Louisiana Highway 48 (LA 48) 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 ...
in
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 ...
that serves
St. Charles and
Jefferson Parishes. It runs from west to east, parallel to the east bank of 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 f ...
, from
Norco to
Jefferson Jefferson may refer to:
Names
* Jefferson (surname)
* Jefferson (given name)
People
* Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States
* Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...
. It spans a total of .
Throughout its run, LA 48 is known as Apple Street, River Road, 3rd Street, Reverend Richard Wilson Drive, and
Jefferson Highway
The Jefferson Highway was an automobile highway stretching through the central United States from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Jefferson Highway was replaced with the new numbered US Highway system in the late 1920s. ...
.
Route description
From the west, LA 48 begins at an intersection with
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 designated ...
(
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 ...
) in Norco. Then known as Apple Street, it runs southward as an undivided two-lane highway. When it reaches the Mississippi River, it turns eastward to follow and run parallel to it as River Road. It intersects
LA 627, dividing and expanding to four lanes briefly at the interchange with
I-310 Interstate 310 is the designation for several highways in the United States, which are related to Interstate 10:
*Interstate 310 (Louisiana)
Interstate 310 (I-310) is a short spur route of I-10 west of New Orleans, located entirely in ...
, followed by intersections at
LA 626 and
LA 50 as it continues downriver through the St. Charles Parish communities of
New Sarpy,
Destrehan,
St. Rose, and
Almedia. As it enters Jefferson Parish and the city of
Kenner
Kenner Products, known simply as Kenner, was an American toy company founded in 1946. Throughout its history, the Kenner brand produced several highly recognizable toys and merchandise lines including action figures like the original series of ' ...
, it becomes known as 3rd Street and then Reverend Richard Wilson Drive. The road becomes a divided four-lane street at Williams Boulevard, and upon crossing from Kenner into
River Ridge at Filmore Street, it becomes known as Jefferson Highway. After passing through
Harahan
Harahan is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana and suburb of New Orleans. The city of Harahan is located in Jefferson Parish; its population was 9,116 at the 2020 census.
Etymology
Harahan was named in honor of James Theodore Harahan, presi ...
, LA 48 shortly merges with
US 90
U.S. Route 90 or U.S. Highway 90 (US 90) is an east–west major United States highway in the Southern United States. Despite the "0" in its route number, US 90 never was a full coast-to-coast route. With the exception of a short-lived ...
at the east bank base of the
Huey P. Long Bridge and
LA 3152 (South Clearview Parkway) in
Elmwood, becoming a six-lane divided highway through the concurrency. LA 48 ends at Central Avenue in
Jefferson Jefferson may refer to:
Names
* Jefferson (surname)
* Jefferson (given name)
People
* Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States
* Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...
, and US 90 continues along Jefferson Highway toward
.
History
Almost all of LA 48 follows the historic Jefferson Highway auto trail designated in 1916 and was once the main traffic route from
to
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of 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-sma ...
and points north in the state. In 1921, this became State Route 1 in the pre-1955 Louisiana highway system and the original alignment of US 61 in 1926. US 61 was removed from the route of today's LA 48 in 1933, 1935, and 1940 as various sections of the Airline Highway were completed between the
Bonnet Carré Spillway and New Orleans. The route retains the name of Jefferson Highway east of Kenner.
LA 48 originally turned northward from its present eastern terminus and followed Central Avenue to US 61 (
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 ...
). Central Avenue became a local road in 2012, truncating the route of LA 48 and eliminating altogether
LA 611-2 which included the remainder of Central Avenue south of
US 90
U.S. Route 90 or U.S. Highway 90 (US 90) is an east–west major United States highway in the Southern United States. Despite the "0" in its route number, US 90 never was a full coast-to-coast route. With the exception of a short-lived ...
.
Major intersections
References
External links
{{Attached KML, display=inline,title
La DOTD State, District, and Parish MapsDistrict 02St. Charles ParishJefferson Parish (North Section)
0048
048
Transportation in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana
Transportation in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
1955 establishments in Louisiana