Louisiana
Thursday Road Closures for South Louisiana [Updated]
![Thursday Road Closures for South Louisiana [Updated]](https://i1.wp.com/townsquare.media/site/36/files/2025/01/attachment-SNow-Pile-on-Congress-2.jpg?w=1200&format=natural&ssl=1 "Thursday Road Closures for South Louisiana [Updated]")
[Updated 0300 AM 01.23.2025] Temperatures across South Louisiana were not as frigid last night as the previous night. Still, they were cold enough to drop well below the freezing mark for much of the nighttime hours across the region. The temperature at Lafayette this morning just before sunrise was listed at 21 degrees. Similar temperature readings are prevalent along the I-10 corridor this morning.
Yesterday, temperatures rose above the freezing mark and abundant sunshine helped to clear some of the ice off of some of the roadways. These roadways are still not ready to handle normal traffic loads. There are still many slick spots and patches of “black ice” that will make driving difficult during the morning hours.
Authorities on the state and local levels are encouraging you to not be on the roads, especially during the morning hours. By this afternoon conditions are expected to improve. But as of this morning, many roads are still closed. The basic explanation for road conditions this morning is this. If it was closed yesterday, it’s still closed today.
This is what West Congress Street in Lafayette between Ambassador Caffery Parkway and Rue de Belier looked like Wednesday afternoon at about 3 pm. As you can see, most of the lanes of travel are clear but there is still plenty of snow and ice in the way.
Below is the most recent listing of road closures that were reported to us. This list will be updated throughout the course of the day. Check back with us often.
Here is the Complete List of Statewide Closures/Openings as reported by the Louisiana Department of Transportation. This is the latest update provided by DOTD.
[Previous Update 01.22.2025 8 pm]
These are the updated road closures for Wednesday as of 8 pm, January 21, 2025, that will affect travel for South Louisiana motorists.
The Lafayette Police Department asks that all motorists avoid the following areas:
- Lafayette:
- I-10 Eastbound from I-49
- I-10 Westbound at Ambassador near Cameron Overpass
- 1500 block of W. Pinhook Rd.
- 300 Acadian Hills/Pont Des Mouton
- E University/General Mouton
- Camelia/Vermillion River
- 200 block Pont Des Mouton @ the curve
- Ambassador/Vermillion River
- Surrey/Vermillion River
- General Mouton/Vermilion River
- ON/OFF Ramp I-10/I-49
- Scott:
- Bridge L Provost @ Breakers Way
- Bridge near 3000 block W. Willow
- Bridge near 2500 block W. Willow
- Bridge near 2300 block W. Willow
- Elmira
- Renaud @ Roger
- Mills Overpass
- Dulles @ Fremont
- Le Violon @ Dulles
- Youngsville:
- Larriviere @ LA 92
- 500 block Griffin
- Broussard:
- Albertson Parkway from Hwy 90 to St. De Porres
Lafayette Airport:
Read More: Here Are the Acadiana Parishes With Active Curfews
Original—Tuesday Updates
UPDATED: These are the latest road closures as of 6pm Tuesday January 2025.
As of 3:00 this morning, travelers on Interstate 10 will have to choose an alternate route to move either east or west because the roadway is shut down between I-49 in Lafayette to Lobdell just west of Baton Rouge. That was reported just moments ago on LA511.org.(0300AM)
For the latest updates, keep scrolling.
It was confirmed via Louisiana DOTD in this social media post.
We are currently gathering information from LA DoTD and Louisiana State Police and will update this post throughout the morning.
[Updated 5 PM CST 01.21.2025]
From the Lafayette/Acadiana Area:
Lafayette Police have closed Ambassador Caffery Parkway at the railroad overpass. They are asking all motorists to stay off the roadways until conditions have improved.
The following are CLOSED:
- Albertson PKWY – 1000 Block
- Dulles Dr. – Block 2600
- Elmira Rd.- Block 100
- Griffin Rd. – Block 500
- I-10 at I-49 N Off Ramp
- I-49 @ I-10 W On Ramp
- L Provost Rd. Block 800
- LE Violon Rd – Block 700
- Mill St. – Block 800
- Renaud Dr. – Block 1600
- Terminal Dr. – Block 200
- W Pinhook Rd. – Block 1500
- W Willow St. – Block 3000
- W Willow St.- Block 2500-2300
[Updated 3:41 via 511LA.org]
From the Baton Rouge Area:
Winter Weather on I-12 Westbound from US-61 Northbound MM (3) to I-10/I-12 MM (1). All lanes closed. Winter Weather on I-10 Westbound from LA-42 MM (167) to I-12 Eastbound MM (160).
