Louisiana Highway 44
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by Louisiana DOTD | ||||
| Length: | 50.10 mi (80.63 km) | |||
| Existed: | 1955 renumbering – present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end: |
 LA 42 in Prairieville | |||
 US 61 in Gonzales I-10 in Gonzales | ||||
| East end: |
US 61 in LaPlace | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Louisiana Highway 44 (LA 44) is a state highway in Louisiana that serves Ascension, St. James, and St. John the Baptist Parishes. It runs from west to east, parallel to the east bank of the Mississippi River, from Prairieville to LaPlace. It spans a total of 50.1 miles (80.6 km). Throughout its run, LA 44 is known as North/South Burnside Avenue, River Road, West/East Jefferson Highway, West 5th Street, and Main Street.
Route description
From the west, LA 44 begins at an intersection with LA 42 (Oak Grove-Port Vincent Highway) in Prairieville. The highway travels south along North Burnside Avenue into Gonzales where it intersects with US 61 (North Airline Highway). Passing through downtown Gonzales, LA 44 has a brief concurrency with LA 429. After several blocks, the local name changes to South Burnside Avenue at an intersection with LA 3038 (East Cornerview Street), and LA 429 splits off to the west along West Cornerview Street. Leaving Gonzales, LA 44 continues south and intersects with I-10.
After three miles, LA 44 intersects with LA 22 as that highway runs between Sorrento and Darrow. A mile later, LA 44 reaches the east bank of the Mississippi River at an intersection with LA 942 at Burnside. Here, the route turns onto the River Road and soon crosses from Ascension Parish into St. James Parish. It then passes under and connects with the Sunshine Bridge, part of LA 70 to Donaldsonville.
Continuing downriver, LA 44 begins to follow a generally eastward direction passing through the communities of Convent, Paulina, Lutcher, and Gramercy. Jefferson Highway, the local name in use beginning in Lutcher, is a vestige of the road being part of that historic auto trail in the 1910s and 1920s. On the east side of Gramercy, LA 44 passes under and connects with a second Mississippi River crossing known as the Gramercy Bridge, part of LA 3213, just before entering St. John the Baptist Parish.
Continuing along the Mississippi River, LA 44 runs parallel to US 61 (Airline Highway) and passes through the communities of Mt. Airy, Garyville, Lions, and Reserve. LA 44 then enters LaPlace, turning away from the river at an intersection with LA 636 onto West 5th Street. Almost two miles later, LA 44 turns northeast onto Main Street at LA 628. The route ends at US 61 (West/East Airline Highway) near the southern terminus of US 51.
LA 44 is an undivided, two-lane highway from LA 42 to LA 621 in Gonzales, where it widens into an undivided, four-lane highway. At LA 30, LA 44 becomes a divided four-lane highway to just south of I-10, where it reverts to an undivided, two-lane highway for the remainder of its route to LaPlace.
History
The portion of LA 44 running along the Mississippi River was once part of the Jefferson Highway auto trail designated in 1916 and the main traffic route between New Orleans and Baton Rouge prior to the construction of the Airline Highway in the 1930s. In 1921, it became part of State Route 1 in the pre-1955 Louisiana highway system and the original alignment of US 61 in 1926. US 61 also followed the Gonzales-Burnside section of LA 44 (pre-1955 State Route 88) briefly before being completely removed from the route following the opening of the Airline Highway in 1933.
Major junctions
| Parish | Location | Mile | Junction | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ascension | Prairieville | 0.0 | LA 42 (Oak Grove-Port Vincent Highway) |
Western terminus |
| 0.7 |  LA 933 |
Southern terminus of LA 933 | ||
| Gonzales | 2.7 |  LA 931 (Germany Road) |
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| 3.8 |  LA 621 |
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| 4.3 |  LA 934 (Black Bayou Road) |
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| 5.3 |  LA 935 (Bayou Narcisse Road) |
Northern terminus of LA 935 | ||
| 5.4 | US 61 (North Airline Highway) |
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| 5.8 |  LA 938 (West New River Street) |
Eastern terminus of LA 938 | ||
| 5.9 |  LA 429 (East Ascension Street) |
LA 429 joins from the east, begin LA 429 concurrency | ||
| 6.3 | LA 429 (West Cornerview Street) LA 3038 (East Cornerview Street) |
LA 429 departs to the west, end LA 429 concurrency Western terminus of LA 3038 | ||
| 6.8 |  LA 939 (East Worthey Street) |
Western terminus of LA 939 | ||
| 7.3 |  LA 940 (West Orice Roth Road) |
Eastern terminus of LA 940 | ||
| 7.8 |  LA 30 |
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| 9.1 | I-10 |
Exit 179 (I-10) | ||
| 10.1 |  LA 941 (Brittany Tower Road) |
Southern terminus of LA 941 | ||
| Burnside | 12.1 |  LA 22 |
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| 12.9 |  LA 942 (River Road) |
Eastern terminus of LA 942 | ||
| St. James | 15.9 |  LA 70 |
Interchange with on/off ramps to LA 70/Sunshine Bridge overpass | |
| Convent | 21.9 |  LA 3214 |
Western terminus of LA 3214 | |
| 31.7 |  LA 642 |
Southern terminus of LA 642 | ||
| Lutcher | 34.9 |  LA 641 (Albert Street) |
Southern terminus of LA 641 | |
| 35.1 |  LA 3193 (Lutcher Avenue) |
Southern terminus of LA 3193 | ||
| Gramercy | 35.6 |  LA 3274 (South Airline Avenue) |
Southern terminus of LA 3274 | |
| 36.4 |  LA 3213 |
Interchange with on/off ramps to LA 3213/Gramercy Bridge overpass | ||
| St. John the Baptist | Mt. Airy | 39.7 |  LA 54 |
Southern terminus of LA 54 |
| Reserve | 44.0 |  LA 637 (West 10th Street) |
Southern terminus of LA 637 | |
| 44.8 |  LA 53 (Central Avenue) |
Southern terminus of LA 53 | ||
| 45.7 |  LA 3179 (East 22nd Street) |
Southern terminus of LA 3179 | ||
| LaPlace | 47.4 |  LA 636 (West 2nd Street) |
Western terminus of LA 636 | |
| 48.5 |  LA 3223 (Elm Street) |
Southern terminus of LA 3223 | ||
| 48.6 |  LA 636-2 (Fir Street) |
Northern terminus of LA 636-2 | ||
| 48.8 |  LA 3224 (Hemlock Street) |
Southern terminus of LA 3224 | ||
| 49.7 |  LA 628 (East 5th Street) |
Western terminus of LA 628 | ||
| 50.1 | US 61 (West/East Airline Highway) |
Eastern terminus |