Louisiana Highway 8 (LA 8) is a state highway in Louisiana. It spans 156 miles (251 km) beginning at the Louisiana/Texas state line west of Leesville and ending at an intersection with U.S. Route 425 and LA 15 in Sicily Island.
 Louisiana Highway 8 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by Louisiana DOTD | ||||
| Length | 155.9 mi[1] (250.9 km) | |||
| Existed | 1955 renumbering–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  SH 63 across the Sabine River | |||
| East end |   US 425 / LA 15 in Sicily Island | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Louisiana | |||
| Parishes | Vernon, Rapides, Grant, La Salle, Catahoula | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Route description
editFrom the west State Highway 63 becomes LA 8 after crossing the Sabine River near Burr Ferry.[2] At the Burr's Ferry Bridge in Vernon Parish, LA 8 heads east, and merges with U.S. Highway 171 north in Leesville. In Leesville, U.S. 171/LA 8 continues north as a four lane, divided road through town. LA 8 breaks off from U.S. 171 at the northern city limits and joins and runs concurrent with LA 28 east, and continues northeastward as a four lane divided Highway. LA 28/LA 8 intersects with LA 468 (The old Slagle road) south just before LA 8 splits and heads northeast as a two lane road, Intersecting with LA 469, passing through Slagle, intersecting LA 121, the LA 465, and passing north of Simpson, before exiting Vernon Parish and entering northwestern Rapides Parish.
In Rapides Parish, LA 8 continues northeastward, passing north of Lake Rodemacher, and merges with I-49 for approximately a mile. LA 8 then splits from I-49 after approximately a mile and passes through Boyce and heads due north, crossing the Red River into Grant Parish. At Colfax, LA 8 turns eastward and intersects U.S. Highway 71, US 167, and US 165 in Pollock. LA 8 then turns northeastward and enters La Salle Parish.
In Jena, LA 8 merges with US 84 and turns to the southeast. After approximately 6 miles (9.7 km), LA 8 splits with US 84 and continues eastward into Catahoula Parish. In Catahoula Parish, LA 8 passes through Harrisonburg and Sicily Island, where it ends at an intersection with US 425 and LA 15.
History
editIn the original Louisiana Highway system in use between 1921 and 1955, LA 8 was part of several shorter routes, including: State Route 21 from the Texas state line to Slagle; Route 107 to Boyce; Route 144 to Colfax; Route 19 to Harrisonburg; and Route 18 to Sicily Island.[3] All were designated by various acts of the state legislature between 1921 and 1926. The routes were joined together under the single designation of LA 8 when the Louisiana Department of Highways renumbered the state highway system in 1955, creating one of several east–west cross-state routes.[4]
Future
editThe segment of LA 8 between the Texas state line and Leesville is part of the High Priority Corridor 99 (Central Louisiana Corridor). Along this corridor, LA 8 will be upgraded to interstate standards at the Sabine River Bridge before either paralleling or being upgraded to I-14. A timeline for this has not been determined.[5][6][7]
Major junctions
edit| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vernon | | 0.0 | 0.0 |  SH 63 west – Burkeville, Jasper | Burr's Ferry Bridge over the Sabine River; Texas state line | |
| Burr Ferry | 1.4 | 2.3 |   LA 111 south – Evans | Western end of LA 111 concurrency | ||
| 2.0 | 3.2 |  LA 111 north – South Toledo Bend State Park | Eastern end of LA 111 concurrency | |||
| Caney | 9.3 | 15.0 |  LA 464 south | Northern terminus of LA 464 | ||
| Leesville | 18.4 | 29.6 |  US 171 south (South 6th Street) – Fort Johnson, Lake Charles | One-way pair; western end of LA 8 westbound / US 171 southbound concurrency | ||
| 18.4 | 29.6 | US 171 (North 5th Street) / East Texas Street | One-way pair; western end of LA 8 eastbound / US 171 northbound concurrency | |||
| 19.2 | 30.9 |  LA 1213 north (Kurthwood Road) | Southern terminus of LA 1213; no direct access from westbound LA 8 | |||
| 19.7 | 31.7 |   US 171 north / LA 28 begins – Shreveport | Roundabout; eastern end of US 171 concurrency; western end of LA 28 concurrency | |||
| 20.0 | 32.2 |  LA 1213 south (Kurthwood Road) / LA 117 north – Kurthwood, Hagewood | Northern terminus of LA 1213, southern terminus of LA 117; no access from LA 1213 north to LA 8 west and LA 117 south to LA 8 east | |||
| | 23.9 | 38.5 |  LA 184 west – Fort Johnson | Eastern terminus of LA 184 | ||
| | 24.9 | 40.1 |  LA 468 west | Eastern terminus of LA 468 | ||
| | 25.2 | 40.6 |  LA 28 east (Alexandria Highway) | Eastern end of LA 28 concurrency | ||
| | 26.3 | 42.3 |  LA 469 south | Northern terminus of LA 469 | ||
| Slagle | 29.8 | 48.0 |  LA 121 east | Western terminus of LA 121 | ||
| Simpson | 37.1 | 59.7 |  LA 465 west | Western end of LA 465 concurrency | ||
| 38.1 | 61.3 | LA 465 east – Sieper | Eastern end of LA 465 concurrency | |||