From the Morgan City Area: [Updated 0721 CST 01.25.2025]
Winter Weather on US-90 Both Directions from Duhon Blvd to Highway 631. All lanes are closed. US 90, between Amelia and Des Allemands, in Terrebonne and Lafourche Parish is closed due to winter weather.
From the Greater New Orleans Area:
Winter Weather on I-55 Both Directions from Laplace MM (1) to Ponchatoula MM (26).
Due to hazardous winter conditions, the I-55 elevated section in St. John the Baptist and Tangipahoa Parishes will be closed in both directions, from I-10/I-55 (Laplace) to LA 22 (Exit 22, near Ponchatoula), beginning on 1/21/2025 at 4 a.m. until further notice.
Winter Weather on US-90-BR Both Directions from Loyola Ave MM (234) to Frontage Rd. All HOV Lanes are Closed. US 90B HOV lane, Orleans Parish, is closed due to winter weather. DOTD’s emergency personnel will continue to monitor upcoming weather situations and will scout the area for safety on the roadways.
| Winter Weather on I-10 Both Directions from Laplace MM (209) to Fremaux Ave MM (266). | |
| Due to hazardous winter conditions, I-10 will be closed in both directions from US 51 (Laplace Exit 209) to US 190B (Fremaux Ave Exit 265) beginning on 1/21/2025 at 4 a.m. until further notice. |
In the Alexandria Area:
Winter Weather on LA-8 Both Directions from Boyce Bridge MM (99) to Grant Rapides Parish Line MM (99). All lanes closed.
Bridge Closure LA 8 (Richard S Thompson Memorial Bridge) Rapides & Grant Parishes The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development advises motorists that effective immediately the LA 8 Bridge (often referred to as the Boyce Bridge), over the Red River in Rapides and Grant Parishes, will be closed due to anticipated winter weather conditions. This closure will remain in effect until the roadway has been deemed safe for travel.
Winter Weather on US-165-BR Both Directions from Jackson Street Bridge to Jackson Street Bridge. All lanes closed. BRIDGE CLOSURE: US 165 Business (Jackson Street Bridge), Rapides Parish The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development advises motorists that beginning on Monday, January 20, 2025, at 9:00 p.m., the US 165-Business bridge over the Red River in Rapides Parish will be closed to all vehicular and marine traffic until further notice.Up
[Updated 04:30 CST 01.21.2025]
The Louisiana Department of Transportation has updated information on its social media sites concerning Interstate Highways in Louisiana.
[Updated 0500 CST 01.21.2025]
Winter Weather on LA-10 Both Directions from LA-1 to US-61 Southbound. All lanes closed. The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development announces that due to hazardous weather conditions, LA 10, Audubon Bridge Road which also includes the John James Audubon Bridge, is closed from LA 1 (Hospital Road) in Pointe Coupee Parish to US 61 in West Feliciana.
11 Odd Things People Say When They Find Out You’re From Louisiana
Gallery Credit: Bruce Mikells
Louisiana
Federal appeals court upholds Texas’ Ten Commandments law. What does it mean for Louisiana?
A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a Texas law requiring public schools to post the Ten Commandments, just weeks after the same court allowed a similar Louisiana law to take effect.
A majority of judges on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Texas’ law, which is nearly identical to Louisiana’s, is constitutional and does not violate students’ religious freedom. In February, the court lifted an injunction on Louisiana’s law, which cleared schools to put up the posters, but the judges said it was too early to rule on that law’s constitutionality.
Tuesday’s ruling could bode well for Louisiana’s law if it eventually returns to the 5th Circuit, considered the country’s most conservative federal court of appeals.
In their majority opinion, the judges rejected the argument that posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms would pressure students to honor the biblical mandates or adopt particular beliefs.
“To plaintiffs, merely exposing children to religious language is enough to make the displays engines of coercive indoctrination. We disagree,” the majority wrote about the Texas law, known as S.B. 10. A minority of the court’s active judges dissented.
Even though Tuesday’s ruling only addressed the Texas case, defenders of Louisiana’s legislation celebrated it as a victory. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said the 5th Circuit’s argument in upholding Texas’ law was identical to the one Louisiana made in defense of its law.
“Our law clearly was always constitutional,” she posted on X, “and I am grateful that the Fifth Circuit has now definitively agreed with us.”
Louisiana’s Republican-controlled Legislature passed the law in 2024, which requires all public K-12 schools and colleges to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. A group of parents quickly challenged the law in court, and a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction that stopped the state from enforcing the law.
In February, the 5th Circuit reversed the lower court’s decision, saying it had been premature to block the law before it took effect. The judges said they could not rule on the law’s constitutionality before seeing how it played out in schools.
