Louisiana Highway 87 (LA 87) 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 southern
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 northwest to southeast direction from
LA 86 in
New Iberia
New Iberia (french: La Nouvelle-Ibérie; es, Nueva Iberia) is the largest city in and parish seat of Iberia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The city of New Iberia is located approximately southeast of Lafayette, and forms part of the Laf ...
to the junction of two local roads north of
Centerville.
The route parallels
Bayou Teche
Bayou Teche (Louisiana French: ''Bayou Têche'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 20, 2011 waterway of great cultural significance in south central Louisiana in t ...
downstream from New Iberia through
Iberia Parish
Iberia Parish (french: Paroisse de l'Ibérie, es, Parroquia de Iberia) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 69,929; the parish seat is New Iberia.
The parish was formed in 1868 during ...
and into neighboring
St. Mary Parish. It is the east bank counterpart to the busier
LA 182 (the former path of
U.S. Highway 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 ...
), along which most of the area's populated communities are located. A succession of bridges connect LA 87 with these communities, which include
Jeanerette,
Charenton,
Baldwin, and
Franklin
Franklin may refer to:
People
* Franklin (given name)
* Franklin (surname)
* Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class
Places Australia
* Franklin, Tasmania, a township
* Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...
. Points of interest along LA 87 include the
Bayside antebellum plantation house opposite the
Hubertville section of Jeanerette, as well as several sites associated with the
Chitimacha
The Chitimacha ( ; or ) are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans who live in the U.S. state of Louisiana, mainly on their reservation in St. Mary Parish near Charenton on Bayou Teche. They are the only Indigenous people in the s ...
Indian tribe at
Charenton.
LA 87 was designated in 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 ...
, joining together four shorter former routes created between 1926 and 1930. Two years later, a spur was designated when the original
swing bridge
A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pi ...
was constructed on Lewis Street in New Iberia. It has since been replaced by a
vertical lift bridge
A vertical-lift bridge or just lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck.
The vertical lift offers several benefits over other movable bridges such as the bascule and swin ...
known as the
Elias "Bo" Ackal Memorial Bridge, which was constructed in 2007 at the same location.
Route description
New Iberia to Jeanerette
From the northwest, LA 87 begins at a junction with
LA 86 (Duperier Avenue) in the city of
New Iberia
New Iberia (french: La Nouvelle-Ibérie; es, Nueva Iberia) is the largest city in and parish seat of Iberia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The city of New Iberia is located approximately southeast of Lafayette, and forms part of the Laf ...
. It heads southeast as an undivided two-lane highway through a residential neighborhood, initially traveling along Oak Street. After a few blocks, however, the route makes a zigzag over to Parkview Drive via Ashton Street. Exactly along the route is an intersection with North Lewis Avenue, a commercial thoroughfare that is designated as
LA 87 Spur and crosses a
vertical lift bridge
A vertical-lift bridge or just lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck.
The vertical lift offers several benefits over other movable bridges such as the bascule and swin ...
over
Bayou Teche
Bayou Teche (Louisiana French: ''Bayou Têche'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 20, 2011 waterway of great cultural significance in south central Louisiana in t ...
.
After exiting the city limits, LA 87 continues to parallel the east bank of the bayou through unincorporated
Iberia Parish
Iberia Parish (french: Paroisse de l'Ibérie, es, Parroquia de Iberia) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 69,929; the parish seat is New Iberia.
The parish was formed in 1868 during ...
for approximately . During this stretch, the surroundings gradually transition from a mixture of farmland and newer suburban development to being generally rural. A succession of bridges connect LA 87 with the busier west bank of Bayou Teche. The first two are located at junctions with
LA 3195 and
LA 320 near
Olivier
Olivier is the French form of the given name Oliver. It may refer to:
* Olivier (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Olivier (surname), a list of people
* Château Olivier, a Bordeaux winery
*Olivier, Louisiana, a rural popul ...
. These are followed by locally maintained bridges near
Lifenite and
Loisel. Continuing southeast, two state highway bridges connect LA 87 with the city of
Jeanerette on the opposite bank. These are located at
LA 3182 and
LA 671. Just before reaching the junction with LA 3182, the highway passes under a canopy of moss-laden live oak trees in front of the historic
Bayside plantation home.
Jeanerette to Centerville
After crossing into
St. Mary Parish, LA 87 continues eastward alongside Bayou Teche, with bridges opposite
Sorrel
Sorrel (''Rumex acetosa''), also called common sorrel or garden sorrel, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Polygonaceae. Other names for sorrel include spinach dock and narrow-leaved dock ('dock' being a common name for the genus '' ...
(local),
Adeline
Adeline may refer to:
People
*Adeline (given name)
*Yves-Marie Adeline (born 1960), French Catholic writer
Places
*Adeline, Illinois, village in Maryland Township, Ogle County, Illinois, US
Arts and entertainment
*Adeline Records, recording lab ...
(
LA 670), and
Charenton (
LA 324). At Charenton, LA 87 follows the first of several sharp bends in Bayou Teche as it passes the
Chitimacha
The Chitimacha ( ; or ) are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans who live in the U.S. state of Louisiana, mainly on their reservation in St. Mary Parish near Charenton on Bayou Teche. They are the only Indigenous people in the s ...
Indian Reservation and crosses a navigation channel that connects the bayou to several waterways within the
Atchafalaya Basin
The Atchafalaya Basin, or Atchafalaya Swamp (; Louisiana French: ''L'Atchafalaya'', ), is the largest wetland and swamp in the United States. Located in south central Louisiana, it is a combination of wetlands and river delta area where the Atc ...
. Opposite a second bend is the town of
Baldwin, which has no bridge connection within the corporate limits. In an area known as
Oaklawn, the paved roadway turns west across the bayou onto
LA 323. Meanwhile, LA 87 continues ahead onto a gravel farm road for over , turning sharply to the west near the midway point.
Immediately after entering the
Franklin
Franklin may refer to:
People
* Franklin (given name)
* Franklin (surname)
* Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class
Places Australia
* Franklin, Tasmania, a township
* Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...
city limits, the paved roadway resumes at a junction with
LA 322. Shortly afterward, a junction with
LA 3069 (East Willow Street) leads straight ahead across Bayou Teche into town, and LA 87 turns to the southeast, maintaining its path along the bayou's east bank. State maintenance ends later at the approach to the
Centerville bridge. A local road known as Verdunville Road continues the path of LA 87 along Bayou Teche toward its junction with the
Wax Lake Outlet.
Route classification and data
LA 87 alternates between an urban collector and a rural minor collector over most of its route, as determined 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). Daily traffic volume in 2013 peaked at 8,100 vehicles through New Iberia and as far as the junction with LA 320. The gravel portion of the route between Oaklawn and Franklin is classified as a rural local road with the traffic count reported at only 42 vehicles per day.
The posted speed limit gradually increases from in New Iberia to as the surroundings become less populated.
The entirety of LA 87 from New Iberia to Charenton is part of the
Bayou Teche Byway in the state-designated system of tourist routes known as the
Louisiana Scenic Byways
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 border ...
.
History
The
Louisiana Highway Commission and the state's first system of numbered highways were created in 1921.
Five years later, the first portion of what is now LA 87 was taken into the system. This included only the portion extending from the Iberia–St. Mary parish line to the Charenton bridge, which was designated as
State Route 129.
The remainder of the distance between New Iberia and Centerville was added by two further acts of the state legislature in 1928 and 1930. As was common practice within the system at that time, these extensions were not made part of the existing route but were each given new numbers. The roadway continuing Route 129 from the parish line upstream to New Iberia was designated as
Route 443.
The portion extending downstream from the Charenton bridge became
Route 902 to a point known as
Pleasant Hill opposite Baldwin.
Route 906 continued from there to a point opposite
Verdunville,
slightly further than the present terminus of LA 87. Complicating matters even further, the numbers 901 and 902 were duplicated in the 1930 act, with Route 902 also defining an unrelated roadway on the opposite side of Bayou Teche. During the decade, a "-D" suffix was added to the other Route 902 to distinguish the two routes.
