CHAPTER 27
Transportation in Louisiana
B Amber Brossette and Leslie Thomas
Transportation in Louisiana has come a long way from the early paths created by buffalo. The Indians used these paths which paralleled streams as they migrated across the state. The paths were modified to accommodate horse drawn carriages or carts. The St. Helene Parish citizens remember the Choctaw Indians traveling to and from New Orleans on a path only used by them.
Transportation during the colonial period was
supplemented by water transport. Many commodities such as meat, oils, and base
metals were transported by the river system. New Orleans, Natchez, and Rapides
were founded along these water pathways during this time. These locations were
convenient for commercial production of commodities and controlling water
trade.
Mexicans from Texas began herding cattle, horses, and mules eastward into Louisiana during the 1720’s. The Mexicans focused on prairie pastures in southwest Louisiana. They also focused on the markets along the Mississippi.
Rivers have played an integral role in trade since the river’s first inhabitants. Early settlers for transporting along the river used dugout canoes and skin boats. The settling of the Middle West increased river trade. These settlers used flatboat, bateaux, and keelboats.
In 1811, the New Orleans, one of the first steamboats sailed from Pittsburgh, which revolutionized river transport. Hundreds of steamboats of various sizes were used for trade along the Mississippi and its tributaries. The larger steamboats measured almost three hundred feet in length and carried over six hundred passengers.
Today river steamboats are nothing more than tourist attractions. The river trade today is mainly cargo, such as crude and refined petroleum products. The Federal Barge Line was created in 1918. Internal trade accounts for 59 percent of the total tonnage of Lake Charles.
During the 1830’s, the first Railroad in Louisiana used horses and tracks to transport passengers from New Orleans to Lake Ponchartrain. Louisiana railroads were neglected and destroyed by the Civil War. Both Union and Confederate troops aimed to prevent the oppositions use of the railroad. The tracks were dismantled and the bridges were destroyed by the close of the war.
By 1910, more than 5,000 miles of tracks were laid
in Louisiana. These railroads sparked the foundation of hundreds of small
towns, villages, and hamlets. Other towns faded away due to new towns created
by the railroads. Shiloh was home to the Concord Institute and the birthplace
of two governors. The Arkansas South Railroad Company passed over Shiloh in
favor of
Bernice. Today, only a crossroads exists where a city once stood.
Present day railroads face competition from automobiles, buses, trucks, planes, and river barges. Passenger trains are largely unheard of. Today’s railroads are used for transporting goods.
Early day streets consisted of planks, cobblestones, and bricks. The first construction of modern roads began in 1911. Between 1880 and 1920, migration from the country to town led to the decline of the railroad settlements. In 1926, the State Highway System began. Because the state built motor roads, citizens had a variety of choices to where to work, live, and play.
wo
major east-west interstates cross the state. Two north-south interstates
converge on New Orleans. These routes provide connections between the other
states.
Maps: Major
Roads in Louisiana Road
and Railroad Convergence
Routes along the bluffs of Louisiana are roads such as LA 42 and US 167. These are bluff roads. The roads are being replaced by newer, straighter, flatter versions. I would be a long time before a new road pattern emerges due to difficult terrain, population density, and the systems of land survey.
Air transportation became a major means of
transportation after World War II. Air transportation has a long way to go as
indicated by rapid change, larger planes, and increased capacity for freight.
Air represents the swiftest means of long distance travel. Commercial airlines
are centered in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Alexandria, Lafayette, Lake
Charles, Monroe, and
Shreveport also have one or more airlines.
There is no larger city that was founded due to highways or air transportation. New Orleans has always been the focus of the transportation system. Transportation in Louisiana has changed greatly over the years. Transportation systems have provided for the foundation and destruction of towns in Louisiana.
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