Veterans Memorial Boulevard, formerly Veterans Highway (locally referred to as Vets or Veterans), is a 6-lane thoroughfare in
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
Jefferson Parish (french: Paroisse de Jefferson; es, Parroquia de Jefferson) is a parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 440,781. Its parish seat is Gretna, its largest community is Metairie, and its ...
Interstate 10
Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...
. The western terminus is at Belleview Boulevard in
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 ' ...
just north of the
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (French language, French: ''Aéroport international Louis Armstrong de La Nouvelle-Orléans'') is an international airport under Airspace class (United States), Class B airspace in Kenner, Loui ...
and just east of the
St. Charles Parish
St. Charles Parish (french: Paroisse de Saint-Charles) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, its population was 52,549. The parish seat is Hahnville and the most populous community is Luling.
The parish was ...
line. Veterans then proceeds in an easterly direction across the Jefferson Parish communities of Kenner and Metairie before crossing the
17th Street Canal
The 17th Street Canal is the largest and most important drainage canal in the city of New Orleans. Operating with Pump Station 6, it moves water into Lake Pontchartrain. The canal, along with the Orleans Canal and the London Avenue Canal, form ...
into
New Orleans
New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
and terminating at West End Boulevard approximately 1/2 mile east of the
Orleans Parish
New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
line.
Veterans is primarily a commercial corridor lined with malls such as Lakeside Shopping Center and Clearview Mall, strip shopping centers and car dealers. During Carnival season, several
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fat ...
parades roll along portions of Veterans as they wind through the streets of Metairie. Beginning in 1978, the Jefferson Parish Council adopted a standardized parade route for Metairie, which began at the Clearview Shopping Center and rolled east along Veterans before disbanding at Bonnabel Boulevard. In 2019, the council started allowing krewes the option of parading westbound from Bonnabel to Clearview.
Veterans Memorial Boulevard is dedicated to the memory of all
veteran
A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military.
A military veteran that has ...