 Interstate 110 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway | ||||
 I-110 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Auxiliary route ofI-10 | ||||
| Maintained byLouisiana DOTD | ||||
| Length | 9.056 mi[1][a] (14.574 km) | |||
| Existed | 1965–present | |||
| Tourist routes |  National Scenic Byways:Great River Road | |||
| NHS | Entire route | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  I-10 inBaton Rouge | |||
| Major intersections |   US 61 /US 190 in Baton Rouge | |||
| North end | US 61 in Baton Rouge | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Louisiana | |||
| Parishes | East Baton Rouge | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Interstate 110 (I-110) is anauxiliary Interstate Highway in theU.S. state ofLouisiana. It runs 9.06 miles (14.58 km) in a north–south direction as a spur ofI-10 in the city ofBaton Rouge.
The route branches off of I-10 just east of theHorace Wilkinson Bridge across theMississippi River and travels along an elevated alignment between the city'sdowntown area and Mid City neighborhood. The interstate then makes two 90-degree turns, the first occurring in front of theGovernor's Mansion a few blocks east of theState Capitol. In the northern portion of the city, I-110 engages in astack interchange with the concurrentU.S. Routes 61 (US 61) and190 (US 190,Airline Highway) and passes just west of theBaton Rouge Metropolitan Airport. The highway terminates as traffic merges onto US 61 (Scenic Highway) in an area known asScotlandville.
I-110 began as a short section of independentfreeway near the downtown area originally known as theBaton Rouge Expressway. It opened to traffic in 1957 and served as part ofUS 61/190 Bus. until 1960. At this time, the route was incorporated into theInterstate Highway System asI-410 and was intended as part of a northern bypass of I-10 utilizing the existingMississippi River Bridge on US 190. This project was cancelled in the mid-1960s, and the highway was instead utilized as a spur and renumbered as I-110. The highway was then extended northward in stages until its completion nearSouthern University in 1984. In 1999, the Louisiana legislature designated I-110 as theMartin Luther King Jr. Expressway.
From the south, I-110 begins at a three leg directional interchange withI-10 at exit 155B. I-10 branches west from this junction across theMississippi River via theHorace Wilkinson Bridge and southeast toward the city ofNew Orleans. I-110 heads north as an elevated six-lanefreeway, dividing thedowntown and Mid City areas ofBaton Rouge. A number of closely spaced and overlapping interchanges provide access to surface streets below, including: exit 1A toLA 73 (Government Street); 1B to Convention Street; 1C toUS 61/190 Bus. (Florida Street); 1D to North Street; and 1H to Laurel Street. Most of the above areleft exits favoring northbound traffic.[3][4][5]
I-110 briefly passes through theSpanish Town neighborhood as it descends to grade and bends sharply due east in front of theGovernor's Mansion. Here, exit 1E connects withLA 3045 (Capitol Access Road), leading to theState Capitol, Capitol Park, Old Arsenal Museum, andLouisiana Department of Transportation and Development headquarters. The highway then passes theBREC Memorial Sports Complex, accessed via exit 1F to Fuqua Street, and has partial interchanges with Scenic Highway (2A) andLA 67/North 22nd Street (2B). After curving back to the north, I-110 elevates again and travels for three miles (4.8 km) through a residential neighborhood located just east of a large industrial area. Tightdiamond interchanges during this stretch provide access to Chippewa Street (exit 3A), Mohican Street and Wyandotte Street/Weller Avenue (3B), Evangeline Street (4), and Hollywood Street (5A).[3][4][5]
I-110 then engages into astack interchange (exit 5B) with the concurrentUS 61/US 190 (Airline Highway), which sweeps around the northeast side of town and crosses theMississippi River en route toOpelousas. Immediately to the north, exit 6 toLA 408 (Harding Boulevard) provides access toBaton Rouge Metropolitan Airport andSouthern University. Curving westward, I-110 skirts theScotlandville area and has ahalf diamond interchange withLA 19 at exit 8A, connecting with the nearby suburb ofBaker. Soon afterward, I-110 reaches its northern terminus at a junction with US 61 (Scenic Highway), which heads north towardSt. Francisville andNatchez, Mississippi.[3][4][5]
I-110 is classified as an urban interstate by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (La DOTD). Daily traffic volume in 2013 peaked at 85,500 vehicles at the I-10 interchange and tapered off to 25,300 vehicles toward the northern terminus.[6] The posted speed limit is 50 mph (80 km/h) through the downtown area, after which it increases to 60 mph (95 km/h) for the remainder of the route.[3]
The portion of I-110 north of the Capitol Access Road exit is a small part of the ten-stateNational Scenic Byway known as theGreat River Road.[7][8]
The genesis of the present I-110 was a short stretch of freeway constructed in the mid-1950s called the Baton Rouge Expressway. The first section extended roughly one mile (1.6 km) between Boyd Avenue (now Spanish Town Road) and Plank Road.[9] Traffic was fed onto the expressway from the downtown area via the one-way couplet of North 9th and 10th Streets, a continuation of the divided thoroughfare of East Boulevard.[9] The expressway was not initially constructed as part of the Interstate Highway System, although theLouisiana Department of Highways designed it for future inclusion.[10] It was given the internal designation ofLA 3022 and also served as part of US 61/190 Bus. from its opening on August 20, 1957 until 1960.[9][11]
