Louisiana Highway 161 (LA 161) is a
state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...
located in
Claiborne Parish
Claiborne Parish (french: Paroisse de Claiborne) is a List of parishes in Louisiana, parish located in the northwestern section of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish was formed in 1828, and was named for the first List of Governors of Louis ...
,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
. It runs in a southwest to northeast direction from
LA 2 Alt. in
Gordon
Gordon may refer to:
People
* Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters
* Gordon (surname), the surname
* Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War
* Clan Gordon, ...
to the
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
state line.
The route is entirely rural, providing a connection between highways leading to
Haynesville and
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
in Claiborne Parish with
Arkansas Highway 15
Arkansas Highway 15 (AR 15) is the designation for two state highways in Arkansas. The northern segment of runs from Altheimer north across Interstate 40 to Furlow."Jefferson County, Arkansas." Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Departme ...
leading to
El Dorado, Arkansas
El Dorado, founded by Matthew Rainey, is a city in, and the county seat of, Union County, on the southern border of Arkansas, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 18,884.
El Dorado is headquarters of the Ark ...
. Though it travels diagonally, LA 161 carries north–south directional banners.
Route description
From the southwest, LA 161 begins at an intersection with
LA 2 Alt. at
Gordon
Gordon may refer to:
People
* Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters
* Gordon (surname), the surname
* Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War
* Clan Gordon, ...
, a point east of
Haynesville in
Claiborne Parish
Claiborne Parish (french: Paroisse de Claiborne) is a List of parishes in Louisiana, parish located in the northwestern section of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish was formed in 1828, and was named for the first List of Governors of Louis ...
. The route proceeds northeast through a rural area covered by pine forests. After , LA 161 intersects
LA 520, which heads south to LA 2 Alt. at a point known as
Colquitt. later, after having curved slightly to the north, LA 161 crosses the state line into
Union County, Arkansas
Union County is a county located on the central southern border of the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,639. The county seat is El Dorado. The county was formed on November 2, 1829, and named in recognition ...
, where it continues toward
El Dorado
El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...
as
Arkansas Highway 15
Arkansas Highway 15 (AR 15) is the designation for two state highways in Arkansas. The northern segment of runs from Altheimer north across Interstate 40 to Furlow."Jefferson County, Arkansas." Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Departme ...
(AR 15).
The route is classified as a rural major collector by the
Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) is a state government organization in the United States, in charge of maintaining public transportation, roadways, bridges, canals, select levees, floodplain management, port facili ...
(La DOTD) with an average daily traffic volume of 920 in 2013.
LA 161 is an undivided two-lane highway for its entire length and has a posted speed limit of .
History
In the
original Louisiana Highway system in use between 1921 and 1955, the modern LA 161 was part of
State Route 557.
Route 557 was designated in 1930 by an act of the state legislature.
Its route comprised several disconnected segments branching out from the
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
area, many of which were decommissioned prior to the
1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering
In 1955, Louisiana passed a law that undertook a comprehensive revision to the state highway classification and numbering system. The new system designated roads by importance to travel patterns and rectified the previous numbering system under n ...
.
LA 161 was created in the 1955 renumbering following the northernmost segment of former Route 557.
Its route has remained the same to the present day.
Major intersections
See also
*
*
References
External links
{{Attached KML, display=inline,title
Maps / GIS Data Homepage Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development
0161
Transportation in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana