From the south, LA 3046 begins in Jefferson at an interchange with U.S. 90. It heads north and immediately becomes elevated to cross several railroad tracks and LA 3139. LA 3046 ends at a multi-level traffic circle interchange with U.S. 61 in Metairie. Causeway Boulevard continues northward through Metairie to I-10 and ultimately the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. LA 3046 is a divided, four-lane highway for its entire length.
History
LA 3046 began as part of the Greater New Orleans Expressway, a 1950s project to transform the century-old Harlem Avenue right-of-way into a multilane highway connecting U.S. 90, U.S. 61, and Veterans Memorial Highway to the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway then under construction. Harlem Avenue would be renamed Causeway Boulevard. The expressway's name survives in the Greater New Orleans Expressway Commission which maintains and patrols the Causeway bridge. The multilevel rotary interchange at U.S. 61 and the hook ramp at U.S. 90 were opened in June 1957. The narrow hook ramp originally carried two-way traffic. It was reconfigured in 1999 to carry one-way traffic, with southbound Causeway Boulevard traffic now crossing the Jefferson Highway median to turn eastbound. The ramp's clearance over Jefferson Highway was increased from to in 2009 to facilitate truck traffic passing underneath. Acceleration and deceleration lanes were added to the north side of the rotary interchange in 2003, while the south side remains in its original configuration.
Major intersections
Louisiana Highway 3046 Spur
Louisiana Highway 3046 Spur was a state highway in Louisiana that served Jefferson Parish. It spanned in a west to east direction along Lausat Street. The western terminus of LA 3046 Spur was at LA 3046 between LA 3139 and U.S. 61. There was no connection between the spur route and its parent as the two highways did not meet at grade: LA 3046 is elevated via a long overpass, and LA 3046 Spur existed at ground level on Lausat Street. LA 3046 Spur headed east to a terminus at LA 3262. The route was deleted in 2010. LA 3046 Spur was an undivided, two-lane highway for its entire length.