In 1960, US 61/190 Bus. was moved onto its present route, and the Baton Rouge Expressway became part of the newly designated I-410. By 1963, the expressway was extended south to Government Street.[9][12] The connections to I-10 were made when the adjoining sections of that highway were completed eastbound to Perkins Road in September 1964[13] and westbound across the Mississippi River in April 1968.[14]
I-410 was intended as a northern beltway extending from I-10 west ofPort Allen, crossing the Mississippi River via the existing Huey P. Long Bridge on US 190, and then traveling along the present route of I-110 southward to rejoin I-10.[15] This plan was scrapped around 1965, and the Baton Rouge Expressway was renumbered as I-110 to reflect its function as a north–south spur.[12][16]
Further northern extensions of I-110 were opened as follows: from LA 67 (Plank Road) to Hollywood Drive around 1969,[17][18] to US 61/190 (Airline Highway) in 1976,[19][20] to LA 408 (Harding Boulevard) in the late 1970s,[20][21] and to LA 19 around 1982.[22][23] The final segment between LA 19 and US 61 (Scenic Highway) in Scotlandville was completed in January 1984.[24] In total, I-110 was constructed over the course of 30 years at a cost of $94.8 million.[24]
In 1991, three separate parties advocated for the naming of a Baton Rouge-area thoroughfare after civil rights activist,Martin Luther King Jr. The most high-profile effort was bystate SenatorCleo Fields, who stated that the city was the only major metropolitan area in Louisiana without a street named for King. Fields chose the northern portion of I-110 traversing the historically black community of Scotlandville for the designation. The other parties, which included the localNAACP and a group known as People for a Change, criticized Fields' choice of thoroughfare and also bickered among themselves about the issue.[25]
The proposal also met with strong opposition from the outside, includingLouisiana House of Representatives member and then-gubernatorial candidateDavid Duke, who opposed naming any street for King, stating that his "reputation as a womanizer means the honor is an insult to women and family life."[26] Representatives from the Taxpayer Education Association of Louisiana, the Louisiana Coalition for Conservatism, and the National Association for the Advancement of White People likewise brought up allegations of widespread plagiarism in King's writings and his ties to Communism.[27]
Nevertheless, the bill was signed into law that year by GovernorBuddy Roemer, designating I-110 as theMartin Luther King Jr. Expressway.[28] Signs bearing the name were not installed along the highway until June 1999.[29]
The entire highway is inBaton Rouge,East Baton Rouge Parish.
| mi[1] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.000– 0.521 | 0.000– 0.838 | 1I–J-K | I-10 / Terrace Street –Lafayette,New Orleans | Southern terminus; signed as exit 1K to I-10 east 1I to I-10 west and 1J to Terrace Street; exit 155B on I-10 | ||
| 0.222– 0.774 | 0.357– 1.246 | 1A |  LA 73 (Government Street) –River Center,Downtown | |||
| 0.587– 1.102 | 0.945– 1.773 | 1B | Convention Street –Downtown | No southbound exit | ||
| 0.774– 0.797 | 1.246– 1.283 | 1C |  US 61 Bus. /US 190 Bus. (Florida Street) –Downtown | Northbound exit and southbound entrance connecting with eastbound Florida Street | ||
| 0.896– 0.965 | 1.442– 1.553 | 1D | North Street –Capitol Park,Downtown | Northbound exit to North Street, southbound entrance from Main Street | ||
| 1.250– 1.329 | 2.012– 2.139 | 1H | Laurel Street –Downtown | Northbound entrance from Main Street, southbound exit to Laurel Street | ||
| 1.250– 1.750 | 2.012– 2.816 | 1E |  LA 3045 (Capitol Access Road) –Capitol Park | ToLa DOTD main headquarters | ||
| 1.605– 1.657 | 2.583– 2.667 | 1G | North Ninth Street –Capitol Park,Downtown | Northbound entrance from North 10th Street, southbound exit to North 9th Street | ||
| 1.926– 1.945 | 3.100– 3.130 | 1F | Fuqua Street –Memorial Stadium | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| 1.945– 2.137 | 3.130– 3.439 | 2A | Scenic Highway | Northbound exit and southbound entrance connecting with northbound Scenic Highway (unsignedLA 3164) | ||
| 2.229– 2.780 | 3.587– 4.474 | 2B |   LA 67 south (North 22nd Street) –Memorial Stadium | No northbound exit (accessed via exit 2A) | ||
| 3.005– 3.558 | 4.836– 5.726 | 3A | Chippewa Street | Chippewa Street westbound isUS 61/190 Bus. (not signed) | ||
| 3.698– 4.406 | 5.951– 7.091 | 3B | Wyandotte Street (northbound) / Weller Avenue (southbound), Mohican Street | Wyandotte Street signed northbound only, Weller Avenue signed southbound only | ||
| 4.407– 4.992 | 7.092– 8.034 | 4 | Evangeline Street | |||
| 4.980– 5.010 | 8.015– 8.063 | 5A | Hollywood Street | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| 5.489– 6.744 | 8.834– 10.853 | 5B | US 61 /US 190 (Airline Highway) –Opelousas | No access to LA 67 via Airline Highway | ||
| 6.045– 7.098 | 9.728– 11.423 | 6 |  LA 408 (Harding Boulevard) –Southern University,Metro Airport | |||
| 7.899– 7.915 | 12.712– 12.738 | 8A |  LA 19 –Scotlandville,Baker | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| 8.666– 9.056 | 13.947– 14.574 | 8B–C | US 61 (Scenic Highway) –St. Francisville,Natchez | Northern terminus; signed as exit 8B to US 61 south and 8C to US 61 north | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | ||||||
