Louisiana Highway 20 (LA 20) is a
state highway that serves
Terrebonne Parish,
Lafourche Parish
Lafourche Parish (french: Paroisse de la Fourche) is a parish located in the south of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Thibodaux. The parish was formed in 1807. It was originally the northern part of Lafourche Interior Parish, whi ...
, and
St. James Parish. It spans a total of
as a two lane, undivided road.
Route description
From the south, LA 20 begins at
LA 182 in the northwest Terrebonne Parish town of
Gibson
Gibson may refer to:
People
* Gibson (surname)
Businesses
* Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment
* Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based
* Gi ...
. The road parallels then intersects
U.S. 90 (
Future I-49) at two locations (Exits 189 & 194) as it heads northeastward, where it intersects
LA 24 in
Schriever. LA 20 turns due north and intersects
LA 1 in
Thibodaux
Thibodaux ( ) is a city in, and the parish seat of, Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the banks of Bayou Lafourche in the northwestern part of the parish. The population was 15,948 at the 2020 census. Thibodaux is a principal city ...
as it continues northward. The road then passes through
Chackbay before it enters St. James Parish. LA 20 runs northward through
South Vacherie
South Vacherie is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. James Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,543 at the 2000 census. In French, the name defines a cattle range for grazing.
Geography
South Vacherie, is located at (29.9 ...
and ends at an intersection with
LA 18 in
North Vacherie.
History
In 1972, LA 20 was routed off of Jackson Street in downtown Thibodaux and onto parallel Canal Boulevard, a four-lane, largely residential thoroughfare.
The extension of Canal Boulevard north of
Bayou Lafourche
Bayou Lafourche ( ), originally called Chetimachas River or La Fourche des Chetimaches, (the fork of the Chitimacha), is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 20, 2011 ba ...
was to be opened soon, bypassing St. Patrick Street.
The route change was opposed by Thibodaux's mayor, Warren Harang, and the
Louisiana Department of Highways agreed to keep truck traffic routed via Jackson Street,
which was retained as LA 20 Spur.
By the late 1990s, LA 20 was routed back onto Jackson Street, reinstating a short concurrency with LA 1 from St. Mary Street to West 1st Street and utilizing LA 308 to connect with North Canal Boulevard.
In Vacherie, LA 20 originally turned east along LA 18 and crossed the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
by ferry to
Lutcher.
It then followed what is now
LA 3274 to a terminus at
US 61
U.S. Route 61 or U.S. Highway 61 (U.S. 61) is a major United States highway that extends between New Orleans, Louisiana and the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. The highway generally follows the course of the Mississippi River and is designat ...
(
Airline Highway
Airline Highway is a divided highway in the U.S. state of Louisiana, built in stages between 1925 and 1953 to bypass the older Jefferson Highway. It runs , carrying U.S. Highway 61 from New Orleans northwest to Baton Rouge and U.S. Highway 19 ...
).
The ferry service was replaced by the newly opened
Gramercy Bridge
The Gramercy Bridge (officially the Veterans Memorial Bridge), is a cantilever bridge over the Mississippi River connecting Gramercy, Louisiana in St. James Parish, Louisiana, St. James Parish with St. John the Baptist Parish. It is the second ne ...
(or Veterans Memorial Bridge) in May 1995,
and LA 20 was truncated to its present terminus in Vacherie two years later.
Major intersections
References
External links
{{Attached KML, display=inline,title
La DOTD State, District, and Parish MapsDistrict 02District 61Terrebonne Parish (Northwest Section)Terrebonne Parish (Northeast Section)Lafourche Parish (Northwest Section)St. James Parish
0020
Transportation in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana
Transportation in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana
Transportation in St. James Parish, Louisiana