The Mississippi River Road Corridor

Executive Summary

The River Road Commission proudly presents the Mississippi River Road Master Plan, a corridor study that establishes a bold new course for enhancing the River Road Corridor as an outstanding natural and cultural resource for the entire state.

The plan above all provides for public appreciation, education and enjoyment of the recreational opportunities within the corridor. These opportunities are both regionally and nationally significant. The plan also supports partnerships between government and industry as they work to encourage employment and economic development for the residents of the River Road Corridor and the citizens of Louisiana.

The plan reflects the contributions and ideas of hundreds of people. These contributors include representatives of state agencies, regional governments, rural communities, state legislators, design and engineering professionals, and many others who played a part in the public meetings and review process.

For their continued interest and support the Commission wishes to thank these contributors, and more specifically the members of the River Road Task Force, the Louisiana Preservation Alliance, the Louisiana Chemical Association, Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. The result of their effort is a product that has the vision to meet the challenges facing the River Road Corridor as we move into the next century.

A Message from the Governor

As Governor of Louisiana, I am very pleased to recognize the historical contributions and cultural legacy of the Mississippi River Road Corridor.

Protecting this wonderful heritage was the driving force behind establishing the Mississippi River Road Commission and preparing, creating, and devising a comprehensive master plan of the Corridor. This plan, summarized in this document, is for all citizens of this great state and nation. The recommendations and strategies outlined here, coupled with a strong marketing program will transform this historic corridor into a world-class tourist destination.

Finally, I would like to express my personal thanks to the Commission members for their work and dedication to the completion and implementation of this important project. Saving the historical resources along the river will foster private sector investment, attract tourists and enhance the quality of life for communities along the Corridor.

In 1991, the National Trust for Historic Preservation designated the historic Mississippi River Road Corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans as one of the nation’s eleven most endangered historic properties. Its plantation homes, sugar cane fields, and Native American place names speak of its past. Its oil refineries, grain elevators, and barge traffic speak of its future. Yet all are part of the present Corridor that continues to be chiefly an industrial transportation waterway. Yet, it also continues to provide food, water, and recreation. It is, simply, the reason why the many cultures who have contributed to its rich and unique past settled along its banks.

The purpose of the plan is to address the legacy of the River Road Corridor by providing comprehensive recommendations that will help perpetuate the diverse cultural heritage of the Corridor through conservation, infrastructure improvements, land-use management, heritage education, and sustainable development.

The plan contains six chapters, a bibliography, a resource book, and appendices. Chapter Three contains seven “booklets,” each with recommendations, concepts, and strategies contributing to this plan. These recommendations are based on field observations and specific issues and concerns noted during the inventory process, as well as on ideas for new projects. The seven booklets take up the following topics:

1. Historic Preservation and Technology
2. Cultural Tourism, Education, & Interpretation
3. Outdoor Leisure and Recreation
4. Scenic and Landscape Enhancement
5. Land Use Management and Protection
6. River Road Marketing and Signage
7. Environmental Conservation

Each booklet contains background information, strategies, and models to assist in future planning, design and development. Estimates of the economic impact of these recommendations are summarized in Chapter Four of the plan.

Master Plan Overview

Booklet One identifies new and varied opportunities to develop historic sites for visitors within the River Road Corridor. Historic places of worship and sacred sites along the River Road could offer commentary on the lives and events of the Corridor residents. Plantation families and slaves are buried in cemeteries along the Corridor. Names and dates on tombs hint at the legacy of immigrant families and, in some cases, the hardship of pioneering the rural landscape. Other recommendations recognize the need for coordinated Corridor-wide programs. These programs consist of rehabilitation and restoration of historic properties and the need to train and employ skilled craft people.

The process of framing the cultural and social geography of the River Road includes identifying the relationships between the various people of the Corridor and their institutions. Historical relationships among the indigenous residents, the immigrant communities, and slaves of the River Road influenced the nature and distribution of the Corridor’s historic resources. It is from this context that the concept of cultural tourism and heritage education draws its roots along the River Road. The recommendations in this Booklet suggest opportunities for scholars, residents, and others to explore the historic context of the River Road as well as its more recent past.

The River Road, as one of the most historic areas in Louisiana, is not only rich in building and historical artifacts but in cultural landscapes and heritage sites. There are few parks along the River Road, and even these are just off the road and identified poorly or not at all. As the master plan involves revitalizing the Corridor, the recommendations in this Booklet suggest ways to better use tourist and recreation areas. An effort must be made through the Louisiana legislature to designate one or more areas as state parks or state commemorative areas.

The River Road today is the outcome of the changing nature of the river itself. For much of its length, the road is framed by an imposing but neatly trimmed earthen levee and by the landscape of homes, crops, and industry. Recommendations in this Booklet focus on enhancing view corridors and landscaping beautification. More intense landscaping could improve the look of commercial developments along the road that are now defaced by poor signage and bare asphalt parking lots.

