on westbound, a Weigh-In-Motion area is in place. The construction to create Exit 265 wiped out the old one for this stretch. With the westbound I-10 Twin Span in a damaged condition, this is needed so that overweight trucks do not use the bridge.
Ahead, traffic bound for the southernmost reaches of Slidell departs.
I-10 West departs the Exit 261 complex and heads to New Orleans. The right lane is shed here, as the current Twin Spans only handle two lanes of traffic per direction.
Trucks are restricted to the right lane along this stretch of I-10. The speed limit here drops to 45. The next exit, US 11 at Exit 254, is six miles away. New Orleans is signed as 23 miles away, although the city limit is much closer.
As one approaches the high rise on the Twin Spans, the first patchwork section is encountered. When Hurricane Katrina destroyed the Spans, the eastbound Span was completed first and opened to two-way traffic. The westbound Span was then repaired with temporary metal bridge deck.
From I-10 westbound, one can easily see the US 11 bridge in the distance. The drawbridge on 11 was open at the time of this shot. Good thing we used the Twin Spans.
To the left is the extent so far of anything resembling a bridge deck on the replacement Twin Spans. They're being started at each shore, and work on both shores will extend to the middle of the Lake.
Another shot of the pilings for the new Spans, as they tower over the current bridges. When complete, the new Twin Spans will travel 30 feet over the surface of Lake Ponchartrain.
When originally built, the I-10 Twin Spans each carried three lanes of traffic, but lacked shoulders. Eventually, the Spans were restriped to two lanes plus ample shoulders each way, causing many bottlenecks. Although the eastbound Span can carry three lanes in an emergency, such as hurricane evacuation, the westbound Span is too damaged now to carry more than two.
Approaching Exit 254 along westbound I-10. The communities of Irish Bayou and North Shore can be found along US 11. This is the only notice of the exit along westbound ever since Katrina.
Approaching the second patchwork section of the westbound I-10 Twin Span.
No passing is allowed along the patchwork sections of I-10 westbound.
Speeds are also monitored along these sections.
Overweight trucks are also a problem along this stretch, so DOTD enforcement officers patrol this stretch often.
Back on land, I-10 West quickly encounters the gore point for Exit 254 (US 11).
Here is a shot of the comparison between the old Twin Spans (foreground) and the “new” Spans (background) from the south end of the US 11 bridge over Lake Ponchartrain.
Long-distance shot of the southernmost part of the old and new I-10 bridges. This shot was taken from the south end of the US 11 bridge. Geotag points for these bridge photos mark the point where I stood to take the photos.
Another long-distance shot aiming to show the comparison of the height between the old and new Spans. Taken from the south end of the US 11 bridge. If you look very carefully, you can see part of the patchwork temporary part of the westbound "old" I-10 span.
Last shot of the Twin Spans from this angle. A zoom lens would have helped a lot here.
From the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain, this is a view of the future eastbound I-10 Twin Span replacement. The new bridges will be built far higher than the old ones, in order to better withstand storm surge. Yes, those are boats parked atop the deck of the new bridge.