These matters were simplified in 1955 when the
Louisiana Department of Highways
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 ...
, the successor to the Highway Commission, renumbered the entire state highway system. The former Routes 129, 443, 902, and 906 were grouped under the single designation of LA 87.
Thus, the state-maintained roadway along the east bank of Bayou Teche below New Iberia now carried one highway number over its entire length rather than four.
With the
1955 renumbering, the state highway department initially categorized all routes into three classes: "A" (primary), "B" (secondary), and "C" (farm-to-market).
This system has since been updated and replaced by a more specific
functional classification
The functional classification of a road is the class or group of roads to which the road belongs. There are three main functional classes as defined by the United States Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) ...
system.
Since 1955, the route of LA 87 has experienced only minor differences. The junction with LA 86 in New Iberia was moved a few blocks away from the Bayou Teche bridge at the time of the renumbering or shortly afterward.
The pre-1955 route began at the intersection of Duperier Avenue and Marie Street and followed Marie Street and Pollard Avenue to reach Parkview Drive. In Franklin, a zigzag was eliminated around 1963 to provide a direct approach to the new Willow Street bridge. Finally, LA 87 was slightly shortened on its southeastern end after the present bridge at Centerville was constructed in 1972,
replacing an earlier bridge that was located downstream at Schwan Street.
As of 2017, the portion of LA 87 from LA 86 to LA 87 Spur is under agreement to be removed from the state highway system and transferred to local control.
Future
La DOTD is currently engaged in a program that aims to transfer about of state-owned roadways to local governments over the next several years.
Under this plan of "right-sizing" the state highway system, the portion of LA 87 between Oaklawn and Centerville is proposed for deletion as it no longer meets a significant interurban travel function.
Major intersections
Spur route
Louisiana Highway 87 Spur (LA 87 Spur) runs in a southwest to northeast direction, consisting largely of a
vertical lift bridge
A vertical-lift bridge or just lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck.
The vertical lift offers several benefits over other movable bridges such as the bascule and swin ...
across
Bayou Teche
Bayou Teche (Louisiana French: ''Bayou Têche'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 20, 2011 waterway of great cultural significance in south central Louisiana in t ...
in
New Iberia
New Iberia (french: La Nouvelle-Ibérie; es, Nueva Iberia) is the largest city in and parish seat of Iberia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The city of New Iberia is located approximately southeast of Lafayette, and forms part of the Laf ...
. The route connects LA 87 with
LA 182, which travels along the opposite bank of the bayou.
The designation of LA 87 Spur originated in 1957 when the state constructed a two-lane
swing bridge
A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pi ...
across Bayou Teche at the foot of Lewis Street.
The route was extended one block from Main Street to St. Peter Street in the mid-1960s when a
one-way pair
A one-way pair, one-way couple, or couplet refers to that portion of a bi-directional traffic facilitysuch as a road, bus, streetcar, or light rail linewhere its opposing flows exist as two independent and roughly parallel facilities.
Descriptio ...
along those streets was put into effect.
This gave
US 90 (now LA 182) a four-lane corridor through New Iberia. In 2008, the original swing bridge was replaced by the current five-lane vertical lift bridge, which was officially dedicated as the
Elias "Bo" Ackal Memorial Bridge in honor of the
deceased local politician. Lewis Street was slightly realigned and widened to four lanes with a center turning lane to match the capacity of the new bridge.
LA 87 Spur is designated as an urban minor arterial 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). Daily traffic volume in 2013 was reported as 21,600 vehicles.
As is typical for the state's highway spurs, the mileage for LA 87 Spur increases from the junction with its parent route regardless of geographic direction.
Major intersections
See also
*
*
References
External links
{{Attached KML, display=inline,title
Maps / GIS Data Homepage Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development
Bayou Teche Bywayat Louisiana Scenic Byways
0087
Transportation in Iberia Parish, Louisiana
Transportation in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana