Editing Interstate 49 (section)

===Southern Louisiana segment===
[[File:Future corridor I49 sign.jpg|thumb|Future corridor I-49 sign in Lafayette, Louisiana]]
The [[Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development]] (DOTD) is working to extend I-49 from Lafayette southeast to [[New Orleans]] along the route of [[U.S. Route 90 in Louisiana|US&nbsp;90]], which is a divided four-lane highway between the two cities. This segment is listed under High Priority Corridor 37.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Statutory Listing of Corridor Descriptions - High Priority Corridors - National Highway System - Planning - FHWA |url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/high_priority_corridors/hpcor.cfm |access-date=January 4, 2022 |website=[[Federal Highway Administration|Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)]]}}</ref> Some portions, such as the freeway between [[Morgan City, Louisiana|Morgan City]] and the [[Raceland, Louisiana|Raceland]] area, are already built to Interstate standards.{{cn|date=January 2024}}

In the Lafayette area, the project is divided into two projects, the I-49 Lafayette Connector and the expansion of US&nbsp;90 from Lafayette Regional Airport to the LA&nbsp;88 interchange.<ref>{{Cite web |title=I-49 Lafayette Connector |url=https://lafayetteconnector.com/ |access-date=March 2, 2022 |website=I-49 Lafayette Connector |language=en-US}}</ref> The I-49 Lafayette Connector underwent a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement study and Conceptual Design Study due to refinements to the alignment originally approved in the February&nbsp;2003 Record of Decision. It is planned to be a six-lane elevated freeway, mostly utilizing the Evangeline Thruway corridor, except for a segment paralleling the [[BNSF]]/[[Union Pacific]] railroad line to serve the downtown area.<ref name="Laf Con">{{cite news|title=I-49 Lafayette Connector: How We Got Here|newspaper=The Advertiser|url=http://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/2015/11/27/interstate-49-lafayette-connector-how-we-got-here/76261204/|access-date=February 23, 2017}}</ref> Planning for this segment has been ongoing for decades, but construction has been delayed numerous times due to local opposition. The most recent attempt to begin construction was halted due to federal officials launching a civil rights investigation into the project in early 2023.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Marcantel |first1=Stephen |title=How a civil rights investigation could alter the I-49 Connector |url=https://thecurrentla.com/2023/how-a-civil-rights-investigation-could-alter-the-i-49-connector/ |access-date=May 5, 2023 |work=The Current |date=March 1, 2023}}</ref> The rest of the freeway from the airport to [[LA 88]] will be an at-grade six-lane freeway with a {{convert|2|mi|km|adj=on|spell=in}} segment of eight-lane elevated freeway through the suburb of Broussard. Work on this segment began on November 15, 2022.<ref>{{cite news |title=Governor, local officials, kick off future I-49 construction; here's what it will look like |url=https://www.theadvocate.com/acadiana/news/governor-local-officials-kick-off-future-i-49-construction-heres-what-it-will-look-like/article_b5f308b4-650e-11ed-bdc9-979443a0a254.html |access-date=May 5, 2023 |work=The Advocate |date=November 15, 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

US&nbsp;90 between [[LA 88]] and [[LA 182]] west of [[Wax Lake]] is already widened to Interstate standards, including a former at-grade intersection with [[LA 318]] south of [[Jeanerette, Louisiana|Jeanerette]], which was converted to a grade-separated interchange with frontage roads for local access.<ref name="LA 318">{{cite web|title=US&nbsp;90 (Future I-49) LA&nbsp;318 Interchange|url=http://wwwsp.dotd.la.gov/Inside_LaDOTD/Divisions/Engineering/Design-Build/Pages/US90_LA318.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224003734/http://wwwsp.dotd.la.gov/Inside_LaDOTD/Divisions/Engineering/Design-Build/Pages/US90_LA318.aspx|archive-date=February 24, 2017|access-date=February 23, 2017|website=Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development}}</ref> From Wax Lake to the Atchafalaya River bridge at Morgan City, US&nbsp;90 is a four-lane divided at-grade expressway. A Supplemental EIS is ongoing to expand that segment to interstate standards.{{cn|date=January 2024}}

The Raceland–New Orleans segment of the proposed I-49 South was originally approved in 2008 with a Record of Decision for a fully elevated freeway on a mostly new alignment along the entire length. However, in 2014, DOTD launched a study to consider less expensive alternatives and to expedite design and construction of that segment.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Environmental |url=http://wwwsp.dotd.la.gov/Inside_LaDOTD/Divisions/Engineering/Environmental/Pages/default.aspx?RootFolder=/Inside_LaDOTD/Divisions/Engineering/Environmental/Documents/I-49%20South%20Implementation%20Report%20(Raceland%20to%20Westwego)&Folde |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224003731/http://wwwsp.dotd.la.gov/Inside_LaDOTD/Divisions/Engineering/Environmental/Pages/default.aspx?RootFolder=%2FInside_LaDOTD%2FDivisions%2FEngineering%2FEnvironmental%2FDocuments%2FI-49%20South%20Implementation%20Report%20%28Raceland%20to%20Westwego%29&Folde |archive-date=February 24, 2017 |access-date=March 2, 2022 |website=wwwsp.dotd.la.gov}}</ref> The resulting design changes greatly reduced costs by incorporating much of the existing US&nbsp;90 corridor, except bypasses of [[Des Allemands, Louisiana|Des Allemands]] and [[Paradis, Louisiana|Paradis]], and a revised connection with [[Interstate 310 (Louisiana)|I-310]]/[[LA 3127]].

In the immediate New Orleans area, I-49 is planned to follow the route of [[U.S. Route 90 Business (New Orleans, Louisiana)|US&nbsp;90 Bus.]], much of which is an elevated freeway. US&nbsp;90 Bus. follows the Westbank Expressway through [[Westwego, Louisiana|Westwego]], [[Gretna, Louisiana|Gretna]], and [[Algiers, New Orleans|Algiers]]. It then crosses [[Crescent City Connection]] over the [[Mississippi River]] into Downtown New Orleans and continues onto the [[Pontchartrain Expressway]] to an interchange with I-10. "Future I-49" signage is along US&nbsp;90 and US&nbsp;90 Bus.