Louisiana Highway 87 (LA 87) is a state highway located in southern Louisiana. It runs in a northwest to southeast direction from LA 86 in New Iberia to the junction of two local roads north of Centerville.
The route parallels Bayou Teche downstream from New Iberia through Iberia Parish and into neighboring St. Mary Parish. It is the east bank counterpart to the busier LA 182 (the former path of U.S. Highway 90), along which most of the area's populated communities are located. A succession of bridges connect LA 87 with these communities, which include Jeanerette, Charenton, Baldwin, and Franklin. Points of interest along LA 87 include the Bayside antebellum plantation house opposite the Hubertville section of Jeanerette, as well as several sites associated with the Chitimacha Indian tribe at Charenton.
LA 87 was designated in the 1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering, joining together four shorter former routes created between 1926 and 1930. Two years later, a spur was designated when the original swing bridge was constructed on Lewis Street in New Iberia. It has since been replaced by a vertical lift bridge known as the Elias "Bo" Ackal Memorial Bridge, which was constructed in 2007 at the same location.
Route description
New Iberia to Jeanerette
From the northwest, LA 87 begins at a junction with LA 86 (Duperier Avenue) in the city of New Iberia. It heads southeast as an undivided two-lane highway through a residential neighborhood, initially traveling along Oak Street. After a few blocks, however, the route makes a zigzag over to Parkview Drive via Ashton Street. Exactly along the route is an intersection with North Lewis Avenue, a commercial thoroughfare that is designated as LA 87 Spur and crosses a vertical lift bridge over Bayou Teche.
After exiting the city limits, LA 87 continues to parallel the east bank of the bayou through unincorporated Iberia Parish for approximately . During this stretch, the surroundings gradually transition from a mixture of farmland and newer suburban development to being generally rural. A succession of bridges connect LA 87 with the busier west bank of Bayou Teche. The first two are located at junctions with LA 3195 and LA 320 near Olivier. These are followed by locally maintained bridges near Lifenite and Loisel. Continuing southeast, two state highway bridges connect LA 87 with the city of Jeanerette on the opposite bank. These are located at LA 3182 and LA 671. Just before reaching the junction with LA 3182, the highway passes under a canopy of moss-laden live oak trees in front of the historic Bayside plantation home.
Jeanerette to Centerville
After crossing into St. Mary Parish, LA 87 continues eastward alongside Bayou Teche, with bridges opposite Sorrel (local), Adeline (LA 670), and Charenton (LA 324). At Charenton, LA 87 follows the first of several sharp bends in Bayou Teche as it passes the Chitimacha Indian Reservation and crosses a navigation channel that connects the bayou to several waterways within the Atchafalaya Basin. Opposite a second bend is the town of Baldwin, which has no bridge connection within the corporate limits. In an area known as Oaklawn, the paved roadway turns west across the bayou onto LA 323. Meanwhile, LA 87 continues ahead onto a gravel farm road for over , turning sharply to the west near the midway point.
Immediately after entering the Franklin city limits, the paved roadway resumes at a junction with LA 322. Shortly afterward, a junction with LA 3069 (East Willow Street) leads straight ahead across Bayou Teche into town, and LA 87 turns to the southeast, maintaining its path along the bayou's east bank. State maintenance ends later at the approach to the Centerville bridge. A local road known as Verdunville Road continues the path of LA 87 along Bayou Teche toward its junction with the Wax Lake Outlet.
Route classification and data
LA 87 alternates between an urban collector and a rural minor collector over most of its route, as determined by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (La DOTD). Daily traffic volume in 2013 peaked at 8,100 vehicles through New Iberia and as far as the junction with LA 320. The gravel portion of the route between Oaklawn and Franklin is classified as a rural local road with the traffic count reported at only 42 vehicles per day. The posted speed limit gradually increases from in New Iberia to as the surroundings become less populated.
The entirety of LA 87 from New Iberia to Charenton is part of the Bayou Teche Byway in the state-designated system of tourist routes known as the Louisiana Scenic Byways.