Is Louisiana Getting a New Interstate Highway? The Latest on I-14

(KMDL-FM) Louisiana is currently served by five major highways in the United States Interstate Highway System. You know I-10, I-20, and I-12 as your east-west arteries across the state. I-49 bisects the state from Shreveport down to Lafayette, and I-55 carries traffic from the Mississippi line down to I-10. But what about that other Interstate Highway, you know, I-14?

Before we discuss the "new roads," perhaps we should update you on some of the older roads and projects that are still in progress. In case you were wondering, there is still a major plan to extend I-49 beyond Lafayette to New Orleans.

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There are still plans for two major bridges to be constructed on I-10. One of those would cross the Calcasieu River in Lake Charles. The other bridge would be a new Mississippi River Bridge in Baton Rouge. Planning and discussions for both projects are currently underway, but don't hold your breath waiting for the funding, although we've been told confidence is high that it will be there.

What Happened To The Gulf Coast Strategic Highway, aka I-14?

That's the fancy name that those who are seeking funding for the I-14 project have given it. There have actually been discussions about I-14 ongoing for at least a decade or maybe more, and believe it or not, the roadway kind of actually exists.

Okay, it's a small stretch of roadway in East Texas that runs for a total of 24.8 miles. For a Louisiana perspective, that's just a little bit longer than the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge on I-10. And yes, should the roadway ever come to fruition, it would be quite a bit longer.

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Where Will I-14 Go in Louisiana?

In fact, supporters of the I-14 project say the road would cut Louisiana in half, taking a similar path as Louisiana Highway 28, which currently runs from the Texas line through Vernon Parish to Alexandria. From there, the roadway heads eastward to Jonesville, exiting Louisiana at Natchez, Mississippi.

Here's a video of what the proposed roadway project would look like.

For those who have been keeping an eye on this project, you might recall a bipartisan infrastructure bill that was passed a few years back. That legislation provided the mechanism for funding the project. So, what happened? That was more than a few years ago; we should be hearing about this project.

Well, back in 2023, the State of Louisiana decided that, despite the fact that funding for the project could be available, our state's leaders opted to defund it. No, they didn't turn down the money; they decided the money, estimated to be about $7 billion, would be better spent on other projects, such as the I-10 bridges we mentioned earlier.

Is I-14 Now a Dead Project That Will Never Be Built?

No, it's actually a legit road that exists near Temple-Killeen Texas. There are plans in Texas to expand the roadway, and work in the Lone Star State could begin as early as next year. The proposal suggests that the roadway would be extended through the city of Temple, Texas, by 2027.

In Louisiana, the path to I-14 is not nearly as clear. As we mentioned, Louisiana voted to defund the project, but officially, it's not dead. It's just in limbo waiting for the DOTD funding fairy to leave a couple of billion dollars under the Governor's pillow. Yeah, the fairy scenario seems more likely than a scenario in which the legislature gets involved, but you get the idea.

In the meantime, you'll just have to spend your interstate hours stuck on I-10 traffic or construction on I-20.