Pontchartrain Expressway
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| Pontchartrain Expressway |
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| Length: | 6.5 mi (10 km) | ||||
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| Formed: | 1950s | ||||
| West end: |  I-10 near Orleans Parish/Jefferson Parish line |
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| Major junctions: |
 I-10/U.S. Route 90 in New Orleans, Louisiana |
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| East end: | Business U.S. Route 90 at the Crescent City Connection |
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| Counties: | Orleans Parish | ||||
| Major cities: | New Orleans | ||||
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The Pontchartrain Expressway is a parallel 6-lane section of Interstate 10 and U.S. Highway 90 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The designation begins on I-10 near the Orleans Parish/Jefferson Parish line at the I-610 Split. The expressway follows I-10 into the Central Business District (CBD) of New Orleans (by the Superdome) and then follows Business U.S. Route 90 to the Crescent City Connection. The Expressway takes its name from Lake Pontchartrain, which lies to the north of New Orleans.
[edit] History
Construction of the Pontchartrain Expressway began in the 1950s. It would later be incorporated into Interstate 10. I-10 enters Orleans Parish after crossing the 17th Street Canal, this is where the Pontchartrain Expressway designation begins. At the I-610 Split in the vicinity of West End Blvd. and Pontchartrain Blvd., the expressway turns to the southeast along the right-of-way for the former New Basin Canal which had been filled in between 1937 and 1947. The expressway continues along this right-of-way as I-10 until a stack interchange with US 90 (Claiborne Avenue) in the CBD.
At this interchange, I-10 breaks off to the northeast and Business US 90 begins. The Pontchartrain Expressway continues southeast along the upriver side of the CBD as Business US 90. This section of the expressway is an elevated highway that leads to the Crescent City Connection. This section was completed by 1958 opening of the Crescent City Connection.
The Business US 90 portion of the expressway was expanded in the mid 1980s to accommodate the second span of the Crescent City Connection which opened in 1988. This stretch of the expressway and the stack interchange of I-10 and US 90 received further reconstruction in the early 1990s, including two reversible HOV lanes that stretch from Earhart Blvd. and Magnolia St. (underneath the Pontchartrain Expressway) across the Crescent City Connection to the Westbank Expressway. Reconstruction of the western end of the Pontchartrain Expressway in the I-610 Split vicinity was undertaken in the late 1990s. Also in the late 1990s, further work was done on the expressway as three ramps were constructed, one connecting East Business US 90 to East I-10 and the others connecting West I-10 to West Business US 90 and Claiborne Avenue (West US 90).
The Norfolk Southern Railroad has an overpass crossing near the Metairie Cemetery between the City Park Ave. and West End Blvd./Florida Ave. exits. The expressway dips down to 12 feet (3.7 m) below sea level to allow for the rail line to pass overhead. This area experienced regular flooding in heavy thunderstorms and tropical systems. The problem was so common, a depth meter was painted on the overpass support columns to warn drivers of the water's depth. A new pumping station was completed adjacent to the Pontchartrain Expressway in 2004 to keep this area dry and allow the interstate to remain open in the event of an evacuation.
[edit] Hurricane Katrina
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, this pumping station was overwhelmed and the railroad underpass and the entire I-610 Split interchange was extensively flooded. In fact 17th Street Canal breach is about one mile north of this area. This flooding cut Orleans Parish off from most areas to the west, making the Crescent City Connection one of the few clear routes into the eastbank of Orleans Parish. The elevated portions of the expressway in the CBD area saw flooding in the vicinity of the Superdome but for the most part remained dry and undamaged. Some evacuaees trapped in the city for days after Katrina attempted to use the Pontchartrain Expressway and the Crescent City Connection to walk to dry ground on the West Bank.
[edit] Interstates 49 and 910
The Business US 90 portion of the Pontchartrain Expressway is also designated as Interstate 910, however it is not signed as such. This is a temporary designation that is multiplexed with all freeway portions of Business US 90 (the Pontchartrain Expressway, Crescent City Connection, and Westbank Expressway). When Interstate 49 is completed from Lafayette, Louisiana to New Orleans, Business US 90/Interstate 910 will be resigned as Interstate 49.
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