| Rapides | Flatwoods | 51.9 | 83.5 |  LA 119 north – Gorum, Derry | Southern terminus of LA 119 | |
| Zimmerman | 61.6 | 99.1 | 103 |     I-49 north to LA 1 – Shreveport | Western end of I-49 concurrency | |
| | 65.1 | 104.8 | 99 |   I-49 south / LA 1200 south – Alexandria | Eastern end of I-49 concurrency; western end of LA 1200 concurrency | |
| | 65.4 | 105.3 | LA 1200 north to LA 1 – Boyce | Western end of LA 1200 concurrency | ||
| Grant | | 73.1 | 117.6 |  LA 492 east | Western terminus of LA 492 | |
| Colfax | 76.6 | 123.3 |  LA 158 north (Eighth Street) | Southern terminus of LA 158 | ||
| | 78.6 | 126.5 |  LA 3169 east | |||
| | 78.9 | 127.0 |  US 71 north – Montgomery, Shreveport | Western end of US 71 concurrency | ||
| | 79.7 | 128.3 | US 71 south / LA 3169 west – Alexandria | Eastern end of US 71 concurrency; eastern terminus of LA 3169 | ||
| | 83.5 | 134.4 |  LA 123 east – Dry Prong | Western terminus of LA 123 | ||
| Bentley | 91.0 | 146.5 |  US 167 – Winnfield, Alexandria | |||
| Pollock | 96.3 | 155.0 |  US 165 north (Ridge Street) / Hill Street | Western end of US 165 concurrency | ||
| 96.9 | 155.9 | US 165 south / Wills Road | Eastern end of US 165 concurrency | |||
| | 97.5 | 156.9 |  LA 366 west / Pollock Cemetery Road | Eastern terminus of LA 366 | ||
| La Salle | | 113.5 | 182.7 |  LA 774 east / Snyder Road | Western terminus of LA 774 | |
| | 115.4 | 185.7 |  LA 772 east | Western terminus of LA 772 | ||
| | 116.1 | 186.8 |  LA 773 south | Northern terminus of LA 773 | ||
| Midway | 117.5 | 189.1 |  LA 3104 north / Hatcher Road | Southern terminus of LA 3104 | ||
| Jena | 118.8 | 191.2 |  LA 127 south (South First Street) | Western end of LA 127 concurrency | ||
| 119.0 | 191.5 |  US 84 west / LA 772 west (West Oak Street) / LA 127 north (North First Street) | Eastern end of LA 127 concurrency; western end of US 84 / LA 772 concurrencies | |||
| 119.9 | 193.0 |  LA 459 north (Aimwell Road) – Aimwell | Southern terminus of LA 459 | |||
| 120.0 | 193.1 | LA 772 east | Eastern end of LA 772 concurrency | |||
| Whitehall | 126.2 | 203.1 |  US 84 east / LA 460 west – Jonesville, Natchez | Western end of US 84 concurrency; eastern terminus of LA 460 | ||
| Catahoula | | 135.4 | 217.9 |  LA 126 west | Western end of LA 126 concurrency | |
| | 136.0 | 218.9 | LA 126 east | Eastern end of LA 126 concurrency | ||
| Harrisonburg | 143.8 | 231.4 |  LA 124 east – Jonesville | Western end of LA 124 concurrency | ||
| 144.2 | 232.1 | LA 124 west (Bushley Street) | Eastern end of LA 124 concurrency | |||
| | 144.9 | 233.2 |  LA 922 | |||
| Leland | 152.1 | 244.8 |  LA 913 north | Southern terminus of LA 913 | ||
| | 153.9 | 247.7 |  LA 914 west | Eastern terminus of LA 914 | ||
| | 154.8 | 249.1 |  LA 916 north | Southern terminus of LA 916 | ||
| Sicily Island | 155.5 | 250.3 |  LA 1017 south (Woodward Lane) | Northern terminus of LA 1017 | ||
| 155.9 | 250.9 | US 425 south / LA 15 south (Chisum Street) | One-way pair | |||
| 155.9 | 250.9 | US 425 north / LA 15 north (Chisum Street) | One-way pair | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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Spur route
edit Louisiana Highway 8 Spur | |
|---|---|
| Location | Flatwoods |
| Length | 0.18 mi (290 m) |
Louisiana Highway 8 Spur (LA 8 Spur) is a 0.18-mile (0.29 km) highway in Flatwoods, Louisiana. It runs from west to east. LA 8 Spur follows the original routing from I-49 to LA 1, connecting the two highways. It is unsigned for its entire route. It was created in 2002, to give numbering to the short section between LA 1 and I-49.
The entire highway is in Flatwoods, Rapides Parish.
| mi | km | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00 | 0.00 |  I-49 / LA 8 | |||
| 0.18 | 0.29 | LA 1 | |||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
References
edit- ^ a b "Louisiana Highway 8" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
- ^ LOUISIANA - Vernon Parish: National Register of Historic Places Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine-Burr's Ferry Earthworks
- ^ Louisiana Department of Highways (July 1, 1955). Louisiana Highways: Interim Road Map (Map). Scale not given. Baton Rouge: Louisiana Department of Highways.
- ^ "Act No. 40, House Bill No. 311". State-Times. Baton Rouge. June 18, 1955. p. 3B.
- ^ "Statutory Listing of Corridor Descriptions - High Priority Corridors - National Highway System - Planning - FHWA". Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Retrieved January 4, 2022.
- ^ DeFazio, Peter A. (November 15, 2021). "Text: H.R.3684, 117th Congress (2021-2022): Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act". United States Congress. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
- ^ "Congress designates Interstate 14 across five states with I-14 corridor through San Angelo". Standard-Times. Retrieved 23 March 2023.