Louisiana Highway 15
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Louisiana Highway 15 (LA 15) 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 central and northern
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 north–south direction from the junction of LA 1 and LA 970 in Lettsworth to the concurrent U.S. Highways 63 and 167 in Lillie. The middle portion of the route, extending from Ferriday to just north of Mangham, is co-signed with US 425 and is a major four-lane highway through the area.


Route description

LA 15 begins at a junction with LA 1 in
Pointe Coupee Parish Pointe Coupee Parish ( or ; french: Paroisse de la Pointe-Coupée) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,802; in 2020, its population was 20,758. The parish seat is New Roads. Pointe ...
. The highway heads north and crosses several bridges spanning various channels of the
Old River Control Structure The Old River Control Structure is a floodgate system in a branch of the Mississippi River in central Louisiana. It regulates the flow of water from the Mississippi into the Atchafalaya River, thereby preventing the Mississippi River from chang ...
. LA 15 parallels 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 ...
through a remote rural section of
Concordia Parish Concordia Parish (french: Paroisse de Concordia) borders the Mississippi River in eastern central Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,822. The parish seat is Vidalia. The parish was formed in 1807. Concordia Parish is part ...
before reaching junctions with US 84 and US 425 in Ferriday. Beginning in Ferriday, LA 15 is co-signed with US 425 and becomes a major four-lane through route. The highway passes through the communities of Clayton, Sicily Island, Wisner, and
Gilbert Gilbert may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Gilbert (surname), including a list of people Places Australia * Gilbert River (Queensland) * Gilbert River (South ...
before entering the city of Winnsboro. Here, US 425 and LA 15 make connections with LA 4 and LA 17. Continuing northward, the highway travels through Baskin and Mangham. Just beyond Mangham, at a point known as
Archibald Archibald is a masculine given name, composed of the Germanic elements '' erchan'' (with an original meaning of "genuine" or "precious") and ''bald'' meaning "bold". Medieval forms include Old High German and Anglo-Saxon . Erkanbald, bishop of ...
, LA 15 turns northwest off of US 425 and proceeds into Monroe, one of northern Louisiana's two metropolitan areas. The route crosses mainline US 165 on the way into town then overlaps US 165 Bus. into the downtown area. During this stretch, LA 15 has a
diamond interchange A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road. Design The freeway itself is grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. Approaching the ...
with
I-20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. Between ...
and passes the Monroe Civic Center. In Downtown Monroe, LA 15 turns west and runs concurrent with US 80 across the
Ouachita River The Ouachita River ( ) is a river that runs south and east through the U.S. states of Arkansas and Louisiana, joining the Tensas River to form the Black River near Jonesville, Louisiana. It is the 25th-longest river in the United States ( ...
and into the neighboring city of West Monroe. Just beyond the Lea Joyner Bridge, US 80 and LA 15 intersect LA 34 then zigzag through town, intersecting several major thoroughfares that provide access to the parallel I-20. West of the city limits, LA 15 turns off of US 80 and heads northwest to Farmerville, situated on Lake D'Arbonne. LA 15 overlaps both LA 33 and LA 2 in Farmerville. The route continues through rural
Union Parish Union Parish ( French: ''Paroisse de l'Union'') is a parish located in the north central section of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,107. The parish seat is Farmerville. The parish was created on Ma ...
until reaching its terminus at US 63/ US 167 at Lillie, just west of Spearsville.


History

Much of the present route of LA 15 originated as State Route 15 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 ...
. It was one of the few state highways whose number was carried over into the new system. Differences from the modern route include bypassed portions such as Old Highway 15, Louisiana Highway 3210, and various country roads. The highway south of Vidalia and into Pointe Coupee Parish was not part of LA 15 until the 1960s, after the renumbering. There is also a section of the
Great River Road The Great River Road is a collection of state and local roads that follow the course of the Mississippi River through ten states of the United States. They are Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Miss ...
in
Plaquemines Parish Plaquemines Parish (; French: ''Paroisse de Plaquemine'', Louisiana French: ''Paroisse des Plaquemines'', es, Parroquia de Caquis) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 23,515 at the 2020 census, the parish ...
that is called Highway 15.


Major intersections


Gallery

File:LA 15 bridge over Boeuf River.jpg, Bridge over the Boeuf River on LA 15 File:LA 15 Parish Line.JPG, Ouachita/Richland Parish Line over Bayou Lafourche File:Lt Gen Chennault Marker.JPG, Historical marker for General Claire Chennault in Gibson File:South 165 LA 15.jpg, Signs along LA 15 in Monroe


References


External links

{{Attached KML
LADOTD map of Numbered Highways in Louisiana


0015 Transportation in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana Transportation in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana Transportation in Concordia Parish, Louisiana Transportation in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana Transportation in Franklin Parish, Louisiana Transportation in Richland Parish, Louisiana Transportation in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana Transportation in Union Parish, Louisiana 015