Fascinating History – 10 Things Most People Didn’t Know About Interstate I-10

In Southwest Louisiana, we have several US and state highways, junctions, and bypasses and plenty of country back roads used to commute to neighboring cities and towns. Some of the most traveled local roadways would be US90 which runs parallel with Interstate I-10, east to west, starting at the Texas state line and ending at the Mississippi state line. US171which runs north and south from Lake Charles to Shreveport, US165 which runs north and south meeting up with US90 in Iowa up to Little Rock, AK, Highway 14 east and west from US90/US171 in Lake Charles up to New Iberia LA 182 and that runs and I-210 bypass which meets and ends with I-10.

None of these roadways see more traffic than Interstate I-10, which turns out to have quite an interesting history. In doing some research for a post I did on the 5 Of The Longest Roads In Lake Charles, Louisiana I came across some interesting facts about Interstate I-10.

I know it may seem strange, but what I learned was, that I didn't know that much about the freeway I use every day to get to and from work, visit friends and family out of town, or vacation in other states. It's a very important interstate to residents here in SWLA, but I didn't realize how much others rely upon it nor how vital I-10 is to the rest of the country. I'm sure most people around here didn't know either. Check out these cool facts!

 10 Things Most People Didn't Know About Interstate I-10

#1 - Interstate I-10 is considered to be one of the nation's fourth longest, most traveled highway systems in the United States. This highway system was completed in 1956, an additional section was added updated, and completed around 1990.

#2 - According to I10highway.com, Interstate I-10 is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the United States connecting 8 states.

#3 - Interstate I-10 is an international highway that stretches 2,460 miles connecting the Pacific Coast in Santa Monica to the Atlantic Coast in Jacksonville, FL.

#4 - The longest, continuous section of I-10 is in Texas, which is more than 1/3 of the entire highway. This stretch is nearly 900 miles long.

#5 - I-10 is the longest continuous freeway in North America with no tolls and operated by one authority. The Department of Transportation in each state the interstate runs through.

#6 - Interstate I-10 is considered one of the most dangerous highways in the country. High-risk factors include:

• high speeds
• a large volume of commercial trucks
• bad lighting
• high levels of drunk or distracted drivers.
• constant road construction
• poor road conditions

#7 - There are 11 bridges on I-10 in Louisiana alone.

• Frank Davis "Naturally N'Awlins" Memorial Bridge
• The Horace Wilkinson Bridge
• Twin Span Bridge
• Louisiana Airborne Memorial Bridge, formerly the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge
• Calcasieu River Bridge/ Lake Charles I-10 Bridge
• Sabine River Bridge
• Industrial Canal Bridge
• Pearl River Bridge
• Bonnet Carré Spillway Bridge
• Manchac Swamp Bridge
• LaBranche Wetlands Bridge

#8 - 12 major junctions connect with Interstate I-10:

• SR 1 in Santa Monica, CA
• I-5 in Los Angeles, CA
• I-15 in Ontario, CA
• I-17 in Phoenix, AZ
• I-25 in Las Cruces, NM
• I-20 in Reeves County, TX
• I-35 through San Antonio, TX
• I-45 in Houston, TX
• I-55 in LaPlace, LA
• I-65 in Mobile, AL
• I-75 near Lake City, FL
• I-95 / US 17 in Jacksonville, FL

#9 - Depending on the state or city portions of I-10 pay tribute to famous persons, places and things such as:

• The Santa Monica Freeway - Also called the Rosa Parks Freeway
• Blue Star Memorial Highway
• In Palm Springs, the Sonny Bono Memorial Freeway
• In Indio, CA Doctor June McCarroll Memorial Freeway

#10 - There are 18 major cities along Interstate I-10:

• Los Angeles, California
• San Bernardino, California
• Palm Springs, California
• Phoenix, Arizona
• Tucson, Arizona
• Las Cruces, New Mexico
• El Paso, Texas
• San Antonio, Texas
• Houston, Texas
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
• Lafayette, Louisiana
• Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• New Orleans, Louisiana
• Biloxi, Mississippi
• Mobile, Alabama
• Pensacola, Florida
• Tallahassee, Florida
• Jacksonville, Florida