Louisiana Highway 125

From the southwest, LA 125 begins at an intersection with US 165 just inside Tullos, a small town in northwestern LaSalle Parish. US 165 connects to Alexandria on the south and Monroe on the north. LA 125 briefly proceeds northwest along South Main Street. At Fullerton Road, the highway turns northeast and continues along South Main Street to the town's main junction, an intersection with US 84. US 84 connects to Jena, the parish seat, as well as Winnfield, the parish seat of neighboring Winn Parish.[2][3][4]

LA 125 continues northeast along Main Street, exiting Tullos and intersecting LA 125 Spur, which connects to the parallel US 165. Soon afterward, LA 125 curves to the north briefly before resuming its northeastern course across a bridge over Chickasaw Creek. The highway then approaches and begins to run parallel to the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) tracks into the town of Urania. Here, LA 125 intersects LA 3259 (East Hardtner Drive), the town's connection to US 165. LA 125 turns northwest, briefly continuing the route of LA 3259 across the UPRR tracks before curving northeast onto Tannehill Drive. The highway continues for 1.0 mile (1.6 km) through a residential area, at which point it crosses the town limits at Pentecostal Church Road. Shortly afterward, LA 125 passes by a large lumber mill.[2][3][4]

1.1 miles (1.8 km) later, LA 125 intersects LA 124, and the two highways begin a concurrency into the town of Olla. Here, the roadway rejoins the railroad tracks and becomes known as Front Street. Reaching the town center, LA 125 intersects LA 127 (Central Avenue), another connection to Jena. While LA 125 proceeds northeast along the railroad, LA 124 crosses the tracks via Central Avenue, ending the concurrency with LA 125. After several blocks, Olla's historic commercial buildings disappear, and the surroundings become rural once again. 0.4 miles (0.64 km) past the town limit, LA 125 passes through a point known as Standard, where it makes a sharp curve to the opposite side of the UPRR tracks. The route continues northeast for a final 1.3 miles (2.1 km), where it crosses into Caldwell Parish and immediately rejoins US 165.[2][3][4]

The route is classified as a rural major collector by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (La DOTD).[5] The posted speed limit is generally 55 mph (90 km/h) between points, reduced to 35 mph (55 km/h) or 25 mph (40 km/h) through town. Average daily traffic volume in 2013 is reported as 850 vehicles for the majority of the route, running from US 84 in Tullos to Standard. The southern and northern ends of the route have lower counts of 550 and 570 vehicles, respectively.[5] LA 125 is an undivided, two-lane highway for its entire length.[2]

In the original Louisiana Highway system in use between 1921 and 1955, the modern LA 125 was originally part of State Route 14, which followed the Lone Star Route from Alexandria to the Arkansas state line northeast of Bastrop.[6][7][8] In 1926, this became part of the original route of US 165, which duplicated Route 14 north of Alexandria.[9][10] Between the late 1940s and mid-1950s, US 165 was relocated in northwestern LaSalle Parish to bypass the communities along the Missouri Pacific (now the Union Pacific) railroad line. This straightened the route and eliminated several grade crossings. The current alignment bypassing Urania and Olla opened around 1949 with the former alignment becoming State Route C-2113.[11][12][13] The present LA 125 Spur connected the old and new alignments until the completion of the Tullos bypass after the 1955 Louisiana Highway renumbering.[3][13]

LA 125 was created in the 1955 renumbering following the portion of former State Route C-2113 running through Urania and Olla to the Caldwell Parish line.[14]

Class "B": La 125—From a junction with La-US 165 at or near Urania to a junction with La 124 at or near Olla.
Class "C": La 125—From a junction with La 124 at or near Olla northeast to a junction with La-US 165 at or near the Caldwell Parish line.

— 1955 legislative route description[14]

At this time, the route began at the present intersection of US 165 and LA 3259 in Urania. LA 125 followed LA 3259 into the center of town then turned northeast and proceeded along its present route to US 165 at the parish line.[3][15] By 1958, the relocation of US 165 had been extended southwest to bypass Tullos with the LA 125 designation extended over the old route through town.[15] Since then, the route of LA 125 has remained the same.[3][15] The two roads connecting US 165 with LA 125 at Urania and a point northeast of Tullos remained in the state highway system and were later designated as spur routes of LA 125. Due to their close proximity, the Urania spur has since been renumbered as LA 3259.[3]

La DOTD is currently engaged in a program that aims to transfer about 5,000 miles (8,000 km) of state-owned roadways to local governments over the next several years.[16] Under this plan of "right-sizing" the state highway system, the route of LA 125 is proposed to be shortened on either end, retaining the middle section between US 84 in Tullos and LA 127 in Olla.[17] LA 125 Spur is also proposed for deletion as it does not meet a significant interurban travel function.[17]

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