The Pineville Expressway is a four-lane controlled-access freeway that extends from
I-49
Interstate 49 (I-49) is a north–south Interstate Highway with multiple segments. The original portion is entirely within Louisiana with an additional signed portion extending from I-220 in Shreveport to the Arkansas state line, three ne ...
in Alexandria through
Pineville. It carries
US 167
U.S. Route 167 is a north-south United States Highway within the U.S. states of Louisiana and Arkansas. It runs for from Ash Flat, Arkansas at U.S. Route 62/ U.S. Route 412 to Abbeville, Louisiana at Louisiana Highway 14. It goes through th ...
for all of its length, but also carries
US 71 and
LA 28 for some distance also. It follows the original routing of
LA 3026 for some distance, as the highway has been extended over time. It also serves as a bypass around the residential areas of Pineville and
Tioga.
History
Construction of the Pineville Expressway began in 1963. It would later be incorporated into US 167. It originally carried four lanes of LA 3026 across the Red River on a lift bridge, carrying the highway along a railroad line, past
Louisiana College, and around Pineville to meet
US 165.
Later in the 1970s, the Pineville Expressway connected north, bypassing Tioga and ending just south of the
Grant Parish line. U.S. 167 and U.S. 71 were rerouted onto this alignment, with the old road through Tioga becoming
LA 3225.
Exit list
Louisiana Highway 3026
Louisiana Highway 3026 (LA 3026) was a
state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...
in
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
that served
Rapides Parish. Running from
Pineville to
Tioga, it has been superseded by
US 167
U.S. Route 167 is a north-south United States Highway within the U.S. states of Louisiana and Arkansas. It runs for from Ash Flat, Arkansas at U.S. Route 62/ U.S. Route 412 to Abbeville, Louisiana at Louisiana Highway 14. It goes through th ...
.
LA 3026 began at an intersection with
LA 28, which took over the lower half of the Pineville Expressway. LA 3026 was the slow extension of the Expressway, built in segments to meet
US 165, and was pushed forward to meet
US 71 and
US 167
U.S. Route 167 is a north-south United States Highway within the U.S. states of Louisiana and Arkansas. It runs for from Ash Flat, Arkansas at U.S. Route 62/ U.S. Route 412 to Abbeville, Louisiana at Louisiana Highway 14. It goes through th ...
. Once LA 3026 was extended around Tioga to meet
LA 3225, US 71/167 was moved onto the alignment. US 71 remained on the alignment from US 165 through the VA complex, while US 167 was shifted completely, deleting the designation of LA 3026 in 1978.
References
See also
*
*{{Portal-inline, U.S. Roads
Transportation in Louisiana
Freeways in the United States
U.S. Route 71
Transportation in Alexandria metropolitan area, Louisiana
Transportation in Rapides Parish, Louisiana
U.S. Route 167