But in the case of Texas’ law, which that state’s Republican-led Legislature passed in 2025, the court did rule on the merits.
Rejecting arguments made by attorneys for the Texas families who challenged the law, the 5th Circuit majority said that requiring public schools to post the Ten Commandments does not amount to the government endorsing a particular religion, which the U.S. Constitution forbids. The law also does not impose religious beliefs on students, the judges wrote.
“As noted, S.B. 10 authorizes no religious instruction and gives teachers no license to contradict children’s religious beliefs (or their parents’),” the majority opinion says. “No child is made to recite the Commandments, believe them, or affirm their divine origin.”
The Texas families were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Texas, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, with the law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP serving as pro bono counsel. The same groups, including Louisiana’s ACLU chapter, represented the Louisiana families.
In a statement Tuesday, the organizations said they are “extremely disappointed” by the 5th Circuit’s ruling, adding that they expect to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“The First Amendment safeguards the separation of church and state, and the freedom of families to choose how, when and if to provide their children with religious instruction,” the groups said. “This decision tramples those rights.”
Nearly all major industries in Louisiana added jobs over the past year, signaling momentum for a stronger future, according to a recent report from Leaders for a Better Louisiana.
The organizat…
Already an INSIDER? Sign in.
SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — Police say a man shot and killed eight children, including seven of his own, following a domestic dispute in Shreveport.
The incident took place early Sunday morning, April 19, on West 79th Street in the Cedar Grove neighborhood. According to the Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office, the victims included three boys and five girls, aged between three and 11-years-old. Seven of the children were siblings, while one was a cousin. Two adult females were also injured, including one who was shot at a home located in the 500 block of Harrison Street.
One of the adults was inside the home on West 79th Street when the children were killed. She managed to escape through a window with two of the children and reached the roof. The woman jumped down with one of the children. Unfortunately, the other child did not manage to escape. Police later found his body on the roof with a gunshot wound. The surviving child was taken to the hospital with a broken leg.
The children were identified by their mothers as Jayla (age 3), Shayla (age 5), Kayla (age 6), Layla (age 7), Markaydon (age 10), Sariahh (age 11), Khedarrion (age 6), and Braylon (age 5).
Authorities say the suspect and father of the victims, Shamar Elkins, was the only person who fired shots that led to the juveniles’ deaths.
Authorities noted that Elkins stole a vehicle near West 79th Street after he shot the victims. He was pursued by patrol officers into Bossier Parish, where they discharged their weapons and fatally shot him on Brompton Lane. Louisiana State Police will take over the investigation involving the officers.
Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux expressed his thoughts on the matter, saying, “We have a hurting community. We have hurting families. We have hurting police officers, coroner’s personnel, fire department, sheriff people, and this affects the entire community. We all mourn with these families. I ask, it’s a Sunday morning. I ask all of you who are, who are listening, who might be able to. Pray at your services this morning for not just this family, for all the victims, for the victims who are at the hospital, and for the Cedar Grove community and for the community at large.”
Attorney General Liz Murrill also commented on the tragic shooting, stating, “Multiple law enforcement agencies are investigating this tragic situation. We do not yet know all the details, but I am deeply saddened by the senseless loss of life. I’m praying for the victims and their family members in the wake of this devastating violence.”
According to the Director of Strategy and Communications, Mary Nash-Wood, two of the children attended Summer Grove, and at least four attended Linwood Charter School.
The police have not determined a motive. More updates will be provided as the information becomes available.
You can now stream KTAL 6 and KMSS 33 News live, plus original content 24/7 on your smart TV with KTAL Now, our brand-new app! No antenna, cable, or satellite needed—watch for free, anytime. Just download it on your Roku, Apple TV, or Fire TV and start streaming.
-
Science24 seconds agoPace of N.I.H. Funding Slows Further in Trump’s Second Year
-
Health6 minutes agoAging in Place: How Technology Might Help You Grow Old at Home
-
Culture18 minutes agoBook Review: ‘Israel: What Went Wrong?,’ by Omer Bartov
-
Lifestyle24 minutes agoStreet Style Look of the Week: Airy Beachy Clothes
-
Education30 minutes agoÉcole des Sables, Africa’s Premier Dance School, Faces a Precarious Future
-
Technology36 minutes agoIt’s amazing how good Alienware’s $350 OLED monitor is
-
World42 minutes agoIran reportedly fires on three ships in Strait of Hormuz
-
Politics48 minutes agoWATCH: Sen Warren unloads on Trump’s Fed nominee Kevin Warsh in explosive hearing showdown