Many of the recommendations in the master plan focus on the protection of the River Road Corridor’s historic and cultural resources. Although many historic properties have been lost over the past thirty years, many remain. The losses are due to factors ranging from benign neglect to the suburban growth and continued industrialization of the Corridor. If the remaining historic and cultural resources are to survive, local and state government must find a way, through enticement or regulation, to better integrate development in the Corridor with preservation of its historic and cultural riches.

Booklet Six outlines a marketing strategy for the River Road that builds on existing promotional efforts of the plantation house museums. These River Road attractions are, and will remain, the core of the tourist industry for the Corridor. However, this plan promotes a broader vision which seeks to define the Corridor as a single tourist destination with many attractions.

Booklet Seven promotes a sound environmental ethic that combines governmental support, public awareness, and resource management. A commitment to a sound environmental ethic from government and industry is vital. Improved access to information may clear the atmosphere and improve relations between government and industry and the community they serve.

Economic Impact

Tourism is one of the largest industries in Louisiana and its economic impact is a testament to a diverse culture that has produced a region rich in the arts, music, foods, festivals and historic locations.

Heritage and cultural tourism sites exist in harmony with the character of the region and provide economic benefits to its residents.

Historic buildings and local traditions are easily incorporated into today’s community landscape.

The River Road Corridor’s unique character is a major factor in the economic impact of tourism on her parishes. Within the eight parishes of the River Road, the tourism industry is estimated to have produced over $1.2 billion in sales revenue in 1996. In turn, this revenue directly supported the employment of over 14,100 people and provided additional earnings totaling $216 million.

Economic impacts attributable to the River Road vary along the Corridor, from minimal to significant. Future development along the Corridor should increase tourism and capture additional tourism spending by both new and returning visitors to the parishes.

The River Road Corridor’s main scenic route is the River Road itself. It is some 120 miles long on each side of the river and roughly parallels the Mississippi River between Jefferson and East and West Baton Rouge Parishes. The route passes through eight parishes and numerous towns, and runs close to two large urban areas: New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Travelers along the route get a view of natural landscapes, river life, agricultural fields, small town main streets, metropolitan communities, industrial plants, and historic plantations, houses of worship, and cemeteries.

Ultimately, the River Road planning document sets forth the general statements needed to direct change. The plan does not seek to prescribe the future through government mandates and regulations or rigid procedure manuals. Rather it offers guidance for future planning efforts and a basis for more detailed endeavors. The plan is intended to be idea-oriented and works through narrative documentation and models rather than maps -although maps, photographs, and illustrations are included where appropriate.

The River Road Corridor has changed notably over the last 50 years. Many factors have combined to support its transition from an agriculture-based economy to a diversified economy based on industrial and suburban development, and agriculture. These include improvements to the Corridor’s roadway transportation network, land availability, closeness to raw materials, governmental support for port facilities, a favorable tax structure, and a regulatory environment favorable to growth.

The river is the Corridor’s single most important resource. The Corridor derives its intrinsic quality from the presence of the river and its surrounding landscape. Both banks of the river contain an integrated mix of historic, industrial, and cultural buildings and structures. It also comprises natural environmental resources which have survived and are accessible (or can be made so) by interpretation, preservation, and other management means. It is the combination of these Corridor features that established the River Road as a Louisiana Scenic Byway.

• The plan offers the Commission a vehicle for stating its concerns on a continuing and broad basis.
• The plan provides each parish with specific projects and programs to guide its own decisions on enhancement of the River Road or on the undoing of adverse impacts.

The plan gives direction to local government, civic and community groups, nonprofit agencies, developers, and other private concerns as they make their plans.

Note: The Mississippi River Road Corridor Master Plan is available for viewing at Parish libraries throughout the Corridor.

River Road Commission

There are 10 states that border the Mississippi River.  The chart below gives an overview of how their commissions are set up.

State of Legislation	Year	# of Commisioners	Appointing Authorities	Commissioner's Compensation	Annual Dues
Arkansas	1975		The director of the Department of Parks and Trourism, , governor, and Chairman of the National Mississippi River Parkway Planning commision	$25 for each day or part that the Commission is in session, plus mileage from home to place of meeting and return	yes
Illinois	1993	21	Governor, Speaker of the House, House Minority Leader, President of the Senate, Senate Minority Leader	all travel related expenses	yes
Iowa	1991	10	Governor		yes
Kentucky	1986	10	Governor	reimbursed according to state regulations for actual and necessary expenses incurred in conductin commission bussiness
Louisiana	2001	28	Governor	Only elected official may be reimbursed for travel expenses	yes
Minnesota	2001	15	Commissioner of transportation, commissioner of natural resources, commissioner of trade and economic development, commissioner of agriculture, director of the Minnesota historical society, committee on committees, speaker of the House	all travel related expenses	yes
Mississippi	1962	10	Governor	all travel related expenses	yes
Missouri	1994	11	Governor	reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties
Tennesse	1965	5	Governor	Paid Travel only	yes
Wisconson	1975	16	Governor	reimbursed for 75% of actual and necessary expenses incurred in performin his or her duties under guidelines established by the department of transportation	yes