Editing Interstate 49 (section)

===Louisiana===
The original plans for the Interstate Highway System did not include a north&ndash;south connection between [[Interstate 10 in Louisiana|I-10]] and [[Interstate 20 in Louisiana|I-20]] within Louisiana. In 1965, Governor [[John McKeithen]] proposed a toll road to perform this function and extend it to New Orleans, but the idea was never carried out.<ref name="Adv. 4-9-1986">{{cite news |date=April 9, 1986 |title=Moving northward |newspaper=Morning Advocate |location=Baton Rouge |page=3B}}</ref> In the mid-1970s, the [[Federal Highway Administration]] (FHWA) approved an Interstate Highway to run between US&nbsp;190 in Opelousas and I-20 in Shreveport, a route that was designated as I-49 by the [[American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials]] (AASHTO) in the summer of 1977.<ref name="AASHTO 1977">{{AASHTO minutes |year=1977S |page=2 |access-date=January 19, 2016 |link=yes |v-link=yes}}</ref> The mileage was gained from mileage released from other highways the states did not build and {{convert|153|mi|km}} from a supplemental reserve.<ref name="fha50a"/> In 1981, AASHTO approved a slight extension of the designation along the existing route of US&nbsp;167 from Opelousas south to I-10 in Lafayette.<ref name="AASHTO 1981">{{AASHTO minutes |year=1981A |page=2 |access-date=January 19, 2016 |v-link=yes}}</ref> In its early history, I-49 was commonly referred to as the North&ndash;South Expressway.<ref name="Adv. 4-9-1986"/>

Construction of I-49 began in 1981 between Opelousas and the small town of Washington.<ref name="DOTD 1979/80">{{cite map |publisher=Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development |title=Louisiana |date=1979 |author=Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development |author-link=Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development |edition=1980}}</ref><ref name="DOTD 1981">{{cite map |publisher=Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development |title=Louisiana |date=1981 |author=Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development}}</ref> This segment joined the portion running concurrent with US&nbsp;167, an existing [[limited-access highway]], and was completed by 1983.<ref name="DOTD 1981"/><ref name="DOTD 1983">{{cite map |publisher=Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development |title=Louisiana |date=1983 |author=Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development}}</ref> By the following year, virtually all remaining rural portions of the route were under construction,<ref name="DOTD 1983"/><ref name="DOTD 1984">{{cite map |publisher=Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development |title=Louisiana |date=1984 |author=Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development}}</ref> and 95 percent of this mileage was completed and opened to traffic between late 1987 and late 1989.<ref name="Adv. 3-29-1987">{{cite news |last=Leblanc |first=Doug |date=March 29, 1987 |title=Interstate 49 Expected to be Finished by 1991 |newspaper=Sunday Advocate |location=Baton Rouge |page=1B}}</ref><ref name="Adv. 11-10-1989">{{cite news |date=November 10, 1989 |title=New Stretch of Interstate to be Opened |newspaper=Morning Advocate |location=Baton Rouge |page=7B}}</ref> The remaining portions running through the urban centers of Alexandria and Shreveport required a much greater expenditure of time and funding. The entire length of the {{convert|212|mi|km|adj=on}} road was completed on May&nbsp;1, 1996, with the opening of a {{convert|16.6|mi|km|adj=on}} section in downtown Alexandria named the [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] Highway. The total cost of I-49's construction was about $1.38&nbsp;billion (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|1380000000|1996}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}).<ref name="fha50a"/> In 1991, the [[Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act]] (ISTEA) was passed designating an extension of I-49 to Kansas City, Missouri as "High Priority Corridor 1." <ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-12-15 |title=Bill Summary & Status - 102nd Congress (1991 - 1992) - H.R.2950 - THOMAS (Library of Congress) |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121215195446/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d102:HR02950: |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=web.archive.org}}</ref>

"Interstate&nbsp;49 North" was a {{convert|36|mi|km|adj=on}} construction project that extended the highway from I-20 in Shreveport to the Arkansas state line and was divided into 11 segments. On November&nbsp;27, 2013, the first {{convert|18.9|mi|km|adj=on}} section between LA&nbsp;1 and US&nbsp;71 opened to traffic,<ref name="ladoti49n"/> and the extension to a point just south of the Arkansas state line opened in March&nbsp;2014.<ref name="I-49 North">{{cite web |author=Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development |title=I-49 North |url=http://wwwapps.dotd.la.gov/administration/public_info/projects/home.aspx?key=21 |publisher=Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development |access-date=August 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616180919/http://wwwapps.dotd.la.gov/administration/public_info/projects/home.aspx?key=21 |archive-date=June 16, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On May&nbsp;31, 2017, a {{convert|4.25|mi|km|adj=on}} portion between [[LA 3194]] (Martin Luther King Jr. Drive) and LA&nbsp;1 in Shreveport was opened to northbound traffic.<ref name="KSLA">{{cite news |url=http://www.ksla.com/story/35549101/louisiana-to-open-part-of-new-stretch-of-i-49-on-wednesday |title=Louisiana to Open Part of New Stretch of I-49 on Wednesday |first=Curtis |last=Heyen |date=May 30, 2017 |location=Shreveport, LA |publisher=[[KSLA|KSLA News 12]] |access-date=June 3, 2017}}</ref>  On June&nbsp;15, 2018, the entire {{convert|5.25|mi|km|adj=on}} portion of I-49 between I-220 and LA&nbsp;1, including an interchange with I-220, was opened to traffic.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.ksla.com/story/38438351/ladotd-opens-new-ramps-along-i-49-i-220-in-caddo-parish|title=LaDOTD opens new ramps along I-49, I-220 in Caddo|author=KSLA Staff|access-date=June 23, 2018|language=en}}</ref> The remaining interchange ramps opened to traffic on October&nbsp;17, 2018.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/2018/10/17/new-shreveport-49-220-interchange-officially-opens/1671011002/|title=New Shreveport I-49, I-220 interchange officially opens|work=shreveporttimes.com|access-date=October 18, 2018|language=en}}</ref>