Louisiana Highway 81

Infobox LA Highway
type=State
route=81


length_mi=8.89
length_round=2
formed=1955 renumbering
dir1=Northwest
dir2=Southeast
from=
junction=
to=
previous_type=US
previous_route=80
next_type=State
next_route=82

Louisiana Highway 81 (LA 81) is a state highway in Louisiana that serves Pointe Coupee Parish. It spans 8.89 miles in a northwest to southeast direction. As with most odd numbered highways in Louisiana, it is considered to be a north/south highway. It is known shortly in Lottie as Old State Highway.

Route description

From the northwest, LA 81 begins at an intersection with LA 77 in Fordoche. Heading south, it intersects US 190 in Lottie. The highway then turns eastward, paralleling US 190 to the south. It then intersects LA 976 near Blanks before coming to an end at an intersection with LA 77 in Livonia on the west bank of Bayou Grosse Tete.

According to a Louisiana DOTD milepost map, the road actually begins in Lottie at the intersection with US 190. It travels the 3.3 miles northward to Fordoche. Also according to this map, the roadway resumes with milepost 3.4 being at the intersection of LA 81 with LA 77 in Livonia. It travels west from this point back to its starting point in Lottie. While the exact reason for this discrepancy is not known, roadways in Louisiana that are split like this are typically the result of later additions to a roadway that go geographically in the opposite direction, or two or more older highways joined together under a newer highway name or number. A street sign in Lottie that reads "Old State Highway" is displayed on the portion of LA 81 that runs east-west toward the old Elliot City. This 1920s era roadway pre-dated US 190, and would have been the main roadway between Krotz Springs and Livonia.clear

Junction list

References

* [http://www.dotd.louisiana.gov/planning/maps_classification/Statewide_FunClass2002.pdf/ LADOTD map of Numbered Highways in Louisiana]
* [http://www.southeastroads.com/la_state_highways.html/ Louisiana State Highway Log]
* [http://earth.google.com/ Google Earth]