Interstate 610 Descriptions
2024-04-25
Roadnow
East
Louisiana:
The western terminus is at I-10 at the 17th Street Canal, which forms the boundary between Orleans Parish and Jefferson Parish. The eastern terminus is at I-10 near Franklin Avenue in the Gentilly neighborhood of the city, just west of where I-10 crosses the Industrial Canal, which links the Mississippi River with Lake Pontchartrain.
While I-10 continues into the Central Business District of New Orleans, I-610 provides a shorter route and a bypass for motorists by cutting east and west through City Park.
History
The idea for I-610 goes back to around 1956, when a consultant firm proposed building a federal-aid highway along the current route next to an existing railroad. The proposed route would cut through City Park. During public hearings in 1958, there was a lot of debate about the highway cutting through the park.
The state purchased the right-of-way in City Park in 1966 and began construction of I-610 in 1971. In 1972, a lawsuit was filed, citing that the project violated a 1968 law forbidding the use of parkland as a route for highways unless there was no other alternative route and steps were taken to mitigate park damage. The state eventually prevailed and I-610 was completed in the late 1970s.
The western terminus is at I-10 at the 17th Street Canal, which forms the boundary between Orleans Parish and Jefferson Parish. The eastern terminus is at I-10 near Franklin Avenue in the Gentilly neighborhood of the city, just west of where I-10 crosses the Industrial Canal, which links the Mississippi River with Lake Pontchartrain.
While I-10 continues into the Central Business District of New Orleans, I-610 provides a shorter route and a bypass for motorists by cutting east and west through City Park.
History
The idea for I-610 goes back to around 1956, when a consultant firm proposed building a federal-aid highway along the current route next to an existing railroad. The proposed route would cut through City Park. During public hearings in 1958, there was a lot of debate about the highway cutting through the park.
The state purchased the right-of-way in City Park in 1966 and began construction of I-610 in 1971. In 1972, a lawsuit was filed, citing that the project violated a 1968 law forbidding the use of parkland as a route for highways unless there was no other alternative route and steps were taken to mitigate park damage. The state eventually prevailed and I-610 was completed in the late 1970s.