The elevated section of I-10 designated as the Pontchartrain Expressway begins as the interstate crosses the Orleans Parish line at the 17th Street Canal and leads to the Crescent City Connection (1958).
The footprint of the expressway largely follows that of the New Basin Canal, constructed in 1831-38 to facilitate transportation of goods between Lake Pontchartrain and downtown. The canal's significance to New Orleans' shipping declined after the opening of the Industrial Canal in 1923. Most of the New Basin Canal was filled between 1937 - 1950, making way for the Pontchartrain Expressway, Pontchartrain Boulevard and West End.
[photo: TSA NOVA]
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
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