Louisiana Highway 1

The southern terminus of LA 1 (29.2603°N 89.9637°W / 29.2603; -89.9637) is at a dead end in Grand Isle on the south bank of Bayou Rigaud. It heads southwest and west through Grand Isle, turning northwest where it meets LA 3090 (the road to Port Fourchon). At Leeville the road crosses Bayou Lafourche on the Leeville Bridge and begins to parallel the bayou on its west bank, heading through towns such as Golden Meadow, Larose, Lockport, Raceland, Thibodaux, Napoleonville and Paincourtville. At Donaldsonville, where the bayou meets the Mississippi River, LA 1 turns northwest to parallel the river. (Southeast of Donaldsonville, LA 18 and LA 3089/LA 3127 parallel the Mississippi.)[3]

Bridge of LA Highway 1 over the Cane River in Natchitoches

From Donaldsonville to Port Allen, across the Mississippi from Baton Rouge, LA 1 generally parallels the Mississippi River. It takes a relatively straight inland route, bypassing the curves of the river followed by LA 405 and LA 988. At Port Allen, it meets U.S. Highway 190 at the west end of the Huey P. Long Bridge, and turns west with US 190 to past Erwinville. There it turns back north, running along several back channels and oxbows of the Mississippi to New Roads (which is bypassed by LA 3131), and then heading west from New Roads to Morganza with LA 10 (still paralleling the Mississippi). From Morganza to Lettsworth, LA 1 heads northwest near the Mississippi; LA 15 begins in Lettsworth and continues north along the river while LA 1 continues generally northwest towards Alexandria.[3]

LA 1 heads inland through such towns as Simmesport, Moreauville, and Marksville to Alexandria, where it meets the Pineville Expressway (U.S. Highway 165/LA 28). LA 1 turns southwest along its frontage roads - Fulton Street and Casson Street - along with LA 28 Business and U.S. Highway 167 Business to its end at Interstate 49, and continues southwest on Mason Street and northwest on Bolton Avenue.[3]

LA 1 in Caddo Parish, after crossing into Louisiana

From Alexandria to Shreveport, LA 1 generally parallels Interstate 49, including a bypass around Natchitoches. Louisiana Highway 1 Business runs through downtown Natchitoches before rejoining the original highway just northwest of the city limits. It passes through Shreveport on Youree Drive, Spring Street and Market Street, running concurrently with U.S. Highway 71 from Interstate 20 downtown to a split north of downtown. From Shreveport to the border with Texas, where LA 1 becomes State Highway 77, LA 1 passes through towns such as Oil City, Vivian and Rodessa.[3]

In the original Louisiana Highway system in use between 1921 and 1955, LA 1 was part of several shorter routes, including: State Route 620 from Grand Isle to Golden Meadow; Route 622 to Cut Off; Route 78 to Raceland; Route 29 to Donaldsonville; and Route 168 to Port Allen. After traveling concurrent with US 190 to a point west of Erwinville, LA 1 followed Route 93 to New Roads; Route 30 to the Marksville area; Route 5 to Alexandria; Route 20 to Shreveport; and Route 8 to the Texas state line.[4] All were designated by various acts of the state legislature between 1921 and 1930. The routes were joined together under the single designation of LA 1 when the Louisiana Department of Highways renumbered the state highway system in 1955, creating a continuous route diagonally across the entire state.[5]

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) is converting LA 1 from Golden Meadow to Port Fourchon into an elevated toll expressway called the Louisiana Highway 1 Bridge. These improvements are in order to facilitate in evacuations of Port Fourchon and Grand Isle in the event of a hurricane, as LA 1 in this area is vulnerable to flooding, regardless of strength of storm.

When completed, the Gateway to the Gulf Expressway[6] will be a 19-mile-long (31 km) elevated toll road from Golden Meadow to the Gulf of Mexico. Prior to mid-June 2012, tolls were collected using "open road tolling" technology; LA 1 was the first road or bridge in Louisiana to have tolls collected in this method. Travelers using the facilities were required to pre-pay either online, by phone, or at one of five kiosks north of the expressway, or use the "GeauxPass", an electronic toll collection transponder (or "toll tag") that collects tolls electronically.[7] The GeauxPass is also compatible with the Crescent City Connection and all future Louisiana toll roads and the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, but not the ferries.[8]

Beginning in June 2012, a toll plaza was opened at the access ramp in Leeville. Vehicle drivers must now pay before accessing the expressway and the pre-pay kiosks have been removed from their respective sites. The toll plaza accepts cash or credit/debit cards. GeauxPass is still accepted. Funding for the project through taxes and grants was not available, leading to the requirement to pay for the construction via collecting tolls. By law, LA 1 toll revenues may only be utilized to repay construction loan debts for the expressway.

The first portion of this project, a two-lane toll bridge over Bayou Lafourche, opened on July 8, 2009. Tolling of the new bridge began on August 3, 2009. The two-lane section from Leeville to Port Fourchon opened on December 9, 2011. Funding is being secured for the section between Leeville and Golden Meadow with the eventual widening of the entire corridor to four lanes.

• United States portal
• U.S. Roads portal
• LA 308, which follows the opposite bank of Bayou Lafourche south of Donaldsonville
• LA 3235, a bypass between Golden Meadow and Larose

• Maps / GIS Data Homepage, Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development
• Louisiana Scenic Byways Homepage
• LA 1 Coalition (supports improving the southern part of LA 1)
• Zachary Taylor Parkway